Oulu City Board approved the project planning reservation for the city centre campus

The period reserved for project planning extends until the end of 2021. Before 31, March 2021, the university will provide for the city an information on functions to be located on the city campus, logistical needs, and how to fit them with commercial solutions. The university, Arina, and Kesko are together preparing three planning alternatives, which include plans related to land use, traffic, and parking.

The university’s aim is to build an appealing campus in the area, a building covering approximately 30,000 floor m². The university’s needs for facilities in the city campus primarily include learning and working premises, and also facilities for meetings, encounters, and events, that are flexible in terms of future studying, and working needs.

“It’s great, that the project planning was approved, and we can now go on with it. Next, we will determine more precisely what functions will be needed for the city campus, and what kind of user numbers and logistical needs this will mean. The planning work will be carried out in close cooperation between the City of Oulu, Arina, and Kesko. I believe that we will succeed in planning to Raksila a fine complex that serves the whole region,” says Jouko Niinimäki, Rector of the university.

Between June and September, the university held an online brainstorming session for the entire university community, the participants coming up with ideas about how the university will function in the future, what will happen on the city campus, and how to make it as good as possible.

More than 800 people from the university took part in the brainstorming, almost half of them were students. Based on the results, the university of the future is first and foremost seen as a collaborative and communal entity.