Aihearkisto: osaaminen

Nature Tourism in Finland

ECVET, kielitaito, kotikansainvälisyys, osaaminen, saapuvat opiskelijat

Tourism Activities programme has hosted the first official international study module on nature sports tourism in Jyväskylä 14 August – 8 September 2017. 

Teachers Hanna Syvälahti and Timo Lehtonen, led by Programme Manager Eeva-Liisa Hjelt, have created a 3-4 week module that integrates the incoming students into a Finnish class and immerses all participants into the possibilities of Finnish nature tourism. The incoming participants were 9 learners from SŠGT Celje High school for tourism (Slovenia) and 5 learners from BBS Wittmund (Germany).  The concept has been tested and developed in previous years, with participants from Germany, Estonia and Italy.  The programme this time included e.g. kayaking, fat biking, nature trails, Finnish food and sauna culture, a variety of summer activities as well as great events.  For the Finnish students the module has also been an excellent opportunity for Internationalisation at Home (IaH).

The module is developed based on the current teaching programme at our college with the help of the ECVET recommendation to facilitate easier validation and recognition at the sending organisations. The module is described in terms of learning outcomes (knowledge, skills and competences) and the assessment is done in a valid, reliable and transparent manner.

The expected learning outcomes of the module were:

  • to use appropriate equipment in different situations (various outdoor activities)
  • to take care of equipment (maintenance)
  • to take care of different venues (preparatory tasks, service, cleaning, maintenance)
  • to utilize sector specific language in customer service situations and guiding (English)
  • to take responsibility for guidance
  • to take care of own safety and to take care of customer safety (theory of safety plans in practical assignments)
  • to co-operate in his/her working community, to work in a team
  • to assess his/her own work and actions

The  development of the module will continue in the Winter School which will take place in March 2018, when the Ma17b class  will study nature tourism activities in completely different conditions with another group of incoming Erasmus students.

Photos courtesy of SŠGT Celje

More information:

Teachers Hanna Syvälahti (at)jao.fi and Timo Lehtonen

International Coordinator Rea Tuominen (at)jao.fi

GBS St. Gallen in Jyväskylä

Board  members of GBS St. Gallen from Switzerland have visited Jyväskylä Educational Consortium for two very  intensive days 24-25 August 2017. 

The visitors were given an extensive overview of the organisation, education system and all the development going on at the moment. GBS St. Gallen is since several years a partner for the media  sector (printing, photography). They are also one of the external partners in the KA2 project Commercialpolis. One of the concrete aims of this visit was to expand this cooperation to other fields and to the strategic level as well.

Amongst many other things the principals and managers of GBS St Gallen (name list below) were introduced to Finnish vocational teacher training,  development regarding digitalisation of both processes and learning, quality assurance, language teaching and guidance processes. Teacher training was presented by Harri Keurulainen, Hannele Torvinen and Tuulia Kiilavuori from JAMK Teacher Education College.

Thursday afternoon the visitors met with Principal Pirjo Kauhanen to discuss the organisational changes and the VET reform.

Friday morning was devoted to regional development and global partnerships presented by Director of Development Anu Tokila and Programme Manager Marleena Tuuri.

 

During the visit both parties found out that, although there are significant systemic level differences, there are a lot of similiarities on strategic level that can be advanced through cooperation between the two VET providers. In the more immediate future there is hope to work on issues around digitalisation as well as staff and student mobilities. We are expecting the first mobilities to take place during this school year from electrical engineering and hairdressing programmes.

Participants from GBS St. Gallen

  • Lukas Reichle, director of GBS
  • Daniel Kehl,  deputy-director of GBS, head of vocational education and training at GBS
  • Thomas Klement, head of the technical departement of GBS
  • Patrik Forrer, head of the school of design of GBS
  • Nicole Bauer, head of KSD – social care team of GBS
  • Jürg Pfeiffer, head of paedagogical advice and support team of GBS
  • Michael Andrist, head of IT at GBS

More information on the Commercialpolis project:

http://www.commercialpolis.eu/project/about-commercialpolis/ project

Picture credit: Daniel Kehl

More information: Rea Tuominen, international coordinator

 

Trainee teachers from Germany

kotikansainvälisyys, koulutusjärjestelmät, osaaminen

Who are you and where do you come from?
My name is Lisa. I am 30 years old and come from Darmstadt. I love music and traveling around the world to get to know different cultures. Before studying I worked as a hairdresser. I love the creativity of this job. Because of that I decided to become a teacher for the haidressers.

