VisitEDUfinn Ltd. is the only organization in the world offering online meetings with selected Finnish teachers and principals. Meeting a Finnish teacher or principal is open to everyone– teachers, principals, school administrators, consultants, education influencers, government officials, parents, and anyone interested in the Finnish education system. You can have a personal conversation, ask questions, compare experiences, or just discuss and share ideas about education. This service can also provide the potential for a more long-term relationship with a Finnish teacher or principal that can have a lasting impact. Here are some comments from individuals that have met a Finnish teacher using our service:
Ms Kontra was so kind and friendly, so I could ask her many questions. I could learn Finnish education well. 45 minutes is good time to talk easily.
"The session was what I wanted it to be. I'm only sad that it wasn't longer!"
Talking with a professional expert or colleague often provides the opportunity to learn and get new ideas. However, talking with a teacher or principal not only from a different school- but from an entirely different country and culture- can give you a whole new perspective. Things can be done in a different way. Challenges can be looked at from another angle. Your thinking can be broadened and enriched.
We put you in touch with carefully selected, highly educated Finnish teachers and principals with whom you can have a dialogue and discuss the themes that interest you the most. There are teachers and principals from different levels of education– pre-school, primary school, middle school, high school, and university. Each teacher and principal has his/her specific themes, but your conversation does not need to be limited to those. Teachers and principals are also prepared to talk about their challenges and how they overcame them, and what tools and solutions they used to fix a certain problem.
For instance, you can select to discuss:
For all of these topics, the internet is full of information. The impact, however, is a lot more significant when the information is linked with a personalized conversation and practical examples provided by a Finnish teacher or principal. Your motivation to improve your work and routines will be on a completely different level.
Below you will find all our current teachers and principals available for a LIVE virtual meeting. The list will be updated constantly so if you are interested in someone, do not think about it too long – he or she might not be available anymore after next month. You will find which level they teach, what they teach, and what are their specialties.
Here are the key features of the service:
Please read the following details carefully before booking.
Choose the Finnish Teacher or Principal you would like to meet.
Choose the expert you want more information about
TOP 3 TOPICS
– How did we get here: the process of the changes needed in 40 years for the success of Finnish education
– Towards the shared responsibility between parents and school
– Support and Special education in Finland
Ms. Penttilä has a long and varied career in education both in Finland and on the international level. After working as a teacher and principal since 1977, she was elected president of ESHA in 1995 – The European School Heads´ Association with 17000 members. After the presidency, the city of Helsinki asked her to use her expertise for the benefit of its schools as the first Head of International Relations in the Education Department.
Mr. Sinnemäki was one of the top 50 finalist at the Global Teacher Prize 2018. He is holding following degrees: Master of Education, Master of Arts and Specialist Qualification of Product Development (Research and Development R&D). Sinnemäki has 20 years experience on teaching field in different positions, class teacher, subject teacher and principal. At present, Sinnemäki is developing solutions to increase overall well-being integrated in different subjects at schools, both in Finland and internationally.
TOP 3 TOPICS:
-Qualification and Training to be a Principal
-How school is organized? What is Principal’s role?
-Management or Leadership? What Principals do at schools?
Mr. Pekka Tukonen is a School Principal from Järvenpää. Besides an experience of ten years in school leadership and taking part in several municipal projects, Pekka previously had a long experience as a Primary School teacher.
He studied pedagogy at Helsinki University. After finishing his studies, he worked in Spain, near Barcelona, during eight years, in one of the best-known private schools in Catalonia. His Finnish degree was recognized to a Spanish higher degree in Pedagogy and he did various post-graduate studies, as well as language studies (e.g. Spanish, Catalan and English).
He has participated in various conferences and has given talks to English and Spanish speaking education specialists. He has organized different visits related to education and has a wide net of collaborators in schools and universities.
Ms. Kontra is an elementary school teacher who would rather take her students outdoors to learn than stay and teach in a traditional classroom environment. She believes that by incorporating physical activity and new forms of functionality and devices into teaching, we can tackle many of today’s challenges in the field of education. She currently works at the International School of Vantaa close to Helsinki, Finland.
‘Ms. Westling is an educational psychologist and expert in the field with both grass root teaching experience from school and teacher education as well as research from these environments. She has a broad and holistic view of education and a deep understanding of human mind and learning. She has graduated from and later taught new students in an innovative program of educational psychology at the University of Helsinki. Her teaching has included lecturing, supervising pre-service-teachers’ practice, and facilitating group processes and process-oriented group studies. In her research she studies the quality of regulation of students’ learning and activity, at school and at teacher education. She has worked as an expert in educational program design at an academic level as well as in the world of international organizations.
Ms. Liukas is the author and illustrator of Hello Ruby, a children’s picture book about the whimsical world of computers, as well as the founder of Rails Girls, a global movement to teach young women programming in over 260 cities. As Linda is an extremely looked after speaker, you can also ask for alternative speakers from her team. Read more>>
Choose the cultural program you want more information about
Helsinki city center is full of interesting education related buildings and institutions. Get the know the city center with one of our educational experts.
