21st Century Educators from Finland® for Brazilian educators – A starting point for future cooperation
The key for a successful training
Jorge Washington de Amorim Junior, Professor from Instituto Federal de Rondônia (IFRO) says, that he was really pleased with the training.
“When we arrived, we were asked what we would we like to learn during these three months. I wanted to learn a bit about everything. Since I am a Business Professor I got really fascinated about the whole idea of TAMK Proakatemia, where we spent one week of the training”, Jorge says.
Virpi Heinonen, Team Leader, Latin America and Caribbean at TAMK mentions that the educational context is in a big change process with the constant arrival of new teaching methodologies, new technology and the distance learning. The structure of the trainings follows the requirements set by the partner and client and they are based on the models that have worked well before.
“That is the key for successful training concept” Virpi emphasizes.
Variety of themes
The idea behind these trainings is that the participants learn from the best Finnish practices and adapt them to local context. All study groups have as much interaction and visits to local schools and industry as possible. Their visits are arranged according to the individual needs and profile of each group and participant. There is also a personalized study plan to serve the individual needs of the participants.
“Three months were enough to get a taste of everything and understand what TAMK has to offer. For example TAMK Proakatemia, active methods, culture, social structure and policies”, Jorge mentions.
The participants’ background varied and they represented different fields of study. Therefore they were also interested in different topics.
“In recent years, the hottest topic has been distance and digital learning, and how to design that in a pedagogically meaningful way. Pedagogical know-how, team coaching and activating teaching methods in general, the collaborative way of working and of course the models of cooperation with the local industry and authorities have been the topics of these kind of trainings,” Virpi emphasizes.
New cooperations in the future
Jorge says that after the training, he has a better overview of what TAMK has to offer. He was most interested in entrepreneurial teachings, student counseling and guidance. Jorge is planning to come back to TAMK soon with small groups and focus on certain topics.
“Entrepreneurship is the word of the moment. We must innovate and learn new ways to engage people to the world and the economic market. TAMK Proakatemia was mind blowing. I would like to adapt that model to Brazil as well,” Jorge says.
“I think the demand for this type of trainings is rising globally, but of course there are many other countries and service providers that work in this highly competed area. What TAMK offers is personalization compared to other actors that work with more industry like approach,” Virpi explains.
Jorge says that TAMK met their expectations about the training exactly because of the personalized content.
“Now we have a clear view were to go from now on. This is a good beginning of our cooperation. I hope that our institutional relationship gets stronger and closer,” Jorge says.
Text: Riikka Mölkänen
Picture: Dimitra Panopoulou-Huovila