My name is Kathrin, I am 29 years old and I come from Frankfurt. Before I decided to attend the trainee teacher program, I studied “Social Work“. I worked in a bilingual kindergarten and an after school club for primary school pupils. During my studies, I spent an “Erasmus“ term abroad in Stockholm and worked for a social project in Buenos Aires, which definitely encouraged me to apply for the“Erasmus Plus Program“ in Jyväskylä.

I am Michaela, a 25 year old trainee teacher from Germany, living in a small town next to Frankfurt. Since September 2016 I teach the kindergarten teachers pedagogy and politics. Before that I studied social pedagogy and worked as a social worker in the kindergarten and later on in youth welfare services. I like traveling and getting to know new people and cultures.

My name is Janine, I am 38 years old and come from Kassel. I studied Business Administration and English. In my freetime I like spending time with my family and doing some sports like Yoga. I am interested in meeting people from different cultures and countries.

What are you studying?
We are trainee teachers at vocational schools in Germany. Our subjects are “Hairdressing“ and “Politics“ (Lisa), “Business Administration“ and “English“ (Janine), “Early Childhood Education“ and “Politics“ (Michaela and Kathrin).

What have you been doing in Jyväskylä?
We stayed three weeks in Jyväskylä and prolonged our stay with a cruise from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Stockholm. During our stay we got to know the different campuses of “Jyväskylä AO“. We got a great overview of different programs related to our vocational subjects. We also presented the German school system to the students and teachers to compare similarities and highlight differences.

Trying to be typical Finnish, we went ice swimming! It was incredible and highly encourage it. The Finnish sauna afterwards was amazing! We also attended an ice hockey game, which we recommend. We also explored around the town, visited the Toivola Old Courtyard, went up the tower of Jyvläskylä and visited the church.

Do you think the time has been too short/long?
The length of time was exactly right. The program is mixed and well-organized which made the time fly by. It gave us a great overview about the Finnish school system from pre-school programs to vocational trainings and also the adult education training. Also the Introductions about the background of these programs where very helpful to understand the Finnish way of education. After school, especially in the evenings and on the weekends, we had plenty of time to explore Jyväskylä, with helpful recommendations of the teachers.

What have you learned during your stay?
In any case, all the Finish people we have met, left a great impact. They were all extremely friendly and helpful!

Concerning the vocational school, we realized that the school system is different to the German one. The main difference might be, that in Jyväskylä, they do a lot of practical work in school, whereas in Germany, most of the practical work is done at the workplaces. The hairdressers for example have their own client service at school or the practical nurses organized gym lessons for elderly people at school.

The practical nurse program is different to the kindergarten teacher program (Erzieherausbildung) in Germany. Finnish students get a great overview during their studies about working in child care, but also rehabilitation or dental care and working as a nurse for example. To become a kindergarten teacher, they have to continue studying at an university.

A big difference is also that Finnish students get free lunch at school!
Students at Jyväskylä College have a great chance to go abroad during their vocational programs, which the school encourages.

What have been the best moments during your stay?
We felt very welcome during the whole stay at Jyväskylä. Finnish people were cordial all the time. The teachers, the hosts, people in the streets and in the shops. They all were very helpful and made our trip great.

We saw nice places all around Jyväskylä as well, like old factories, shops and countryside.
At the hairdressing and beauty department we all were invited to enjoy a full-body-massage. It was an amazing experience to see (and feel) how independent the students of the first year were working.

We got to know a great overview of different situations of the schools daily routine. For example visiting elderly people and a kindergarten in the social and healthcare department or different workplaces in the business sector.

Also our weekends were very exciting. We stayed 2 days on a lake near Laukaa. We relaxed in nature directly at the lake while sitting in a hot tub and using a real Finnish sauna.
We also went to Lappland for 2 days to see Santa in the Christmas Village and some northern lights. Very impressing!

Give three tops and tips (based on your own experience) to someone who is planning to come to Jyväskylä.
1. Jump into frigid waters and ice swim followed by a traditional Finnish sauna!
2. Go to an ice hockey game!
3. Renting a cottage at the lake, equipped with a hot tub and sauna.
4. Dive into the Culture! Meet Finnish people, eat typical Finnish food and try local drinks.

