The high-quality, contemporary education offered at Xamk is implemented in close cooperation with the working life. Worklife-oriented education enhances your skills of lifelong learning and you are given the competences required in developing society and the working life. You can study during weekdays (weekday-based study path) or speed up your studies by taking weekend courses or online courses (time-saving path). You can integrate on-the-job learning in your studies (work-integrated path) and also include courses that the other degree programmes on all Xamk campuses have to offer. The core competences of your degree also include entrepreneurship, digital technology and Russia studies. Personal guidance to support your studies and health care services are available on all campuses.
As a designer who has specialized in wood and wood-based material you have competencies to work as an expert of your field in a wide range of design and planning tasks. The use of wood as a raw material increases globally. Wood is one of those renewable raw materials which usage enhances worldwide the well-being of environment as well as the human being. To Finland, wood has its own special significance. In the future, you can be one of the growing number of experts whose contribution plays an important role in the developing of competitive export production.
You will have many employment opportunities in different design fields. You can work as a designer in industry as well as a designer in design offices. Several designers are entrepreneurs in their own design offices or in different combinations with the professionals of their own and professionals of other fields. You are also supported by Xamk in the establishment of your own company. It is possible that during your studies you make an innovation, development and manufacturing of which you want keep in your own hands.
The degree opens the doors of working life for example to the following tasks: wood designer, designer, furniture designer, expert of woodworking, product designer, industrial designer, teacher, project manager, R&D Manager, study chief, sales manager and entrepreneur.
The aim of the curriculum of the Xamk is to guarantee you know-how required in working life. Student-centered learning, quality, competences call for working life and flexibility are cruical aspects of curriculum.
The core of the competence-based curriculum forms of the study structure, which enables personal choices to build you own career path. The flexible proceeding of your studies is possible through year-round study offerings, online studies and combining work and studies.
A wood designer has the competence to work as an expert who combines planning, techniques and materials into a functioning entity. A wood designer is a developer of the field and also understands the economic realities.
The structures and furniture of courtyards, parks and other outdoor environments, and building components like balconies, doors and windows, need design know-how to an increasing extent. The understanding of sustainable constructs rise and wood as a local material responds to these challenges excellently.
The education trains to design and to productize innovative wood products and wood constructions to inner and outer environments and to work in wide-range planning assignments and expert tasks. The combination of traditional know-how and modern material knowledge and planning skills are in an important role in the studies. Establishing your own company and international networking are well supported during the studies.
Intensive collaboration with working- life is essential part of every degree programme. The connection between the studies and work is possible on different levels and ways. Beside the traditional practical training and thesis, you can do different kinds of projects linked to working life. These projects are possible to conduct with the study colleages of your own study field or from other study fields. Several research, development and innovation projects offer you possibilities to connect your studies and tasks offered by working life. You can also utilise your own workplace in your studies, if it is from your study field.
In Wood design, teaching is implemented as contact teaching and independent studying. You have the responsibility for your own learning and for giving feedback about teaching.
The degree is based on core competence and supplementary competence. The core competence consists of the information, skills and capabilities which working life and acquiring further knowledge and skills require of you. Your objective is to control the core competence of the field. The supplementary competence deepens and expands the core competence of the degree.
When studying Wood design, the main emphasis is on the integration of theory into practice. The project periods with architects, designers and other professionals are in an important role. During those periods you are able to see and try different approaches and to exchange thoughts with the professionals.
The development of your own ideas and assignments are taken forward in cooperation with the companies through the study projects. The modern workshops and the open innovation environment offer a good framework to generate your own business ideas and product ideas in multidisciplinary teams.
It is important to continuously search for information and skills from elsewhere and the course of International Workshop, cooperation projects and practical training periods, which are essential part of the curriculum, give good opportunities for internationalization.
The aim of the assessment is to support and make your learning visible. The assessment focus on development of knowledge, skills and competences. These are defined in European and national framework (EQF and NQF). Xamk has an application of EQF and NQF (assessment guidelines for students' know-how and skills (bachelor's level)), which is used in evaluation of your studies. Study courses are assessed in scale Fail/1 - 15 or accepted. Accepted level is grade 1.
The module assessment is conducted through qualitative methods. Your assessment methods can be for example self-assessment, peer- assessment or assessment discussion led by the teacher. Modules are not assessed with grades, and the aim of the evaluation is to help you to figure the comprehensive development of you competencies.
Student counseling supports your professional growth in acquiring the skills necessary in the working life. The counselling supports you at the different stages of your studies and improves your individual and independent learning skills. You are encouraged to make responsible and independent decisions in your studies.
