Student exchanges

The South Savo Vocational College has several cooperative colleges, which receive exchange students and arrange work placements within companies in their area. The students have a tutor at the cooperative college, which will assist with the practical arrangements during the exchanges. An instructor has also been assigned at the work placement location. Work placement is desirable and it is guided in cooperation with the sending and receiving institutions.

The exchanges are mainly funded with EU funding through various mobility projects. The exchanges are multidisciplinary so that students from all disciplines have the opportunity to seek them.  The exchanges are realized mainly to other EU-countries.

Specialist exchanges

Also, South Savo Vocational College faculty has the opportunity to visit abroad and become acquainted with developments in their discipline and to familiarize themselves with the international cooperation institutions. The specialist periods abroad are funded with project funding and often implemented in conjunction with student exchanges.

Student visitors

The cooperative institutions from various European counties also send their own students to visit our institutions and to familiarize themselves with Finnish vocational training and work life. We have had student visitors from, for example, the following countries: Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, France, and Great Britain. The international student groups stay at our college usually 4-6 weeks.

Specialist visitors

International cooperation is usually based on personal contacts. The international Esedu partner institutions, as well as other colleges and organizations, send teachers, international coordinators, and other specialists to familiarize themselves with our institution and to evaluate cooperation opportunities. Specialists have visited the South Savo Vocation college from, for example, the following countries: Holland, Slovakia, Great Britain, Hungary, and Germany. The visit durations vary between one day and a week.

Included in internationalization and specialist visits are also the European Union Comenius program assistant teacher work placements, which enable foreign students studying to become teachers to complete their work placement at South Savo Vocational College. Our institution has had assistant teachers from Germany, and during the school year 2009-2010 from Turkey.