Digistorm – digitalization in competence development.

Tampere University of Technology, University of Tampere, and Tampere University of Applied Sciences have joined forces in order to develop a new kind of mode of operation in the Finnish higher education.

Strong higher education is required in order to ensure the competitiveness of the Pirkanmaa region. SMEs have the need to develop their expertise, but the current forms of education are not, as they are today, applicable or sufficient to meet the competence needs of the future. There needs to be more on-line education, mutual sparring and mentoring as well as various expert services. Digitalisation affects education just as other fields: there is a need to digitalize post-graduate education in, for example, meeting the demand and supply, purchasing of educational services, implementing education as well as offering international education.

Pirkanmaa has three well-known universities, but it does not have a reputation as a place for post-graduate competence development even though the region has all the prerequisites for it. Pirkanmaa increasingly needs internationally relevant competences, and the universities can, in collaboration with businesses, boost and refine those competences. Digimyrsky – digitalization in the centre of competence development -project is carried out by the three universities, Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), Tampere University of Technology (TUT) and The University of Tampere (UTA). The project will produce an easy-to-use, open and accessible learning concept. The education comes from the needs of the companies and the aim of the project is to increase the accessibility and aptness of education.

The project has five goals.

The first goal is getting the companies to commit as long-term partners for university collaboration. This will create a functional and active collaboration network, as well as a common customer collaboration model for the universities in Tampere.

The second goal is to get the companies and employees who are affected by the growth and structural changes to adapt a more responsible and self-directing learning model. The model will combine new learning environments, classroom education and on-line education. This will lead to a blended model learning concept, which meets the changing needs of companies and individuals.

The third goal is to make the continuing education offered by the universities easily accessible, useful, attractive, easy to use and flexible regarding time and location for clients, companies and individuals. The project will produce a new, interactive on-line store, which takes into account the clients’ competence needs as well as functional digital learning environments.

The fourth goal is for the three universities in Tampere to offer a joint digital service concept of continuing education for the clients.

The fifth goal is to offer the companies in Tampere the opportunity to take advantage of international expertise and to create competences, which are required also outside of Finland. The project will create the required functional and active international networks.

Welcome to Tampere University of Applied of Sciences (video)

TAMK in one slide (pdf)