Your personal study and career plans are build on the objectives of the degree programme and on the knowledge and skills acquired in the past. You will evaluate your progress and update your personal study plan at counselling meetings that take place at least once a year. In these meetings, your career plan, course options, practical raining, thesis and international studies are discussed.
You do not need to study again what you already know. In order to save time, you can demonstrate and get a recognition for the previously acquired skills, allowing you to focus on learning new skills and gaining new knowledge from your studies. Prior learning is valuable and can be made visible through the recognition process. You can apply for the recognition process if you have acquired degree-related competence in other educational institutions. If you have acquired degree-related competence at work or in your free time, you can apply for a proficiency test. It is essential that the previously acquired skills meet the aims of the degree programme and the particular course. Work experience gained during studies can also produce relevant learning. This learning can be integrated into your studies (formalisation of learning at work) provided that you have made an appropriate plan and agreed on the integration in advance. In this way, work practice and theoretical knowledge interact.
A course called Professional Growth supports your studies allowing you to discuss and reflect on the goals and progression of your studies and grow professionally by interacting with other students and teachers. Partners from the working life have a significant role to play as part of the studies are implemented by means of co-operation projects, practical training and thesis writing.
At the early stages of your studies you will be guided by tutor students. These senior students will familiarise you with the study facilities, practices and student community at Xamk and show you around the city where you are studying.
Your well-being is very important for all of us. During your studies, you have the support of the entire Xamk staff. There is a student affairs office and student health care on all Xamk campuses. Xamk is a comfortable, communal and safe educational environment.
Xamk offers excellent environments for your learning. Significant part of studying happens ouside the classroom. Innovation- and project environments (e.g. Xinno, Xentre, CampusIT and Logistiikkaverstas), different kinds of simulation environments and teaching restaurants, eLearning environments and working life and RDI –projects are your learning environments. You can also conduct your studies in two authentic local environments: in the forest and at the sea.
The design education is based on the concept: learning by doing. Because the design and culture sector is considered to be a skill-based field, its learning environments are based on the student's own active action. There is little lecture-type teaching. Instead, all the study modules contain different learning tasks and one larger assignment which comprises the competence objectives.
It is important to follow and evaluate what you yourself and your peer students are doing. Learning together requires interaction between the students and teachers. The teachers are experts of the field who instruct and supervise exercises, thus opening new opportunities to approach and to solve challenges which the student encounters.
Kouvola campus offers the design students modern computer and working facilities and material workshops. The workshop building expresses our learning idea and gives the students an opportunity to make models and prototypes.
Students studying in Xamk have good internationalisation opportunities. Students have a possibility to study abroad in a partner institution or do a practical training in a company/ organization or have them both. The length of the student exchange is often one academic period, during the second or third year of the studies depending on the degree programme. The aim of the student exchange is to improve students’ abilities to work in ever increasing international working life and to find employment after graduation. Student exchange is essential to the activities of a high-quality educational institution, promoting the students’ professional growth and expertise. Alongside interesting courses, spending time abroad also provides new experiences, helps make new friends, improves language skills and increases confidence. Xamk has a wide network of international partners. There are over 300 partners in about 40 countries. It is possible to apply for student exchange in every degree programme.
Internationalisation at home means completing a degree or a part of it in English. The English-language study groups include international students. Xamk has five degree programmes implemented entirely in English on Bachelor level: Business Management, Information Technology, Environmental Engineering, Game Design and International Business. International Summer Term studies are arranged in English between May and August. Internationalisation at home is a good alternative if student exchange is not possible.
The objective of international operation is to increase your readiness to operate in the international and multi-cultural working life. The student exchange is a part of the high-quality university studies and it promotes professional growth and know-how.
The education in the design cooperates with the foreign partner schools by organizing workshops, projects and by participating in international competitions.
In the design education, the Russian point of view will be included in some professional subjects and Russian studies and Russian language can be taken as optional studies according to your own personal interest.
Quality is valued at Xamk, and the staff and all students are involved in the development process. The focus is on constantly improving the quality of teaching and councelling, keeping the learning environments interesting and the content of degree programmes relevant.
We collect a significant part of the feedback data used in the development processes with surveys targeted at our students, our staff and interest groups. As a student, you play an essential role in the development of your degree programme. During your studies, you respond to several surveys. The course feedback, both mid-term and end-term, is a part of the Quality Management System as well as the preliminary survey upon admission and the education development survey and the graduation feedback questionnaire at the end of the studies.
The staff and the students discuss the feedback on different feedback forums, where they can agree on new actions and discuss the impact of earlier development measures. These forums serve as a means to voice the students’ opinions about Xamk operations and plans for development.
You can find more information about the evaluation and development of quality on the students’ intranet, Student.