Period: 1.9.2021 - 30.4.2023

Content: As part of the ”Integrationsmodeller för internationella examensstuderande” project, Novia UAS has created the ”Framtidens flerspråkiga sjukskötare” Project. The project's target group is primarily international students in Novia's English-language nursing education, to improve their language skills and specifically to become more proficient in Swedish to make it easier for them to land a job and integrate in the Finnish society. The activities also involve Swedish- and Finnish-speaking students. These students often also have a need to improve their knowledge of the second domestic language. This effort is made to respond to the current need for labor forces in Finland. The språkklinik, Language Ambassador and Språkcafé are some of the activities that were born as a result of the “Framtidens flerspråkiga sjukskötare”.Språkklinik: is a space where students can participate in extracurricular activities to help them improve their language skills. Through the språkklinik students will be able to book individual or group language sessions with a teacher, organize book clubs and games, find tandem partners. Short language sessions that focus on current topics from the curriculum can be arranged according to the students’ needs. Language teachers can join students in the clinical classrooms when they practice techniques taught in clinical courses. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in the Språkcafé, an activity held once a week online/on campus that focuses on improving students’ oral skills in Swedish. The Språkklinik pilot project is going to take place at Alere, room C116, Vaasa campus. Språkklinik is managed by Terese Herrgård-Backlund. In 2022 language teacher Anne Wähä from VAMK will join the project and help develop the concept of Språkklinik. Students from VAMK and nursing students from Novia will have joint activities where focus is on using the Swedish language.The Language Ambassador: is an Instagram-driven activity that will follow international students in their language journey. It is a platform were volunteer language ambassadors share their experiences in learning the Swedish language, share tips and tricks on how to improve language skills faster and the tools that they use to do so. The aim of the language ambassador activity is to lower the threshold and to inspire students to realize the importance of learning the language. We hope that through Instagram, we will reach a wider audience. The language ambassador project is coordinated by Marie Louise Razafy Kjellman.The Framtidens flerspråkiga sjukskötare and all its activities focus on Swedish language leaning for international nursing students in the English degree program at Novia UAS but it is hoped that the activities are going to expand in Finnish and English language learning for all degree students in the future.For more information on the project, please contact the following persons:Språkklinik coordinatorTeresse Herrgård-Backlund+358503093141terese.herrgard-backlund@novia.fi , Language Ambassador coordinatorMarie Louise Razafy – Kjellman+358 50 478 4970marie.kjellman@novia.fi

Focus area: Interprofessionell hälsa och välfärd

Campus: Vasa Wolffskavägen 31

Financers: Konstsamfundet, Harry Schaumans Stiftelse, Otto A. Malms donationsfond, Svenska folkskolans vänner

Project manager: Terese Herrgård-Backlund