JOKA project
Challenges to Community at Universities of Applied Sciences Created by Continuous Learning and Internationalisation project (JOKA project)
Universities of applied sciences now have, and especially in the future will have, several groups of students who do not fit the traditional image of a young student completing their first degree. The transformation of working life is putting increasing pressure on lifelong learning. At universities of applied sciences, this is reflected in students of different ages, in different stages of life and with different types of study arrangements. At the same time, the opportunities offered by new technology are rapidly changing ways of studying and the dynamics of the study community. Internationalisation is also increasingly part of all degrees and continuous learning.
The aim of the JOKA project is to make different student groups part of the higher education community in a way that takes into account the groups' different needs and life situations.
The aims of the project include increasing the awareness of the various actor groups at universities of applied sciences, especially about the student groups most in need of an improved sense of community and support services, and thereby seeking to improve the range of services in the university of applied sciences community.
The project seeks to increase the inclusion of all student groups in the higher education environment and to support study progress and graduation. Read more about the project here.
During the project, SAMOK organised a total of three workshops in which new ways of working were developed to identify the needs of selected student groups and to respond to their needs in the university of applied sciences community. The target group of the workshops has been representatives of universities of applied sciences and student unions. The recordings and presentations from the workshops are freely available for use.
Workshop I
- Invitation and programme
- Workshop recording (Password K8?^2H?h)
- What is the JOKA project and why is it being carried out
- Target group analysis of non-traditional student groups
- Student unions' ways of engaging students in the student community
- Yhteisöllisyyden merkitys korkeakouluyhteisössä
- The importance of equality from the perspective of a university of applied sciences
- Summary and how the work continues
Workshop II
- Invitation and programme
- Workshop recordings:
Workshop III
Final seminar
Other materials
The project produced the publication A More Communal Higher Education Institution, released in December 2020, which compiled solutions for taking into account the needs of selected student groups in the university of applied sciences community. You can read the publication on our website via the following link takaa.
In spring 2021, to conclude the project, a survey was conducted for UAS students, tutors and student union actors that mapped the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on the sense of community among UAS students. The survey examined, among other things, how meaningful remote events and activities were from the perspective of participants and organisers, participation activity, the perceived sense of community in different study-related communities, the perceived challenges and successes in tutoring, and how remote activities could be developed. You can read the report compiled from the survey via this link takaa.
