Yhdessä lisää yritteliäisyyttä - YLY

The purpose of this project is to help young upper secondary level students to move forward towards further studies and to take their first steps into working life with the starting point being their own interests and strengths. The objective is to help the students to build contacts and networks to help their studies and their future, as well as offering immediate social support. The need for such support has been increased due to the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic which has resulted in many new distance learning arrangements. One purpose of the project is to build new network activities between representatives in upper secondary level education, Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) and working life.

The objective of the project is to strengthen collaboration between schools from general upper secondary level and those from vocational higher level in relation to working life. Additionally the aim is also to increase those student connections between themselves as well as with people from working life.New ways of collaboration and new kinds of working life co-operation will be built during the project. New paths to study, finding employment, and starting one’s own enterprise, will be considered. These new means of collaboration are a response to the obligations of upper secondary schools to consider university studies and working life. Also, they are a response to the need to build new study modules beyond those of the traditional school subjects in accordance with the new curriculum.

Common study modules of upper secondary schools and vocational higher-level schools will be built and developed in the project. This will take place in order to give an opportunity to upper secondary students to participate in UAS studies as a part of their actual upper secondary studies. The objective of the project is to find new opportunities for collaboration between secondary level schools and higher-level schools. Students will get enhanced knowledge and understanding of university studies. There will be different paths to university and from one university to another, including from UAS to a master’s degree in a traditional university. This supports moving smoothly from one school level to another, as well as to working life itself. One aim of the project is to enhance matching of school selections and to prevent inappropriate choices and cessation of studies during or after the upper secondary level stage.

New and better serving working life models and ways to connect will be built with working life development measures. They will benefit schools, students, as well as working people and could include for example a common project with a working life partner. The purpose of the project could be; development, idea generation, exploration, or another kind of work challenge. Alternatively there could be a students' challenge such as a "pop-up" type work task which has some connection with their studies.

There will be three working packages for the project measures. The first will be the collaboration of upper secondary schools and higher vocational schools, the second working life collaboration and the third to fit in with students of different schools and levels to produce something together. An expected outcome of the project is that upper secondary students will be better prepared to further their studies, as well as having greater work experience and more working life contacts. Additionally, students will have more social contacts and social support relating to their studies than what they have had during the Covid 19 pandemic. Upper secondary schools will have new connections and ways of collaboration between each other. Also, they will have as many new connections as possible with other schools and organisations together with their personnel from the real world of work. Outcomes of the project can be disseminated and applied outside the development network.