Students at Kankaanpää Yhteislyseo and Honkajoki Upper Secondary School are offered 1–2 freely elective courses per year through the Open University of Applied Sciences. The content of the studies is planned together with the participants. The number of participants is approximately 10 students and the scope of the courses is 1–3 credits.

– Cooperation with SAMK Kankaanpää Art School has been natural from the beginning and has enabled us to significantly diversify the upper secondary school's study offer. Art studies are an important part of the studies for many students and provide a counterbalance to the otherwise very theory-oriented upper secondary school studies. The themes that change annually allow students to experiment individually or study art for the entire upper secondary school, says the principal of Kankaanpää upper secondary schools Mari Fabig.

Studies as part of broader cooperation

SAMK Kankaanpää Art School and Kankaanpää high schools have had a long and varied collaboration, but the agreement now drawn up brings more long-term commitment and goal-orientedness to the collaboration.

Kankaanpää Yhteislyseo's interest in art studies and Honkajoki Upper Secondary School's environmental expertise have given the Art School new opportunities to develop its own expertise.

– Through cooperation, we have also been able to implement joint development projects in which young people from both the university of applied sciences and upper secondary schools have worked together, says the lecturer. Tomi Kuusimäki.

– The cooperation agreement also serves as an important tool as part of the development of the GEO learning environment, which we are doing as part of the broader North Satakunta on the Waves of Green Transition project together with the City of Kankaanpää, continues Kuusimäki.

Developing cooperation between upper secondary schools and universities creates opportunities for young people to become familiar with university studies while still in upper secondary school.

– Under the Upper Secondary Education Act, upper secondary schools are obliged to cooperate with higher education institutions, and to our delight, in recent years we have found new partners for organizing studies. The so-called preview courses, which are mainly taken by upper secondary school students, are an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with the fields studied at higher education institutions, and through them many people's career choices have been strengthened, says Fabig.

Additional information:

Mari Fabig, principal, City of Kankaanpää, tel. 044 577 5280, [email protected]

Tomi Kuusimäki, lecturer, SAMK Kankaanpää Art School, tel. 044 710 6113, [email protected]