The City of Mikkeli is conducting a study on the feasibility of establishing an international education pathway. The study is being carried out by KPMG in collaboration with the city. Its goal is to gather background information that will support decision-making related to the creation of an international school.
The study is linked to the assessment of service needs for non-Finnish-speaking professionals and their families in the region. Mikkeli must ensure the provision of early childhood education, basic education, and upper secondary education to a sufficient extent to enable the recruitment of non-Finnish-speaking employees by local businesses. Additionally, the arrival of NATO’s Multi Corps Land Component Command in the area may further increase the need for an international education pathway.
The study is already underway, and the city and KPMG have distributed surveys to key target groups, including guardians of children in early childhood and basic education, business representatives, and stakeholders. The survey aims to identify the demand for English or other non-Finnish-language early childhood education, basic education, and upper secondary education.
The study’s outcomes will provide the city with decision-making tools, including survey results, a forecast of immigration trends in Mikkeli, information on options for implementing international early childhood and basic education from a legal and regulatory perspective, and insights into practices in comparable cities.
The study on the international education pathway is one of the City of Mikkeli’s initiatives aimed at assessing and improving services for international residents. Meanwhile, the recruitment process for the position of International Services Manager is ongoing, with the goal of appointing the new manager by March. The manager will be responsible for organising, developing, and leading both internationalisation and integration services.
Efforts to improve the English-language content on the city’s website are also continuing. The website will soon feature an AI-powered virtual assistant that retrieves answers from the Finnish-language site but responds to users in their chosen language.