Strategy
Humak’s strategy covers the years 2025–2030. The strategy defines the mission, expertise, values, strategic choices, and vision.
With people, building a sustainable tomorrow
Humak University of Applied Sciences is a higher education institute that operates across Finland, specialising in community development, cultural management and linguistic accessibility. Together with our students, staff and partners, we are working to build a humane world that meets the needs of individuals and communities.
We seek to equip our staff and students with the skills and knowledge to establish a sustainable world for current and future generations. We are keen to be part of the collective effort to tackle global challenges. We emphasise interaction, community and shared development, because we recognise that an open and well-functioning society is built on individuals, communities and culture.
Our success is founded on long-term skills development, our extensive national network and the expertise of our staff. We strive for quality and impact in everything we do.
We are harnessing the potential of new technology to develop excellence at our institution and in the industries we represent. Our operations are based on the principles of sustainable development, which inform and shape everything we do.
Our expertise – Humanity as capital
Brighter future, here we come! At Humak, we are developing the expertise to support a more sustainable world, thriving communities, youth participation and the power of culture and the arts in the face of change.
The following global themes guide education, research and development at Humak:
Social cohesion and justice are being tested around the world. Climate change is reshaping lives. Building a united world requires strengthening democracy, and human rights and humanity. We need ecological, economic, social and cultural sustainability.
Wellbeing is built on strong and involved communities. Productivity and wellbeing at work rest on effective organisations, diverse work com-munities, social sustainability and innovative work processes. Key skills include career management, knowledge of professional life and familiarity with the workplace, antici-pating change and its impact, digitalisation and collaborative learning.
Communities – and community – are resources that support youth wellbeing in changing times. Intergenerational dialogue, youth participation and preventive work are important in promoting inclusion. Digitalisation, artificial intelli-gence and media literacy have gained increasing significance, with impacts on educa-tion, employment opportunities and participation in society.
Culture and the arts influence what we do, shape our identity and increase our understanding of the world around us. Events and experiential products are important for the economy, for business and for a region’s ability to attract and retain people. Regions where community, culture, technological development and business come together to create sustainable growth and a welcoming regional environment will be the success stories of the future.
Fields of study
The Humanities | Interpreting (Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree)
We foster expertise geared towards improving individuals’ opportunities to use their own language and communication methods in various everyday situations. We promote equality and linguistic accessibility.
Arts and Culture | Cultural Management (Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree)
We deliver expertise in production to improve the relevance, availability and accessibility of culture and the arts. We apply our expertise to strengthen the status of culture as an important resource for business and to promote its importance in society more broadly.
Health and Welfare | Community Education (Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree)
We foster expertise to improve the wellbeing of individuals and communities and to strengthen cohesion between different groups. We provide concrete tools for the development of organisations, youth work, work communities and adventure education methods.
Our values
At Humak, our guiding values are community, responsibility, equality and humanity.
Strategic choices
Our strategic choices guide us in strengthening our distinctive profile and enhancing our social impact.
At Humak, our unique, human-centred knowledge capital is reflected in our RDI solutions, which draw on our understanding of communities and interaction. We are expanding and strengthening our research, development and innovation to meet the diverse needs of our fields and of society. We particularly emphasise business cooperation. We offer our students opportunities to study in inspiring regional, national and international RDI environments.
We focus our RDI activities on the challenges facing society, through the following cross-cutting global themes:
- A more sustainable world
- Thriving communities
- Youth and inclusion
- Arts and culture as a force for change
These four themes reflect future development trends, and they inform and inspire our education and training, our development work and our applied research. These themes guide us in identifying partners – networks, ecosystems and centres of excellence – that best align with our aims at Humak.
In our research, development and innovation, we recognise the principles of sustainable and technological development. Through our RDI activities, we are transforming the work landscape and fostering social innovation.
The future of work will demand an increasing number of graduates. At Humak, we are responding to these needs, both national and international, by developing new undergraduate (AMK, i.e. Bachelor’s) and graduate (YAMK, i.e. Master’s) degree programmes. We seek to enhance the standing of degree qualifications in the labour market. We are developing English-language degree programmes and refining our existing educational offerings, tailoring them for emerging customer groups. We recognise the diverse needs of our learners in developing academic guidance and support services. Our students have the opportunity to curate their own individualised study path, taking advantage of work placement opportunities and courses offered by other higher education institutions.
Upskilling in a career does not always require a new qualification. Lifelong learning offers flexible professional development solutions. We are expanding our profile as a provider of lifelong learning and designing our offerings to meet the rapidly evolving demands of professional life. We are identifying and responding more effectively to learner demand through forecasting, producing knowledge and developing our customer expertise. We are expanding sales to new markets and target groups and improving the customer experience. As a member of a European consortium of higher education institutions, we contribute to addressing the challenges facing our continent.
Partnerships help us achieve our strategic goals and strengthen our ability to respond to societal challenges. Strong partnerships with industry and educational institutions and within higher education are the key to maximising our impact. In developing our partnerships, we strive for equitable strategic cooperation that recognises the needs of all parties.
Our industry partnerships deliver socially and economically significant outcomes. Rapid technological developments, societal changes and the financial challenges facing higher education institutions require new ways of working. We are strengthening our engagement with industry and development partners by introducing a partnership management model to support our development work.
Cooperation between institutions, coordination of responsibilities and specialisation all contribute to delivering innovative knowledge solutions that strengthen society and higher education. We are increasing regional cooperation with higher education institutions, in education, research and development and across all services. We are strengthening European higher education cooperation by expanding our international RDI activities, offering joint training and supporting staff and student mobility.
Motivated staff and a dynamic student community are at the heart of what we do. Humak is a community in which both work and study are informed by a people-centred approach and designed to foster wellbeing. We support wellbeing at work in a variety of ways.
We are committed to strengthening organisational commitment and job satisfaction among staff, and to promoting productivity and efficiency that takes our human resources into account. We are developing employee engagement, satisfaction and wellbeing by investing in leadership and frontline management, in line with the needs of a multi-site organisation. We are creating a framework for professional development and career support.
Supporting our students is key. At Humak, our education is professionally oriented, collaborative and based on experiential learning. We offer support for developing study skills, with individual guidance and learning methods that promote wellbeing. At Humak, our students have a genuine opportunity to shape the university’s operation and everyday life; we encourage student involvement and consult with students in decision-making.
Our vision
An internationally influential specialist in community and interaction skills– advancing the field and making an enduring mark on our society.
Our graduates leave a lasting impact on society through their compassionate and human-centred approach.
In 2035, Humak…
- has established itself as an influential and international higher education institution specialising in community development, cultural management and linguistic accessibility
- is at the forefront of social innovation, delivering knowledge solutions for different industries
- is active in European knowledge communities and partnership networks
- anticipates future needs and can respond quickly and adeptly to various service needs to promote a more sustainable world, thriving communities, youth participation and culture and the arts as a force for change.
