Abstract:

A new inter-university collaborative project has been launched in Helsinki in response to the challenges of today’s language education challenges. Through this project (‘KiViTa’ in Finnish), Aalto University, Helsinki University, the University of Arts Helsinki, and the Hanken School of Economics will offer a common programme of language and communication studies intended for both students and personnel of all higher education institutions across the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

In this presentation, we will first outline the changing needs and challenges of modern language tuition in today’s globalized, digital environment. We will then present responses formulated as part of the KiViTa project by the four participant universities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. We will then share lessons learnt from the project so far and propose tools that can prove useful in similar future projects.

There are various issues that need to be addressed in the development of language and communication studies in a higher education context. How can we support more flexible study paths in language and communication studies? How can we improve the accessibility of language education? How can we help students speed up the completion of their degrees? How can we ensure fair and effective distribution of resources? What new pedagogical methods are needed in digitized language and communication teaching? How can we foster lifelong learning? In what ways should we strengthen the students’ cultural expertise? A further issue to consider is the growing demand for tuition of multicultural groups in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

Our presentation will outline responses to the great variety of issues we are facing in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Inter-university cooperation offers a solution to many challenges, and this collaboration should extend not only to course offerings but also to pedagogical development. Through the KiViTa project, we are investigating what kind of language and communication skills are currently taught at university language centres vis-à-vis the kind of expertise our globalizing society will require in the future.

The KiViTa project is designed to support degree students, personnel, higher education teachers and also employers in the Helsinki region. Its tuition offering is targeted not only at students, but also at the personnel of higher education institutions. A special focus is being placed on international students and their needs in learning Finland’s national languages, Finnish and Swedish and to encourage networking between teachers.

We will conclude our presentation with a discussion of the goals we have attained so far, and we will share best practices for the successful follow-through of similar projects. Inter-university cooperation benefits both universities and their students. Our project emphasizes not only national languages but also multilingual vocational communication and rarer, lesser taught languages. The pedagogical approaches we have developed as part of this project are tailored to serve the special needs of different fields of study and the goals of lifelong learning. The four universities involved in the project will continue developing new forms of hybrid and digital pedagogical methods to serve future expertise needs. As every project inevitably has a limited lifespan, the essential question is: What comes next? What kind of roadmap does KiViTa lay out for the future?

Keywords:

Inter-university collaboration, language and communication studies, modern language tuition, lifelong learning.