ICT experts creating sustainable international growth for North Ostrobothnia
IKAPO
Funders
Project information
Project duration
-
Funded by
European Structural Funds - European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)
Project funder
Funding amount
622 369 EUR
Project coordinator
University of Oulu
Contact information
Project leader
- Development Manager
Project description
ICT companies in North Ostrobothnia need skilled professionals to accelerate their competitiveness and growth. Each year, up to 400 new international students start in the English-taught ICT degree programmes of the University of Oulu, whose capabilities can benefit companies already in the short term.
The goal of the IKAPO project is to optimally utilise ICT expert resources and strengthen retention together with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), as well as to enhance innovation capacity, especially in the areas of digitalisation and sustainable development.
For international degree students, the project offers work-life-oriented collaboration that strengthens their ICT expertise, a first-class student experience, and a smoother transition to working life. The project promotes equity by creating low-threshold encounters between company experts and both international and native Finnish students.
The project helps employers in North Ostrobothnia see international students as valuable resources and enablers of growth. In the long term, our region's labour markets will diversify, and structures that promote equity and equality will be strengthened.
Project actions
Through measures such as the new partnership programme, model for facilitating recruitment, work-life encounters, and alumni cooperation, the project aims to enhance interaction and mutual learning among a large pool of experts. As a result, innovative know-how based on cutting-edge research is brought more effectively to the use of MSMEs.
Project results
The project results include mappings of ICT competence areas and needs, descriptions of piloted collaboration models and partnerships and their impacts for different target groups, and reports on the implementation of more comprehensive monitoring and analysis mechanisms. With the published results, project partners and experts working on similar development themes, regionally and nationally, can enhance and direct their strategies and actions to bring new expertise into working life.
The Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE) has launched a new partnership programme that offers micro and small-to-medium-sized enterprises the opportunity to accelerate innovation and access research-based expertise through student collaboration.
Companies can participate e.g. in student projects and skills challenges, and offer scholarships, internships, and thesis opportunities. The content of the collaboration is always tailored to match the company’s areas of interest and competence needs.
ITEE’s degree programmes cover a range of fast-developing software-oriented areas, including intelligent systems and artificial intelligence, software and business technologies, as well as data and health technologies. On the hardware side, the focus is on electronics design and components, connectivity solutions and wireless technologies, and embedded and integrated systems.