Hae

Samiedu Vocational College

Samiedu is an upper secondary vocational institution located in the town of Savonlinna. Samiedu is known as a high-quality institution and an excellent coordinator and partner in pedagogical development projects. Samiedu is a five-time winner (2023, 2017, 2011, 2007, 2003) of the National Quality Award granted by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture for developing good practices in vocational education and training.

The core competencies of Samiedu are strategic management, knowledge-based management, collegial personnel development, and auditing tools for teaching and learning processes.

Location

Samiedu is owned and maintained by a federation of education formed by six municipalities in the Savonlinna region. Savonlinna is a beautiful small town of about 33,000 inhabitants, located in the heart of the lake district in eastern Finland. The major industries in the region are tourism, services, the wood industry, and the mechanical, electrical and electronics industry. Savonlinna is famous for its world-renowned Savonlinna Opera Festival, held in the medieval castle of Olavinlinna.

Education

There are about 2,000 students, aged 16–60 years, studying in the various programmes of Samiedu. A third of the students are studying in one of the vocational qualification programmes provided by Samiedu, and two thirds are adult students in vocational upper secondary education and training, in programmes leading to further or specialist vocational qualifications or in apprenticeship training. The majority of the students are from Savonlinna or the surrounding municipalities, but many also come from elsewhere in Finland. Samiedu employs a staff of about 210 professionals.

Samiedu provides education and training in the following fields:

  • Health and Welfare, Business and Administration
  • Technology and Forestry

Finnish VET is highly individualized competence-based learning and on-the-job learning. Due to this, the duration of a study programme can vary from one to three years, depending on the personal study plan prepared for every student at the start of their studies. The study plan can be edited at any time during the studies. The competence-based approach determines how much practical training is included in the studies. A vocational qualification gives the student the skills to work in the field of their choice and makes them eligible for further studies.

Samiedu also organizes short job training courses in different fields, such as online courses, courses to obtain a safety certificate (first aid, hot work, chemical safety), computer-aided design and manufacture, courses to obtain a computer driving license, and courses in the fields of welfare, business and administration.

Samiedu Strategy 2026–2029

Samiedu’s strategy defines our objectives and creates a plan to achieve them as well as provides a framework for our decision-making.

    • We are a responsible and high-quality front-runner in vocational education – regionally, nationally, and internationally.

We develop and maintain professional skills, meet competence needs in working life and business, promote employment and continuous learning and equip people for entrepreneurship.

We help people thrive in working life and as members of society.

We develop the skills and enhance the vitality of the future in a collaborative way through various national and international networks.​ We have an impact on vocational training on a regional and national level.

    • Flexible

    • Learning-focused

    • Responsible

    • Client-oriented

    • We ensure the continuity of vocational education and training in the region and strengthen its impact in collaboration with working life and strategic partners.

    • We provide education and training that supports employment and further studies both regionally and nationally.

    • We promote entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial mindset across all our fields of education.

    • We enable learning in continuously evolving environments – on campus, in workplaces, and online.

    • We develop our staff’s competence and well-being in a goal-oriented and team-based way, reinforcing collaboration and shared learning.

    • We renew our operations and improve productivity by leveraging digitalization, new technologies, and solutions for the green transition.