Studying in Tampere Region (SITR) University Network

The partners in the Studying in Tampere Region (SITR) university network are the University of Tampere (UTA), Tampere University of Technology (TUT), and Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK). TAMK merged with PIRAMK University of Applied Sciences in 2010.

The aim of the SITR university network is to increase internationalisation and international expertise in the Tampere Region, and to promote the attractiveness of the region. The network develops joint services and provides information on studying, living and working for the international students and staff of the three universities.

Studying in Tampere Region (SITR)

Studying in Tampere Region (SITR) was launched as the joint project of the universities of the Tampere Region in February 2005. The parties involved in the project were the University of Tampere, Tampere University of Technology, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, and PIRAMK University of Applied Sciences. The project received funding also from the Finnish Ministry of Education in 2005-2006 and 2007-2009. From 2010 onwards the SITR university network is funded by its member universities.

The aim of the joint project (since 2005)

The aim of the joint project is to increase internationalisation and international expertise in the Tampere Region, and to promote the attractiveness of the region. During the project the universities of the Tampere Region will:

• gather all the courses they offer in English for international exchange students on the Internet, creating a joint web site;
• develop the supply of instruction given in English in collaboration;
• create joint courses on Finnish Language, Society and Culture, Summer School, and e.g. course material on the Internet for self-directed learning of Finnish (UUNO 2);
• commit to the continuous implementation and financing of the supply; and
• seek solutions to matters related to local mobility of students and information between the four institutions.

The common supply of teaching offered in English will broaden the variety of courses available to an international exchange student arriving at a university in the region. Thus, the project aims to provide better possibilities for an exchange student to select diverse studies of high quality crossing the institutional borders of the universities of the region.

The SITR Agreement on special study rights for exchange students regarding cross-institutional study at the four institutions came into force on January 1, 2006. The co-operation between the four institutions has strengthened and reached new dimensions during the project. The SITR project carries out strategic goals set in the Regional Strategy 2007-2011 of the four institutions of higher education and in the UNIPOLI Tampere Treaty which was signed on August 16, 2006.

New activities and projects in SITR (since 2007)

- ICT and eServices:

• Creating and piloting of new IT solutions in co-operation with the national JOOPAS system.
  -> Synvinkel om systempilotprojektet (FVU) in Swedish

- Regional co-operation, Internationalisation and Employment:

• Working in Tampere Region project - a joint project of Unipoli | SITR & RekryTampere, funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education:
  -> Career information and events for international students:
  
  • SITR Working
  • Career Evening for International Students
  -> Connections with regional working life
  -> Participation in and funding of the regional joint project ”WorkPlace Pirkanmaa”

• International Training Opportunities for Graduates from Higher Education Institutions in the Tampere Region (INT-UNIPOLI) - a joint Leonardo da Vinci project, funded by the European Union.

• Welcome to Tampere Fair for new university students - a joint project of SITR, the City of Tampere, and Opiskelijan Tampere ry.
  -> Welcome to Tampere Fair 2008 (SITR News)
  -> Welcome to Tampere (Opiskelijan Tampere ry)
  

- Marketing and PR:

• Joint marketing initiatives as the UNIPOLI Consortium
  -> Studying in Tampere Region (SITR) brochure (pdf)
  -> Representing the region and its universities