Within the framework of the University’s global education services, the University has made a significant, multi-year partnership agreement with the Chilean Plus Finland education sector company. Teachers from the Teacher Training School of the University of Turku planned and will be organising a training programme for the Plus Finland’s selected trainers, after which these trainers who have received training in accordance with the programme will put it into practice in the local schools to train the Chilean principals.
– This new model of partnership and licensing will enable new scaling of our expertise and training programmes, as the local partner is responsible for the training and our own teachers are not required to participate in all of the customer training workshops at the location, explains Coordinator, Key Account Manager Ari Koski.
Plus Finland is a Chilean company working in the education sector in Latin America, promoting Finnish education and solutions in accordance with the needs of the local organisations. Plus Finland works in close collaboration with its Finnish partners from the education sector, and it has several, trademark-protected training concepts with basis on Finnish collaboration. The company adapts the Finnish education and school expertise in the local environment in the areas of e.g. new pedagogical methods of teaching and learning, digitalisation, gamification, and school well-being.
The newly made agreement has been provisionally drawn up to last until the end of 2025, and will include close collaboration in developing and implementing the training programmes. Throughout the extend of the partnership, the University of Turku has a right to audit and monitor the marketing, contents, and implementation of the training offered in its name.
– Only those who have participated in our “Train the Trainers” training can work as licensed trainers in the local schools, and only those who have participated in the training projects led by them will receive a diploma in the name of the University of Turku, says Koski.
New Thinking and Initiatives Arise from Encounters Between Two Different Countries’ School Cultures
The ten workshops of the training programme have been planned in close collaboration with Plus Finland. The planning was participated by teachers from the Turku Teacher Training School Muusa Jyrkinen, Tuija Niemi, and Katrine Arbol-Lilleberg.
– Planning the training workshops has been an interesting opportunity to think about pedagogical leadership and developing the school institution. Working on the transnational education programme together with our colleagues has been a rewarding experience on the side of our everyday work and has reminded us once again about the strengths of the Finnish education system. The dialogue between the school cultures of two different kinds of countries has also offered new perspectives, consider Jyrkinen, Niemi, and Arbol-Lilleberg.
The Administrative Head of Turku Teacher Training School, Principal Vesa Valkila has extensive expertise in transnational education expert services and their implementation around the world. He also rejoices about this new initiative which will allow the expertise and experience at the Turku Teacher Training School to be utilised in the training of his principal colleagues in Chile.
– The Finnish training school system allows us to test the universities’ research-based knowledge on teaching and learning in practice, in everyday life. The system is unique on a global scale and attracts increasing interest and trust towards the Finnish teacher training. This agreement is an example of concrete evidence for it, says Valkila.
– We see immense potential in this kind of licence-based model in the global distribution of our expertise and training. This partnership with Plus Finland offers us valuable experience on this, Valkila continues.
Text: Kati Kaarlehto
Translation: Lotta Junnila
Picture: Suvi Harvisalo
