Partners
- HUMAK University of Applied Sciences
Finland (co-ordinating institution)
www.humak.fi - University of Bedfordshire
Luton, England
www.beds.ac.uk - University of Tartu
Viljandi, Estonia
www.ut.ee
HUMAK University of Applied Sciences
HUMAK is a leading expert and educator in applied humanities , pedagogy, and cultural management in Finland. HUMAK consists of three units: NGO and Youth Work, Cultural Management, and Sign Language Interpreting. Founded in 1998 in the context of the nation-wide restructuring of higher education in applied sciences, HUMAK was granted a permanent legal status in 2000. The university is operated by a limited company, Suomen Humanistinen Ammattikorkeakoulu Oy and has eleven campuses around Finland. Finnish u niversities of a pplied s ciences have three important legally based tasks: higher education, area development, and research and development closely connected with working life. Our motto and b asic value is ‘ Human Connections’ – for us, humanism means not only individuality but also responsibility for one’s fellow beings.
In the field of applied humanities and pedagogy, HUMAK offers a Bachelor’s Degree in Civic Activities and Youth Work (210 ECTS/3.5 years) and in Sign Language Interpreting (240 ECTS/4 years). In the field of culture, HUMAK offers a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Management (240 ECTS/4 years). All these bachelor- level studies are mainly implemented in Finnish. On the postgraduate level HUMAK offers a Master’s Degree in NGO and Youth Work (90 ECTS/ 2 years), a Master´s Degree in Cultural Management (60 ECTS/1 year), and a joint European Master’s Degree in Sign Language Interpreting EUMASLI (90 ECTS / 2.5 years). EUMASLI and the new Master Degree Programme in Youth Work and Social Equality (90 ECTS / 2 years) are implemented in English. Master- level studies can be completed while working full-time. In Finland all degree studies are free of study fees.
In addition, HUMAK offers continuing education and extension studies in the form of adult education, retraining and upgrading of qualifications, specialization studies, open university instruction, and other extension studies.
The Unit of NGO and Youth Work
The Unit of NGO and Youth Work has 46 principal lecturers, senior lecturers, lecturer-researchers, or lecturers holding academic degrees, six of which are doctoral degrees . The unit employs also two Research and Development managers.
The Unit of NGO and Youth Work offers studies in Finnish on bachelor and master levels. The contact learning of master- level studies takes place in Helsinki. B achelor- level studies are offered on five campuses around Finland: Tornio, Äänekoski, Joensuu, Lohja, and Nurmijärvi. There are 700 students in the unit of Civic Activities and Youth Work (210 ECTS) or NGO and Youth Work (90 ECTS) studies.
The contact learning sessions of the Master’s Degree Programme in Youth Work and Social Equality will take place in Helsinki and in partner countries.
The University of Bedfordshire
On 1 August 2006 University of Luton became the University of Bedfordshire when the University of Luton and De Montfort University’s Bedford campus were officially joined together. The new university is the largest provider of undergraduate and postgraduate education in Bedfordshire. It has around 13 800 students and 850 staff. Some 11 500 students are studying at undergraduate level, with 2 300 more studying at postgraduate level and for professional development. This particular development is located within the Institute of Applied Social Research (IASR) within the Department of Applied Social Studies.
The Institute of Applied Social Research (IASR) is at the forefront of applied social research in the UK. Highlighted as ‘world-leading’ in the Government Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008, the work of the institute has a powerful influence on Government policy and professional practice with children and young people in need and in trouble. The IASR has developed a range of innovative research methods which enable a clearer understanding of the lives of the children, young people and parents who survive on the social margins. Much of the IASR’s research is undertaken in partnership with these ‘experts by experience’ and is primarily designed to impact upon policy and practice in this demanding field. The IASR is also home to ‘Making Research Count’, a national initiative involving social welfare agencies and universities, which aims to disseminate cutting-edge research findings to practitioners in the field.
The IASR produces research and scholarship which both anticipate and shape key changes in policy, administration, and practice in the areas of social care, child care and protection, work with vulnerable young people, and youth justice. Additionally, it is building a trans-national comparative element into these areas.
University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy (UT-VCA)
The former Viljandi School of Culture was reorganised to form a public institution of applied higher education in 1991 and renamed Viljandi Culture Academy in 2003. In 2005, Viljandi Culture Academy became a subunit of the University of Tartu. Viljandi Culture Academy exerts its influence on Estonian cultural life primarily through the courses it offers. The general goal uniting all a cademic departments and programmes is to develop Estonian native culture, benefiting all modes of creative self-expression in Estonian society and supporting new trends in conformance with European educational standards.
Graduates of the UT- VCA are active in Estonia’s theatre s, national and international cultural events , and in folk and popular music groups. The goal of the UT- VCA to develop Estonian native culture has its direct impact on regional development. The majority of the students come from rural areas and cities other than Estonia’s biggest cities Tallinn and Tartu. Furthermore, graduates voluntarily accept positions in smaller regional centre s throughout Estonia. The UT- VCA has initiated such internationally known events as the Viljandi Folk Music Festival and the growing Heimtali handicraft fair, as well as Church Music Days and the annual Music Triad targeted at young musicians.
The total number of students is 834, including 4 externs. The teaching staff are 70
(full-time 41, part-time 29). There are five academic departments and one science and creative studies department. The UT-VCA offers 14 curricula. There were 90 graduates in 2009.
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