Sustainably in Motion – Establishing a Physical Activity-Supportive Operational Culture in the Tampere Higher Education Community and the University Consortium of Seinäjoki

The Students on the Move project seeks to strengthen the wellbeing, study capacity, and sense of community among students and staff within the Tampere higher education community (TAU, TAMK) and the University Consortium of Seinäjoki (UCS) by creating an environment in which physical activity is embedded as a natural and integral part of everyday life, learning, and higher education culture. The project will establish permanent structures and operating models that promote the integration of movement and active breaks into teaching, support students’ active daily mobility, and enable the development of facilities and services that foster physical activity.
The objective of the project is to ensure that movement is not treated as a separate theme or a stand-alone initiative, but rather as a comprehensive and integral element of the higher education community’s pedagogy, resource allocation, spatial planning, wellbeing efforts, and collaborative practices. The project is structured around four mutually reinforcing strategic objectives: ensuring the permanent organisation of activities, embedding movement into teaching and guidance, developing campus environments and everyday student life to better support physical activity, and strengthening collaboration as well as service pathways that promote movement.
Together, these four dimensions form a coherent whole that influences the daily lives, experiences, and wellbeing of both students and staff, while, above all, contributing to the long-term development of the operational culture and structural foundations of the higher education community.

The follow-up project is founded on the Students on the Move development work implemented during 2024–2026 at Tampere University (TAU), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), and the University Consortium of Seinäjoki (UCS). During the earlier project period, the planning and initial implementation of Students on the Move activities were launched, stakeholder and support networks were established, practices promoting physical activity were piloted in teaching and campus environments, and active cooperation with partner organisations was developed.
Although positive developments have been identified in the operational culture, the work remains largely project-based, and its structures and modes of operation have not yet been fully institutionalised or embedded as established practice.

The permanent organisation of Students on the Move activities and institutional commitment at higher education level will be secured by designating responsible coordination bodies and embedding the activities in strategic and operational documents. Communication will be regular and multi-channel.
The integration of movement into teaching, guidance, and staff practices will be strengthened through workshops for teaching personnel, clear guidelines, a research-informed resource bank, and the systematic dissemination of functional methods and active-break pedagogies. Particular attention will be paid to blended and remote learning environments.
Student everyday life and campus environments will be developed to better support physical activity in cooperation with campus development. Measures will include guidelines for activity-supportive spatial and furniture design, improved indoor and outdoor movement routes, assessment of activation point use, staircase prompts, and better conditions for cycling. Students will be actively involved through student networks, peer sports tutoring, and low-threshold activities.
Goal-oriented and sustainable stakeholder cooperation to support student physical activity will be strengthened through close collaboration with student organisations, the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS/YTHS), cities, sports clubs, and other relevant stakeholders. The aim is to establish clear service pathways, particularly for students with low levels of physical activity. At the University Consortium of Seinäjoki, activities will be developed with regional higher education institutions and other local actors, taking local conditions into account.

The implementation of the project will be organised as a phased process encompassing planning, execution, deployment, and institutional embedding. All models, guidelines, and structures developed within the framework of the project will be systematically integrated into the permanent operations of the higher education communities in order to ensure that movement and physical activity are not treated as a separate project theme, but are instead established as a natural and integral component of pedagogy, leadership, campus development, and wellbeing promotion.

Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö (OKM)

Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö