SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2011 Foreword

For years, Savonia University of Applied Sciences has con- was also compiled, and requisite contents and measures ducted determined and also fruitful work in order to bear to be adopted were discussed. These discussions led to the its social responsibility. Social responsibility is partly a conclusion that sustainable development must be part of duty whose fulfilment every one of us must ensure; but at quality assurance and be incorporated into the develop- Savonia, work is not limited to this alone. We have taken ment of Savonia’s operations in a straightforward manner. this duty seriously, and we consider it important that the perspective of social responsibility is taken into account In 2006, the working group discussing further measures of in our operations as widely as possible – in management sustainable development was convened by the Vice Presi- and in everyday activities alike. dent. The working group prepared a proposal on the basis of which a preparatory project for the sustainable develop- This report examines the starting points and objectives of ment action programme was introduced at the beginning our work related to social responsibility, and it describes of 2007. The aim of the project was to make an analysis of how the objectives are met. As you will notice, a lot was the current state of sustainable development at Savonia in done by the end of 2011. However, we must remember 2007, and, on the basis of this analysis, to prepare a pro- that a great deal still remains to be done so that we can posal for the sustainable development action programme meet the currently known challenges and prepare oursel- for the next few years. When preparing the sustainable ves to meet the challenges that the future will bring along. development action programme, information on the cur- rent state was acquired by means of surveys conducted Although Savonia is a significant employer, partner and among staff and students, as well as expert interviews and provider of education at the regional level, social respon- various data reports. sibility is an issue that the actors cannot ensure in isola- tion. Therefore, we look forward to an active cooperation On the basis of the reports, an action programme was pre- between various actors so that our efforts in the coming pared, providing guidelines and defining objectives for years will take us towards the profitable and sustainable Savonia’s operations in line with sustainable develop- goal that we have defined together. ment. It was defined in Savonia’s action programme that sustainable development comprises ecological, economic VELI-MATTI TOLPPI and socio-cultural dimensions. In April 2008, the Board PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR OF MUNICIPAL FEDERATION of Savonia University of Applied Sciences approved the action programme for 2009–2012. At the same time, in ROOTS OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 2008, comprehensive examination of social responsibility commenced at Savonia. AT SAVONIA COMMON PRINCIPLES APPLICABLE TO When fulfilling the duty assigned by society, Savonia Uni- versity of Applied Sciences has kept the ideas of sustai- OPERATIONS nable development visible in its operations in the 21st century. As the first concrete measure of sustainable deve- In its operating policy and strategic guidelines for 2008– lopment, Savonia committed itself to the climate stra- 2012, Savonia defined the common principles applicable tegy of the City of Kuopio, prepared at the end of 2003. to management, development work, communications When the SUDENET network of the universities of app- and social responsibility. Social responsibility is realised lied sciences was launched in the autumn of 2004, Savo- through high-quality, efficient, economical and ethical ope- nia was represented in it. At the same time, sustainable rations related to the basic mission, in accordance with the development was entered in Savonia’s action programme principles of sustainable development, enhancing effec- for 2005: “Introduction of Preparations for the Construc- tiveness. The sustainable development (SD) action pro- tion of an Environmental Management System”. At that gramme is based on the principles of continuous impro- time, background material on sustainable development vement and sustainable management of finances.

SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 2 Social Responsibilty Report In line with the action programme, Savonia has desig- vesi, Kuopio, Lapinlahti and Varkaus), and a community of nated a person in charge of SD, as well as an SD Stee- approximately 6,000 students and 600 employees. Mana- ring Group that consists of the persons in charge of SD at gement of operations is characterised by determined and Savonia and in areas of competence, student representati- goal-oriented operations in a communal manner. Cost-awa- ves and the Vice President who chairs the group. The SD reness and management of finances are steered by careful Steering Group annually reports on the implementation planning and implementation of the approximately 60 of the action programme to its Chairperson. At the local MEUR budget. In 2011, the financial situation was good level, the development groups of the units are in charge and provided opportunities for the realisation of high- of the implementation of the sustainable development quality operations. action programme. Savonia has profiled its organisational structure and mana- Incorporation of sustainable development into Savonia’s gement system, as well as the roles, duties, responsibilities daily operations has been fostered with various measures. and mandates of various actors. Internal supervision and When the action programme had been approved, intro- control, as well as evaluation of quality were integral parts duction to it was carried out during the same year among of management and administration. Preparations for chan- various staff groups. On the basis of plans prepared by ges at the universities of applied sciences and the required students, a sustainable development exhibition circula- alteration work were highlighted in the management work. ted from one campus to another at the beginning of 2010, The savings obligations imposed by the Ministry of Edu- posters related to the theme were created and common cation and Culture for 2013–2016 and the related cutting waste sorting facilities were designed for the campuses. of the entrant places played a central role in the planning Furthermore, Savonia has proclaimed itself non-smoking, work concerning the changes. The planning work of the paperless and odourless. forthcoming Kuopio campus also contributed to the altera- tion work. Quality assurance focused on the development Cooperation related to sustainable development has taken of processes and the improvement of the functionality of various forms. It has been carried out with the University of the feedback system. At the same time, sustainable solu- Eastern Finland, and a yearly clock has been constructed, tions were sought in the field of instruction as well as in comprising the annual joint events. The World Water research, development and innovation activities. Day, the Energy Conservation Week and various training events have been arranged with common topics. Savonia’s representatives have participated in the environmental Paper consumption 2009 2011 difference education network of North Savo and in the sustainable Network printing (pages) 2.63 million 1.7 million 0.93 million development cooperation forum of higher education insti- Photocopying (pages) 1.50 million 0.9 million 0.60 million tutions. Savonia was one of the actors in the Accessibility Paper (sheets) 4.80 million 1.7 million 3.10 million of Studies project in 2008–2010 and, in 2009, piloted the nationwide indicators of sustainable development and responsible operations developed for higher education RESULTS FROM RECENT YEARS institutions. In 2011, we concentrated on the accomplishment of acces- As the sustainable development action programme enters sible learning environments, reduction in paper use, focu- its last year of operation, thoughts are directed towards sing of energy use, accomplishment of odourless working the framework of social responsibility, which creates the and learning facilities and reduction in smoking with the basis for the new period of operation. Non-smoking Savonia campaign. The Non-smoking Savo- nia campaign won a national award as a good example of MANAGEMENT AT SAVONIA promoting non-smoking environments. Savonia University of Applied Sciences is a municipal federation owned by five municipalities (Iisalmi, Kiuru-

SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Social Responsibilty Report 3 Savonia aims to reduce printing on paper and photoco- the Administrative and Personnel Manager, the Quality pying, and to change over to electronic processing of docu- Manager and the Head of Communications work under ments. In 2011, the aim was to make paperlessness a natu- the President. Central groups steering the operations of ral part of operations on all campuses. Savonia University of Applied Sciences are the Strategy Group, Management Group, Quality Group, Education Based on a competence-based mindset, Savonia carries out Development Group and RDI Group. The areas of compe- its basic duties and social responsibility. Hence, particular tence are steered by the Competence Area Managers, who efforts are made in various fields of study in order to rea- are supported by the Operational Steering Groups, Instruc- lise the vision in areas of competence. The operations of tion and Learning Development Groups, RDI Groups, Trai- Savonia University of Applied Sciences are managed by ning Managers, Development Managers and Degree Pro- the President. The Finance Director, the Vice Presidents, gramme Coordinators.

We act to support social responsibility

MULTICULTURALISM Internationality is part of Savonia’s operations, and it gives Savo Vocational College and Ylä-Savo Vocational College. Savonia a significant role in the enhancement of internatio- The project provided international students with a total of nalisation and international competence of the region and 120 practice periods in the North Savo region. its industry and commerce. Degree students in the English- language degree programmes come from different count- Each degree programme at Savonia includes at least 5 ries, which makes the provision of instruction to persons ECTS credits in English, these being other than language with different backgrounds challenging. On the Varkaus studies. Courses in English can be aggregated into entities campus, internationality is visible in daily life since the for both Savonia’s students and exchange students. Stu- proportion of international students studying in English- dents are encouraged to study abroad by means of coun- language programmes is Savonia’s highest there. selling and various briefings. Internationality is part of each student’s individual study plan (ISP). At Savonia, it is possible to complete a Bachelor’s degree in English in four degree programmes in the field of Busi- International flavour is added to daily life by active stu- ness and Administration, as well as Engineering and dent and expert mobility, which is possible with Savonia’s Technology. In the latter field, Savonia also offers a Mas- international partner institutions in more than 30 count- ter-level degree programme in English. In 2011, the num- ries. In 2011, there were 250 outgoing students and 161 ber of degree students in international degree programmes incoming students. Experts preferred short-term exchanges was 337. In the academic year 2011–2012, there were 364 (less than one month): in 2011, there were 366 outgoing students from 31 countries in these programmes (see table experts and 128 incoming experts. Six experts participated below). Most students were European; 86 of them were in long-term exchanges (more than one month) at Savonia. Finnish and 62 Russian. Asian students represented 10 countries, Chinese students being the largest group with Intensive periods based on instruction are arranged in 71 persons. African students represented eight countries, international networks, such as the Neptune network and most of them from Nigeria. North American students came the North-South-South programme. Good experiences of from Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Interna- online instruction and projects implemented online have tional Practicum project worked on the operational model been made with courses of the horizontal English-language for the practice of international degree students. In addi- MultiPro module, which are also included in the curricula tion to regional enterprises and organisations, project par- of the degree programmes. This ensures appropriate integ- ticipants also included the University of Eastern Finland, ration of exchange students with Finnish student groups.

