A year of positive structural change behind us – thank you for cooperation!

This year, we have been actively building a technical innovation university of the future. The marine cluster with its unmanned ships, the global sales networks in the world of ever-increasing competition, the rising significance of circular economy as natural resources grow scarcer, and the fact that digitalization leaves nothing untouched; all these factors create continuous need for competence development.

In the field of health care and social services, we engage in close collaboration with other Health Campus Turku actors. Together we create novel learning and RDI projects that aim at streamlining the future social welfare and health care services system. Our intensified teaching cooperation with, for instance, medical training has created interprofessional learning entities which provide a successful model on a national level. Simultaneously, we have been preparing for the major relocation project taking place next year from the long-standing Ruiskatu campus to the state-of-the-art learning and development environments in Kupittaa.

In the field of arts and culture, we have focused on highlighting the competence of our students and staff in order to offer a myriad of inspiring experiences for the people of Southwest Finland. It has been delightful to see that a great number of regional residents are interested in the views of the future experts of the development trends in the field.

The relocation of our Salo operations to Salo IoT Campus at the turn of the year creates new opportunities for student–enterprise cooperation. A close contact with working life is a crucial precondition for innovation pedagogy, our learning approach, to succeed, which is why we embrace every new and old cooperation partner with joy.

The mission of Turku University of Applied Sciences is to improve the working life, well-being and competitiveness of Southwest Finland. We will continue with this mission with all of you next year after a well-deserved break.

I’ll take this opportunity to wish all our cooperation partners happy holidays and a successful year of collaboration for 2018!

Rector and President Vesa Taatila

P.S.

This year, we donated our Christmas present money to Mannerheim League of Child Welfare, Southwest Finland. Our donation will promote the media education of children and young people as well as anti-bullying work. Mannerheim League of Child Welfare, Southwest Finland is a regional civic organization promoting the well-being of children, young people and families with children.

The Mannerheim League produces services for families with children, municipalities and professionals, influences the decision-making affecting children and families, and offers opportunities to take part in volunteer work for the well-being of children, young people and families.

Have a look at the Christmas wishes by Mannerheim League of Child Welfare, Southwest Finland.