In its final workshop seminar, the CECO project brought together a great group of speakers and participants at Ruusupuisto (Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyväskylä) to discuss what kind of education hub Central Finland would need.
In the morning, we first introduced CECO’s kickstart guide to educational business and then learned about a teacher’s sixth sense from Ampitio Oy’s student entrepreneurs. In the workshop, some participants were developing new innovations with K-S Yritysidea, while others brainstormed about the education hub.
The afternoon started with a series of brief talks about the idea of founding a “Jyväskylä Education Hub” by Jarkko Hautala from the CECO project and Niilo Mäki Institute, and Tuulia Kiilavuori representing OPTIMI, the JAMK-led EdTech ecosystem project starting in September; Andrey Veremenko from Education Finland; Heidi Lammassaari from Helsinki Education Hub; Pasi Ikonen from the Faculty of Education and Psychology; and Pasi Raiskinmäki, Vice Rector of the University of Jyväskylä. In addition, EduCluster Finland’s acting CEO Sanna Nummela joined the panel discussion.
During the day, several things became evident. Local students, entrepreneurs, and academics strongly need an open community focused on the education sector that facilitates networking and collaboration. This community would not overlap with existing ones, but could provide an important foundation for the growth of the local scene, which could then also feed into existing business support systems.
We also learned that local higher education institutions have resources, through the new OPTIMI project and affiliated faculty personnel, to start coordinating the “hub” functions. National-level support is also available from organizations such as Education Finland and Helsinki Education Hub, which provide valuable experience and models for developing the ecosystem.
It is time to move from discussion to action. CECO will initiate a meeting with local stakeholders to decide on next steps.