MECHANICAL INDUSTRIAL NATIONALITY, INDUSTRIAL INFORMATION INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, PRESENT, MANAGEMENT, TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS, BUSINESS, AND TOTAL % M ENG, STUDYING VARKAUS KUOPIO KUOPIO VARKAUS PRODUCTION VARKAUS TECHNOLOGY

Asia 25 1 18 45 53 2 144 39,6 America 10 1 32 7 9 0 59 16,2 Europe 27 16 30 70 15 0 158 43,4 Total 63 18 81 122 78 2 364 100,0 % 17,3 5,0 22,3 33,5 21,4 0,5 100,0

SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 4 Social Responsibilty Report Approximately 15–20 foreign students participate in this COOPERATION AND CHARITY WORK every year. The WellPro module was an equivalent entity in the spring of 2011. Students in the Master-level pro- In Savonia’s internal operations, multiculturalism is for- grammes have been able to participate in one-week inten- med by the different cultural backgrounds of students and sive periods at partner institutions: in Paris, France, and staff and as cooperation between fields of study in various Lu’an, China, in 2011. projects, such as the Snow Queen production and the Vire- Tori welfare activities. The number of language examina- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN tions taken by the staff has exceeded targets, which helps to reinforce internationality competence. The Accessible INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS Study Path project has led to structural changes at Savonia so that physically impaired students have better opportu- Some of the operations are realised as RDI activities in inter- nities for participating in instruction. national cooperation projects of higher education institu- tions. Currently, Savonia coordinates the activities of a net- Charity work is part of yTiimi’s activities focusing on inno- work that comprises 10 foreign universities and prepares vation and entrepreneurship. yTiimi has organised various new curricula in the field of tourism for Russian and Ukrai- campaigns whose proceeds are directed to a twin school nian universities. Savonia is also involved in the EU’s Eras- in the Democratic Republic of Congo, supported by Kuo- mus and Russia-related FIRST programmes and in a project pio-based communities. This school has also been sup- concerning teacher exchanges between China and Finland ported with the Valentine’s Day bowling event organised together with the University of Eastern Finland. Innowelfare by Savonia’s Student Union (SAVOTTA). In 2011, 150 2009–2011 is one of the projects within the Erasmus Inten- children started to go to the school, and they were pro- sive Programme. Savonia also contributes to the develop- vided with backpacks including a school uniform, note- ment of new degrees in the energy and IT fields in Russia, books, pencils, erasers and a pencil sharpener. Some of the Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Savonia implements the edu- teachers were provided with a briefcase, a calculator and cational pilot for farming advisors in Kosovo in 2011–2013, stationery. Educational boards and two globes were also funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, with Proagria acquired. The Student Union and the staff both had their and the University of Pristina as its partners. own teams in the Cycle to Work campaign, competing to see which team would reach the highest number of kilo- In the field of health care, there are projects concerning metres. Participants in the cycling competition also cont- Africa (development of curricula, student and expert ributed to development cooperation and health projects exchanges, and cooperation between higher education in Africa through the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund of institutions) and China. The international REMOWE pro- the Finnish Red Cross. Savonia donated the 2011 Christ- ject related to environmental issues and water safety is a mas present allocation of 10 touch-screen computers for project funded from the EU’s Baltic Sea Region programme, the Alava Hospital School. mainly aimed at transferring competence in the utilisation of waste for energy purposes between the project areas. The OCCUPATIONAL WELL-BEING project involves partners from Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Finland (Savonia University of Applied Scien- Persevering development of staff’s occupational well-being ces, University of Eastern Finland, North Savo Centre for has been pursued on the basis of the objectives set in the Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) Occupational Safety Action Programme for 2010–2013. and Estonia. We also have European cooperation in the Activities maintaining and improving working capacity development of curricula and entrepreneurship. have been provided both independently and in coopera-

SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Social Responsibilty Report 5 tion with occupational health care services. In coopera- TWO MAIN TASKS AND THEIR tion with students and teachers participating in the Vire- INTEGRATION Tori activities, we carried out the Add Years to Your Life project that was supported by the employer and was open The student is the focus of all of Savonia’s activities related to the entire staff. to instruction and learning. Ethical competence is one of the competence requirements applicable to the graduates The significance of preventive measures keeps increasing. at Savonia. Instruction conveys the adoption of the value The employer provides comprehensive support measu- base and professional code of conduct of the respective res that take individual needs into account, e.g. exercise field of study, the responsibility for one’s own activities and culture vouchers for the staff, various recreational and the obligation to follow the agreed practices. The reali- events and recognitions, support to various sports and sation of the principles of sustainable development in one’s hobby events (e.g. Kuopio Marathon, Savonia Running own activities is also examined in instruction and learning. Club) and hobby groups financed by the employer such On the basis of the competence acquired, the students are as the staff choir. well recruited into working life, which demonstrates the effectiveness of education. In 2011, Savonia introduced the early support model, where the essential idea is to tackle and document the Instruction is developed in close cooperation with wor- deterioration of an employee’s working capacity on the king life representatives, e.g. in advisory boards discus- basis of different signals at an early stage. Investments sing degree programmes, as well as in working life con- in the employees’ working capacity improve the staff’s tacts related to practice, theses and projects. The Open well-being and have an impact on the productivity of the Innovation Space (OIS) project related to instruction and organisation. Management aimed to foster occupational learning creates open learning environments based on the well-being by paying attention to issues such as work moti- needs of working life, the first ones of which have been vation and factors influencing the burden of work. We have introduced. In the OIS learning environments, cooperation provided for future changes by developing superior work, between students, teachers and working life representati- with various forms of change support and other individual ves to merge instruction and research, development and measures maintaining working capacity. innovation (RDI) activities as learning experiences leads to the development of working life. The first OIS pilot was OPERATIONS FOCUS ON implemented on the Varkaus campus in cooperation bet- ween the fields of energy technology and business admi- COMMUNALITY nistration. Judging by the views expressed by the students, working life and staff, it generated excellent results. Savonia arranges various pro-communality development and recreation days, such as the ISAT Cruise in August, RDI activities are carried out on the basis of the utilisation accompanied by the opening of the academic year of two of applied research based on the needs of working life, universities of applied sciences (ISAT cooperation between comprehensive practical data and the competence and North Karelia University of Applied Sciences and Savonia learning of various actors. At Savonia, we have been able to University of Applied Sciences). Different staff meetings better integrate the RDI activities into instruction and lear- in the units also add to the communality. ning activities in this academic year, and the diverse role of the students has been reinforced. Client- and student- Recognition of excellent operations is awarded annually. orientation is reflected in the satisfaction of both students It aims to promote the staff’s opportunities for working and stakeholders. The number of ECTS credits earned for in accordance with the objectives set by the organisation. RDI activities has increased, and the level of service acti- The staff is encouraged at both individual and group levels vities subject to charges remains good. to produce good results, high-quality services, initiative and innovation. Savonia has actively developed and tested methods of service design in various projects reshaping well-being. Savonia has created videoconferencing opportunities and The PALMU research project aims to develop new user- favoured the use of network connections in order to reduce oriented service applications and practices and production the need for travelling. The purpose of these measures is models that support the independent coping of the ageing to reduce commuter traffic and to enhance the staff’s occu- population in the social and health sector by means of ser- pational well-being. In May 2011, 17 campus bikes were vice design. The MEOK project aims at meeting challen- made available to Savonia’s staff, primarily intended for ges of the changing working life by arranging specialised moving between the campuses. music pedagogics training for staff working in different

SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 6 Social Responsibilty Report fields. At the same time, working methods and compe- tence in specialised music pedagogics are developed. In the Ylä-Savo region, development of milk production has been defined as a priority; Savonia’s project on natural resources became the engine of this development work. The needs of the Kuopio region were also met with strong educational options and development projects in the field of technology. The technology sector is strongly involved in energy- and environment-related research as part of the international, EU-funded SECRE project within the Nort- hern Periphery programme. Cooperation in the fields of energy and environment takes place with St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, as part of cooperation bet- ween the universities of applied sciences in Eastern Fin- land (so-called ISAT cooperation).

In order to develop the RDI activities, we have arranged various events such as ISAT graduate school seminars, the Creative Methods in RDI Work training, Savonia’s partner- ship afternoon and the Research Ethics and Good Scienti- fic Practice seminar. The RDI activities build on a financi- ally sustainable basis so that, in the long run, the invested resources generate profitable and valuable competence to society. In its operations, Savonia is committed to comply with the guidelines of research ethics and to promote rese- arch ethics. Well-managed RDI activities demonstrate the realisation of social responsibility at Savonia University of Applied Sciences.

At Savonia, where the staff is motivated and the working atmosphere is positive, challenges exist in the maintenance and development of expertise and in the agility to reform competence. Challenges are also found in the adaptation of support services to meet changing needs, in the up-to- dateness of technological abilities and in the fulfilment of the adolescents’ needs for and habits of using social media.

SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES Social Responsibilty Report 7 SAVONIA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES | P.O. Box 6 FI-70201 KUOPIO | tel. +35817 255 5044