Imatra joins LUT Junior University activities

The city of Imatra and LUT University (LUT) are strengthening their cooperation. This means that elementary and high school students from Imatra can participate  LUT Junior University – to the activity. In practice, Imatra has its own lathe so called junnu university model.

─ The added value of university cooperation is that students are offered a new kind of window for learning. At the same time, we shed light on what kind of higher education opportunities are available in the province and more broadly, Head of Education Services Minna Rovio says.

LUT University has already made a similar collaboration with the city of Lappeenranta in the past.

─ We want to make the path to the university familiar to Imatra schoolchildren as well, LUT Junior University coordinator Kati Koikkalainen says.

He emphasizes that it is important to get children interested in natural sciences.

─ It is in the interest of all of Finland. This way LUT Junior University fulfills our university's task of influencing society well.

Science teaching will be launched in four different areas: Future habitats studies, Long from wood as an elective subject, robotics studies and high school cooperation.

In the ideation phase, there is also an optional subject from in-depth and experimental biology.

LUT University's contribution can be seen especially in the Living Environments of the Future studies and at the upper secondary school level.

In the spring, you can already taste it

Junnu University is biggeractivities will start next fall, but already this spring there will be a taste of what's to come.

Teachers and students have the opportunity to participate on May 13–15.5. for the programming and robotics tournament, which is held in the premises of the university and university of applied sciences. Pupils also have the opportunity to participate in STarT festivals on 11.4.

Otherwise, spring is reserved for preparation. Next academic year's studies are planned and teachers are directed to cooperate.

The actual studies begin in the fall. Robotics studies are available for different grade levels. They are linked to the ENI-funded Nesttec project, where robotics is made familiar by emphasizing creativity and manual skills. Cooperation is also carried out with the cooperation school in St. Petersburg.

In turn, ninth-grade students are offered the opportunity to study as an elective subject, the study package called "Far from wood", which focuses on the versatility of wood.

LUT Junior University will in the future reach all the children of Imatra in the eighth grade at the latest.

─ We are preparing an extensive Living Environments of the Future study unit. LUT's know-how has a lot to contribute to this kind of teaching, says Rovio.

Eighth graders were selected for LUTin's wish to be the target group of the teaching.

─ In addition to high school students, we want to emphasize activities for eighth graders. If someone gets excited about science then, he still has time to raise his numbers for high school, says Koikkalainen.

Students study at school and visit the university for workshops. These workshops are planned from the subject areas of LUT University's education programs.

Lab, library and visitors for high school students

On the high school side university cooperation is concretized in different ways. For example, IB high school students can use LUT's library in their EE work.

─ In the natural sciences, laboratory study is also possible at LUT during the final weeks. It has also been discussed that overcollege experts visit us to hold classes, the principal of the Imatra joint lock Mika Strömberg says.

For more information:

Head of Educational Services Minna Rovio p. 020617 3404, go. rovioimatra.fi,

LUT Junior University coordinator Kati Koikkalainen, p. 040 584 2793, kati.koikkalainen @lut.fi