Suomenlinna is #1 place to visit in Helsinki. With an official Suomenlinna guide you get most out of it. Read more>>
What would be better way to start your study tour than spending a relaxed evening with your local host before the educational action starts.
Have an unforgettable end for your study tour with a farewell dinner! Your local host will take you to a traditional Finnish restaurant where you can try plates made out of traditional Finnish ingredients.
Mr. Tukonen (Master of Education) is a school principal in a primary school in Järvenpää, a small city close to Helsinki. Besides almost 15 years of experience in school leadership and taking part in several municipal projects, Pekka has previous experience as a primary school teacher for many years.
He studied pedagogy at Helsinki University. After completing his studies, he worked in Spain, near Barcelona, for eight years, in one of the best-known private schools in Catalonia. His degree from Finland was recognized as a higher degree in Pedagogy in Spain. He also completed various post-graduate studies, as well as language studies (e.g. Spanish, Catalan, and English).
He has participated in multiple international educational conferences and has given talks to English and Spanish speaking education specialists. He has hosted various visits related to education and has a wide network of collaborators in schools and universities.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Kontra (Master of Education) is a special education and Finnish language and literature teacher who currently works in a primary school near Lahti, Finland. She has worked in many international schools both in Finland and abroad. Ms. Kontra is keen on functional ways of teaching and she believes that by incorporating physical activity and new forms of functionality and devices into teaching, we can tackle many of today’s challenges in the field of education. In addition, she is a partner of VisitEDUfinn Ltd.
Top discussion themes:
Mr. Annala (Master of Science) is a mathematics, physics, and chemistry teacher in a middle school (ages 13-15) in Ylöjärvi, near Tampere. In addition, he works as a “peer-tutor” helping other teachers, such as using digital platforms for teaching. In 2017, he won a “Future Educator” -prize for the active development of mathematics teaching. He has invented a method that motivates students for learning mathematics.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Sipola (Master of Education) is a primary school teacher in Vantaa, close to Helsinki. She has been working as a classroom teacher since 2001, and currently, she is teaching 5-graders (11 years old). She acts as a teacher tutor once a week and is a freelance educator. Ms. Sipola is one of the two winners of Fulbright Distinguished Awards on Teaching 2020-2021 for implementing STEAM education.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Numminen (Master of Arts and Bachelor of Education) is a Finnish language and literature teacher and also a preschool and kindergarten teacher who works currently in the kindergarten of the French-Finnish School of Helsinki (Lycée franco-finlandais d’Helsinki) with a group of five-year-olds. She has experience in both private and public schools and preschools. Ms. Numminen has a humanistic and cultured way of teaching and she believes that embedding a broad cultural general knowledge from early on will help children in all their fields of life and for them to build a better society.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Ronkainen (Master of Science) is a Finnish biology and geography teacher and later a high school principal, now also a project ambassador of ESHA (European School Heads Association). She has been working on many ecological projects both at the national and international levels. Her special area is future education: how to get a positive approach to the future and how to get the skills to solve wicked problems like climate change. After her retirement, she was asked to work as a primary school teacher.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Rapo (Master of Education) is currently working as the Principal of a Finnish international, comprehensive English-language school in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Earlier in her career, she worked as a primary, middle school, and high school teacher, an education planner, and a mentor teacher. Besides her extensive experience of Finnish basic education and upper secondary education curricula, she has gained new insights by working as a teacher in a French state school and as a principal of an IB world school. She is a popular presenter on Finnish education and has held numerous workshops and presentations for education ministries as well as international school administrators and teachers. Anne-Marie holds a Master of Arts degree in modern languages from the University of Helsinki, Finland.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Siponen (Master of Education) is a primary school and English teacher working in a 300-pupil school in Southern Finland (Orivesi). She has studied Montessori pedagogy and coordinates her school’s international Erasmus project about sustainable development. Ms. Siponen has a humanistic, child-centered approach to teaching. She has also six years’ teaching experience in a small Sami comprehensive school in Lapland in combined classes.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Vasara (Master of Arts) is a secondary school and Finnish language and literature teacher working in a secondary pupil school in Southern Finland (Orivesi). She is currently getting a special qualification as an environmental educator. At her school, she is a tutor teacher and coordinator for phenomenon-based learning.
Top discussion themes:
Ms. Rauhala (B.A.) is an educational sciences student at the University of Turku with studies also in the fields of psychology, business and HR, and sociology. As an education major, she is passionate about lifelong learning and the Finnish education system. She believes in change through education. In addition, Ms. Rauhala loves to learn new languages. She completed an Erasmus + university exchange in Spain as a part of her studies and wants to work toward everyone getting international learning opportunities. Ms. Rauhala is working for VisitEDUfinn part-time while finishing her studies.
Contact:
melina.rauhala@visitedufinn.com
