Jamk University of Applied Sciences has been awarded the quality label of a athlete-friendly higher education institution. The aim of the Finnish Olympic Committee's quality model for athlete-friendly higher education institutions is to improve the conditions for elite and professional athletes to complete higher education studies while supporting their development in sports. This is achieved by identifying and recognising higher education institutions that meet the quality criteria defined for a top-athlete-friendly higher education institution and that wish to develop the dual careers of athletes in cooperation with the Sports Academy.
Jamk University of Applied Sciences and Jyväskylä Sports Academy have long had close cooperation, which guarantees, among other things, diverse expert activities and dual career guidance support for academy athletes studying at the university. Together with other EduFutura partner institutions, Jamk has also developed university-level athlete studies that can be completed as flexible online studies for all student athletes.
"Jamk has done high-quality work for a long time and has been an important player in the Sports Academy. With this quality recognition, Jyväskylä has a sports school at all levels of education, which is unique nationally," says Aki Karjalainen, Director of the Jyväskylä Sports Academy.
“The evaluation team has identified Jamk's commitment to being positive about top athletes, both in the school's daily operations and at a strategic level. The staff includes former and current top athletes as well as experts who have guided sports. They have an understanding of the requirements of professional sports and the skills to support athletes' studies. Of course, we also have work to do, for example, in internal communications. Information about different forms of support and flexible arrangements does not yet reach all of our goal-oriented athlete students”, says Minna-Maaria Hiekkataipale.
Jamk has already received an honourable mention from the Finnish Olympic Committee in 2019 for its positive attitude towards the implementation of athletes' dual careers. In 2020, Jamk was also accepted as a member of the Finnish Electronic Sports Federation (SEUL). In 2023, Jamk, the University of Jyväskylä, Gradia and the Institute of Elite Sports KIHU formed the Central Finland e-sports competence cluster.
With this recognition, Jamk is one of eight higher education institutions that are favourable to top athletes. The quality label was also awarded to the University of Eastern Finland and Tampere University of Applied Sciences. The University of Jyväskylä is also among the audited higher education institutions.
"Higher education institutions that are favourable to elite athletes are becoming a national network, which promotes the sharing of good practices and the further development of operations," says Jukka Tirri, Senior Specialist in Student Elite Sports at the Finnish Olympic Committee.
The quality label was awarded to Jamk, the University of Eastern Finland and Tampere University of Applied Sciences on 19 September in connection with the Dual career seminar in Vaasa.
