In English

City for young people

For young people Kuopio provides leisure time possibilities of all kind. The city’s youth service is one of the main providers, arranging activities and guidance for young people.

The events can be seen in many ways in Kuopio, especially in the evenings, on weekends and during school holidays.

In Kuopio there are 14 Youth centres, and also clubrooms, skating halls, band rehearsal facilities and other places. Youth centres located around the city provide young people with guided activities, clubs, camps and events.

Events as highlights

Different events are highlights in a young person’s life. The city’s youth service arrange various events for teenagers. Live band events and night coffee houses gather young people on weekends and camps especially in summer. All the events are drug-free.

Kulttuuriareena 44 (Culture Arena 44) is a youth centre, located at Kauppakatu 44. In the centre you can experience, feel and see culture.

Internationalization is an important aspect of the youth services. International projects, youth exchanges and multi-cultural meetings provide opportunities for young people to be part of a global youth.

The youth services also work with young immigrants. They are warmly welcomed to get involved in all youth activities in Kuopio. In addition, there are special clubs and camps for young immigrants. A youth worker who has an immigrant background, provides assistance and support in integration.

The information society requires skills and knowledge in searching for, finding and using information effectively. The aim of the youth services is to assist young people to receive relevant information and advise them on how to act in society.

Safe network

Special youth workers work in a range of environments, in places where young people spend their free time. The trained youth workers form a safe network for the young people. There is also co-operation with other actors and citizens. The aim is to promote the well-being of young people and provide support that is needed in their daily lives. The youth workers have a central role in guiding young people to a healthy life style.

If you have any difficulties in finding your place after finishing basic education, the youth workers contact you and support you in finding your route to further education.

International youth workOver the years our organization has done a lot of cooperation with various organizations in Europe, Russia and USA. Most of the projects have done with European Union programs “Youth in Action” and recently “Erasmus+”.Youth Exchanges in Kuopio-area have been succesfull and local younsters have been more than happy to travel to meet other youngsters. We have found out that there is so much benefits and non-formal learning in youth exchanges that we will actively seek after new projects.

Experience within European Voluntary Service (EVS) we have over 10 years, both as a hosting organization and sending one. Recently we also coordinate EVS locally, so we´re able to host 3 volunteers every year. They work in our youth houses, local schools and local circus.

We are also interested to other kind of international projects. As an perfect example “music & disabled” – project with Jugendtreff Inside (BE) has increased activity and cooperation both locally and internationally and new methods and learning groups for disabled people have been estabilished. This program has been done within “Erasmus+” -program.

Kuopio – City of education

The city of Kuopio has excellent possibilities in studying, from quality basic education to internationally recognized Master’s and PhD programmes.

In addition to basic and upper secondary educational services maintained by the city, a wide range of other educational establishments in Kuopio offer opportunities for study.

For tertiary education, there are the University of Eastern Finland, Savonia University of Applied Sciences and HUMAK University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio campus. Savo Vocational College is a secondary educational institution, offering vocational and adult education.

Many other educational options are available in Kuopio, for both youth and adults: you can take courses in Community College of Kuopio, Open University, Summer University, or Open University of Applied Sciences (UAS).

Kuopio attends to basic education and general upper secondary education. Read more about many possibilities for Basic and upper secondary education of Kuopio.

University of Eastern Finland

The University of Eastern Finland, UEF, is a multidisciplinary research university with an extensive network of foreign universities and research institutions. The UEF is one of the largest universities in Finland with its 15,000 degree students, 20,000 adult education students and 2,800 staff members.

The University of Eastern Finland has four faculties: the Faculty of Health Sciences (Kuopio), the Faculty of Science and Forestry (Kuopio and Joensuu), the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies (Kuopio and Joensuu) and the Philosophical Faculty (Joensuu and Savonlinna). The main campuses are located in the cities of Kuopio and Joensuu.

The university is strong in research, particularly in health and wellbeing, forestry and the environment, and new technologies and materials.

The University of Eastern Finland offers instruction in more than 100 major subjects, and a wide variety of degree and non-degree programmes at Master’s and Doctoral level are taught in English. The UEF is one of the most attractive universities for foreign students, and annually it hosts over 1,200 international students.

The University of Eastern Finland is among the leading 300 universities in the world in several international rankings.

Savonia University of Applied Sciences