Haaga-Helia's teacher education in English celebrated its 20th anniversary
The English-language route to teaching has responded to a growing need in an increasingly international Finland. Over the years, Haaga-Helia has graduated hundreds of professional teachers who have built careers both at home and abroad.
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Professional teacher training in English has been offered at Haaga-Helia since 2004. On 23 October, the school celebrated its anniversary with a large number of alumni, students, teachers and other invited guests at the Pasila campus.
The Professional Teacher qualification is a qualification for professional teachers in their field for universities of applied sciences and vocational education and training in Finland. English-language training has played an important role in creating individual career paths to become a teacher.
– For each student, the pathway offers a unique route to becoming a teacher, while meeting the individual needs of training providers. As a whole, the training provides important national and international networks of teachers, says Crister Nyberg, Director of Haaga-Helia School of Vocational Teacher Education, who spoke at the ceremony.
Teacher training in English meets the needs of internationalisation
Haaga-Helia's English-language training was established in response to a real need, as in the early 2000s there was no teacher training in English at all in the Helsinki metropolitan area.
– At that time, you had to study in Jyväskylä, which was not very convenient if you lived in the capital region. At the same time, Helsinki was becoming more and more international, which increased the need to offer this training in English in Helsinki as well, says David Mauffret, lecturer at Haaga-Helia.
David Mauffret (right) is himself a 2004 graduate of the first English-language group as a professional teacher: "I am very proud to have graduated from the programme and to have been subsequently selected as a teacher trainer at Haaga-Helia."
Haaga-Helia's English-language training was established in response to a real need, as in the early 2000s there was no teacher training in English at all in the Helsinki metropolitan area.
– At that time, you had to study in Jyväskylä, which was not very convenient if you lived in the capital region. At the same time, Helsinki was becoming more and more international, which increased the need to offer this training in English in Helsinki as well, says David Mauffret, lecturer at Haaga-Helia.
Over the years, students have represented dozens of different nationalities. In addition to numerous European countries, they have been found in countries such as Brazil, India, the United States and Ghana. The current group consists of students from around ten countries.
– It is great to see that education is still alive and kicking! The groups have been very diverse over the years and have included all kinds of students, from language teachers to engineers, from basic education to higher education. A large number of them will remain teachers in Finland, says Mauffret.
The next application period for Haaga-Helia's professional teacher education is 8.–22.1.2025. You can apply for both Finnish- and English-language teacher education.
