Did you know that Chile is so long that if you placed it over Europe, its northern tip would reach the coast of Norway and its southern end would stretch all the way to the Sahara Desert in North Africa? The scale of Chile is impressive – and the same can be said about the diversity of its education system.
Our recent activities in Nyeri and Nairobi were a powerful reminder that sustainable improvement in TVET happens with educators, not just for them. At Nyeri National Polytechnic, we concluded the Youth Employment and TVET in Kenya project with a hands‑on seminar where Kenyan TVET trainers showcased their development work, exchanged practices, and tested new classroom approaches together.
The European Network of Physiotherapy in Higher Education (ENPHE) continues to serve as a vital platform for physiotherapy educators, students, and institutions across Europe. This year’s annual ENPHE Forum was hosted by Lunex University of Applied Sciences in Luxembourg, bringing together 260 participants from 27 countries. The three-day event offered an inspiring and forward-looking programme under the theme: “The Future of Physiotherapy Education: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities.”
In September 2025, I participated in the AEC’s (European Association of Conservatories) 25th International Relations Coordinators’ meeting in Budapest, titled the Great Mobility Compass (https://aec-music.eu/event/annual-meeting-for-international-relations-coordinators-2025/).
Textile, clothing, leather and footwear – TCLF-branch in production has long and strong history and traditions in every nations cultures and heritage. Now this branch of skillful handicrafts, passionate creativity, traditional industry and innovative technology in designing and producing our everyday intimate skin and bodily connections with the world has very complicated challenges connected to e.g. global business with cheap mass production in developing countries, massive waste problem of used clothes, toxic production processes in the industry, problems of global social justice in working conditions of industry workers, to mention a few.
The world is changing, and a permanent job is not a given for anyone, especially for a young person at the beginning of their career. Entrepreneurship skills can give young people the option to create their own work. Entrepreneurship is also of increasing interest to young people today. It is important that we offer young people support and skills to start their own business. This is what the Succeed in Business project is about.
During May 2025 I took a trip to Germany and to a blended intensive program with five active students from TAMK: Vera Vuorio, Leila Ali, Waltteri Wiheriäkoski, Medi Ibrahimi and Daniel Bäfver, and with my colleague Nina Esko-Salin and her teacher student Marika Säteri, as a part of Personal Green Skills in Higher Education project.
Part of project work is creation of reports, planning and dissemination. Traveling to consortium meetings is often on tight schedule and there isn’t always time to cocreate. Projects, besides the substance related goals aim at scaling cooperation, acquiring knowledge, building new and cementing existing networks. How does it relate to green travel?
Tampere once again becomes the stage for building the future as Imagine 2025 gathers visionaries, experts, and decision-makers to explore what tomorrow might look like—and how we can shape it together.
TAMK’s Safety and Security team supports the university community in conducting research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities in a safe and confidential environment. The team’s work is a key part of TAMK’s strategy, which highlights TAMK’s expertise as a multidisciplinary university of applied sciences.
Further build the existing networks and strengthen them. That was the idea when I applied to Erasmus+ Staff Exchange Mobility. International projects are such that give you not only lessons to learn together but also form strong connections between people. Based on the experiences gained in TeamWe – project (2019–2022) and hosting visits to Basque VET teachers in Finland, I thought that maybe it was a right time to visit Basque country again. Not only to meet the dear colleagues there but to establish something we could work together in the future.
The Master's Degree Program in Social Services at Tampere University of Applied Sciences has started a new cooperation with our Uninovis partner, the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at THWS. Last autumn we offered an opportunity for exchange and reflection in the courses ‘Theories of Social Work and Approaches to Social Work’ in Finland and ‘Social Work as Science’ in Germany. Groups on both courses were inspired to this by using Malcolm Payne's book ‘How to use Social Work Theory in Practice’ (2020). This idea has now been developed into an international theory seminar, which will take place next autumn.
I got to do my long-awaited staff exchange at the University of Tirana, Albania, in early May. The reason for choosing Tirana as my Erasmus+ destination was twofold. Firstly, after having done my teacher’s education practice in a local language school in November 2024, I wanted to gain deeper understanding of how foreign languages are taught at the university level and what awaits the graduates upon completing their studies and entering the Albanian job market. Secondly, as the University of Tirana (UT) is one of our Uninovis partners, I took the opportunity to explore the potential for international mobility co-operation and academic exchange between our two institutions.
From March 31 to April 4, 2025, a group of third-year Laboratory Engineering students from TAMK (Tampere University of Applied Sciences) participated in the BIP Validation intensive course hosted by AP University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. The course was held at AP’s brand-new Campus Hallen. This experience brought together students from four European countries to collaborate, learn, and develop their professional skills in the field of analytical chemistry.
During May 2025 I was in Germany with five active students: Leila Ali, Vera Vuorio, Waltteri Wiheriäkoski, Medi Ibrahimi and Daniel Bäfver from Tampere Univerisity of Applied Sciences, and with my colleague Nina Esko-Salin and her teacher student Marika Säteri. We took this trip as a part of Personal Green Skills in Higher Education project.
On May 8–9, 2025, I opened the doors of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA) in Vilnius to meet a great bunch of music educators, students, and international coordinators from across the Nordic and Baltic regions participating in the ANMA (Assembly of Nordic Music Academies) & NordplusMusic Forum 2025.
The 2025 Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme Conference brought together a vibrant community of innovators, policymakers, and regional changemakers under the theme of transnational cooperation. Held as a physical meeting in the beautiful setting of the Tampere hall, the event on the 21st of May 2025 was a powerful reminder of the magic that happens when borders blur and collaboration is the centrefold.
In late May, two Senior Nursing Lecturers from Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Stiina Storvik-Sydänmaa and Gitte Taulo, visited the University of Málaga in Spain. Their trip formed part of an international staff exchange aimed at strengthening collaboration and sharing best practices in nursing education and clinical care. Stiina Storvik-Sydänmaa is a specialist in Paediatric and Neonatal Nursing, while Gitte Taulo’s expertise lies in Cardiology and Nephrology Nursing. They received a warm welcome from the faculty and international staff in Málaga.
Staff from Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) and Tampere University (TUNI) once again had an excellent opportunity to engage in international networking and contribute to the development of the European cultural and creative sectors.
We are proud to present our new master’s degree programme: Sustainability Management, aka SusMan. The programme will start in autumn 2026, the application starts in the beginning of 2026. Stay tuned!