More information: Rea Tuominen p.6159

Tourism Winter School

ECVET, kielitaito, kotikansainvälisyys, osaaminen, saapuvat opiskelijat

Who are you and where do you come from?

We are a group of six students from East Frisia in Germany. Our names are Angelina (24), Fenna (25), Nadja (27), Imke (23), Julia (23), and Deike (23).

What are you studying?

We are in the second and third year of a school for business administration with the subject tourism in Wittmund, Germany. We learn a lot about marketing, accounting and the management from companies, especially tourism companies like tourist information, bus companies or hotels.

Our school includes three work placements, each of them takes 6 months. We can collect many experiences in that time.

What have you been doing in Jyväskylä?

We were on a school for tourism and did many interesting things in Jyväskylä. The special attention was sustainability in other European countries, how to do tourism activities in bigger groups and how to act with problems while guiding a group. We did many winter sports like snowshoeing, fat biking and cross-country skiing. We were doing some sports we have not done before and we have collected great experiences.

How long have you stayed in Jyväskylä?

We were in Jyväskylä for two weeks. (11.03.-25.03.2017)

Do you think the time has been too short (why?), too long (why?)

It was a perfect time for winter tourism. The time was not too long or too short. It was very physical to do all the kinds of sports all day but in the two weeks we had the chance to do some sports two times to assure the skills.

What have you learned during your stay?

At first, we learned how to work in a group and of course the new sports. As a second aspect, we learned lots of the culture and the people in Finland. It was awesome to become friends with some classmates, to spent time with them and to be in another country.

What have been the best moments during your stay?  

The best moments were definitely the excursions to different places, the flexibility of the teachers and the program, the different kinds of sports and the people. Our class became more a class like before the trip and we are now a good team. The people we met were also great, they were so nice to us and it will be a pleasure to meet them again.

Give three tops and tips (based on your own experience) to someone who is planning to come to Jyväskylä. How should they prepare? What should they do/see/visit/experience?

  1. Visit the tower of Jyväskylä. You will have a great view of Jyväskylä and the lakes around the city.
  2. Go to an Ice-Hockey game. The spirit is incredible.
  3. If you have, the chance enjoy a finish sauna and go after it into the icy lake to cool down.
  4. On a nice clearly evening in the right time, you have to see the northern lights.

More information Timo Lehtonen and Hanna Syvälahti

More visitors from VWNotts

ECVET, globaalistuminen, henkilöstö, koulutusjärjestelmät, opiskelijaliikkuvuus, osaaminen, saapuvat opiskelijat

Jyväskylä Educational Consortium had the pleasure of hosting Mr. Andrew King (Director of Innovation and Strategy) and Ms. Kadri Saat (International Coordinator)  from our partner college in Mansfield, UK for three days between 10-12 April 2017.

The visit was short and intensive covering many areas of mutual interest including entrepreneurship education, management of the blended learning (VET & Adults), use of technology, plans for the future as well as relationships with employers (delivery and what part they play in VET) and relationship with HE and progressions for VET learners.

Kadri Saat, Pirjo Kauhanen and Andrew King

The visitors impressions were very positive and although the visit was short  we were able to indentify several areas where we can continue cooperation and learn from each other. When asked to mention three main takeaways from the meetings and discussions they had during their visit Andrew and Kadri mentioned the following:

”Firstly,  the relationship you have with the local employers: the way you nurture these, the impact to the skills and competencies from an extended on-the-job learning and how the end competency test is often completed at the workplace.

Then, how the entrepreneurship is embedded across the college and how all students are encouraged to establish and run mini companies with the support from the college.

The partnership and strong collaborative work that you do with two local universities. The new centrally based joint company to share the resource, expertise and support the progression.”

Andrew King, Jaana Virtanen and Hanna Frilander visiting the new facilites at Harju Campus.

Kadri and Andrew would like to thank everyone who participated in their visit: Pirjo Kauhanen, Anu Tokila, Maarit Kaija, Hanna Rajala,  Niina Helin, Pia Kotro,  Sinikka Luukainen, Sari Mynttinen, Mira Ahtila, Milka Niskanen, Minna Ahokas, Jaana Virtanen, Hanna Frilander & Markku Tarvainen.

More information: Rea Tuominen p.6159

http://www.wnc.ac.uk/