Tikkurila Competence Campus project

The Competence Campus project is based on long-term, cross-organizational preparatory work aimed at finding solutions to the diverse challenges of a growing city. The vision of the Competence Campus has emerged from the desire to address the following challenges together with the city's departments and stakeholders: 

1. Vantaa has a significant labor market mismatch, meaning that job vacancies and the workforce do not meet. This is evidenced by thousands of job vacancies and thousands of unemployed job seekers. Companies in Vantaa struggle to find suitable skilled workers. This challenge is expected to grow in the coming years if actions are not taken to update the skills of those already in the workforce and those aspiring to join it. 
2. Vantaa has a lower level of education compared to peer municipalities, and there are not enough places in secondary and higher education. Vantaa is the most multicultural city in Finland, with strong growth largely based on the migration of foreign-speaking populations. The lack of language skills and qualifications is only part of the mismatch challenge. This means integration and advisory services also play a key role. Preventing inequality requires active measures and multidisciplinary cooperation. 

The digitalization of services, carbon neutrality goals, the realities of sustainable municipal finance, and changes in the municipality's tasks also drive the development of the campus. 

At the Tikkurila Competence Campus, continuous and lifelong learning and labor market matching are developed through a broad network of cooperation. The goal of the Competence Campus project is a diverse hub for continuous learning and business and innovation activities, which, once completed, will serve students, job seekers, employers, businesses, and educational institutions alike. Digital environment and new, more agile network-based operating models are being built simultaneously with the physical campus environment.

The Competence Campus is a significant investment in the vitality of Vantaa and the Helsinki metropolitan area, strengthening the business environment and improving people's well-being. 

The project has three key objectives: 

1. A wide range of educational providers jointly produce new continuous and lifelong learning services. 
2. The city and its partners develop more impactful labor market matching solutions. 
3. The campus is an attractive top destination for businesses and a vibrant part of the city. 

The development of the entire Competence Campus is guided by the principles of inclusivity, cooperation, and sustainability. These principles are applied in both the design and construction of the built environment and the development of services and operating models.

Cooperation 

The goal is for the campus environment to support cooperation between actors through shared use of spaces, adaptability, and digital solutions. The campus can function as a learning environment and an open innovation environment that encourages experimentation. It is ensured that, for example, educational spaces are as widely shared as possible. The main goal of shared use is to ensure encounters and cooperation between actors. The development of the Competence Campus is also based on cooperation, network creation, and co-creation of more impactful, efficient, and new solutions. The city develops the campus together with a broad group of partners and stakeholders in a way that has not been done to this extent before. 

Inclusivity 

The project focuses on building trust and communication and creating diverse opportunities for stakeholders to get excited, participate in co-development, and influence both the design and construction of the campus environment and the design of services and operating models. Once completed, inclusivity is intended to be part of the operating methods and culture of the campus area and the collaborative environment. Inclusivity aims for more user-friendly and need-based space and service solutions. The project also creates opportunities for residents to engage in dialogue, participate, and influence the design, development, and evaluation of the campus environment and services, and to receive information about participation opportunities. 

Sustainability 

The principle of ecological sustainability is implemented in the Tikkurila Competence Campus area through low-carbon construction solutions, energy solutions, and green solutions. The area's resource-wise energy concept is the first of its kind for the City of Vantaa. Additionally, the dense and urban area favors the use of public transport. The construction of shared and adaptable spaces is resource-wise and sustainable construction, aiming for the highest possible utilization and occupancy rates of the spaces. The project enables the organization of services moving to the Competence Campus in a new, customer- and need-based way. The campus's wide range of educational offerings and better employment and integration services help prevent inequality. Additionally, the project's implementation strongly considers inclusivity and equality as key aspects of social sustainability. 

The Competence Campus area will be built in phases by 2032. The first buildings will be completed in 2028-2029. 

The campus service packages will be developed simultaneously with the physical campus environment from 2023 to 2026. The goal is for some operating models and service packages to be ready and in use before the actual campus is completed. 

The campus project was prepared between 2020 and 2022. During the preparation, various impact assessments were conducted, partnership negotiations were held, and market dialogues took place. 

The Tikkurila Competence Campus is being implemented in collaboration between the City of Vantaa and private investors. The city is committed to covering the costs of municipal engineering, parking facilities, the construction of city educational facilities, and the implementation of three public artworks. City services, excluding secondary and lifelong learning education, will be located in leased premises on the campus. The city's investment in the area is approximately 200 million euros. 

The total project costs for the Competence Campus for the years 2024-2026 are estimated to be around 2.85 million euros. The budget is distributed across multiple sectors. The costs mainly arise from personnel expenses and the planning and co-development processes of services and spaces. 

As part of their work, a large number of city officials and employees participate in the planning of the Competence Campus and the development of its operations and services, whose contribution to the project's progress is significant. Additionally, the city supports the project with expert resources in communication, marketing and participation, legal matters, and financial administration. 

The project office of the Competence Campus project is responsible for, among other things, network management, stakeholder cooperation, finance, and communication. 

The project office reports on the project's progress to the steering group, which is responsible for the strategic management of the project. The steering group is chaired by Katri Kalske, Deputy Mayor of the Education and Learning Division. 

Additionally, a monitoring committee consisting of elected officials, city officials, and stakeholder representatives has been established for the project, which regularly reports on the project's progress and implementation. 

See the contact information here.