Jyväskylä, Finland · Working internationally

Education changes when peoplemeet, question and adapt.

PEDU connects institutions worldwide with Finnish and Nordic education expertise through tailored educational visits, professional-development programmes and international partnerships.

  • EMI
  • Neurodiversity & inclusion
  • Finnish EdTech
  • EU & regional projects
  • Nordic sustainability

For universities, schools, municipalities and education organisations worldwide—from focused 1–5 day visits to longer development programmes, laboratory pilots and partnerships.

Based in JyväskyläFinland’s education city

Built for institutionsUniversities, schools and education leaders

International by designFinland, Europe and worldwide

A clear route forward

From interest to a scoped programme.

Your institutionContext and purpose
Finland · PEDUA programme built to fit
  1. 01Share your context

    Goals, participants, timing, language and intended result.

  2. 02Check the fit

    PEDU reviews the request and identifies a realistic route.

  3. 03Confirm the scope

    Activities, responsibilities, budget and payment arrangements are agreed in writing.

  4. 04Learn and follow through

    We coordinate the programme and identify the useful next step afterwards.

ObserveSee practice in its real setting.
QuestionLook beneath the visible method.
CompareRelate it to your own context.
AdaptTurn insight into responsible action.

How we can work together

One starting point. Three directions.

Tell us what your institution wants to achieve; PEDU will identify the most relevant route forward.

Learn

Experience education in Finland

Tailored visits and professional learning for educators, leaders and university staff.

Explore programmes

Develop

Turn observation into experimentation

Adapt selected ideas through FinLab, consultancy and institution-specific development.

Discover FinLab

Connect

Build academic partnerships

Coordinate scholars, events and education relationships between Finland, Europe and Central Asia.

Explore partnerships
A PEDU professional-learning workshop in a Finnish university setting
Meet the people Institutional visits and expert dialogue

Learning is an encounter

Not a tour. A carefully designed learning journey.

We connect observation with expert dialogue, cultural context and guided reflection—then help participants decide what is meaningful in their own setting.

Shape your learning journey
A participant carrying a Prime Education Finland programme bag
Make sense together Workshops, questions and reflection

Featured programme themes

Structured examples. Tailored delivery.

These are starting points rather than fixed packages. Content, contributors and visits are selected after we understand your needs.

Erasmus+ and funded mobility

Planning a learning visit to Finland?

PEDU can design a programme around your project objectives for adult education, teacher training, digitalisation, inclusion and other themes.

Discuss your mobility

Finnish Education Laboratory

From observing practice to testing what works locally.

FinLab is currently running at Renaissance Educational University in Tashkent. PEDU supported its development as a Finnish-inspired environment where educators can test, compare and adapt selected ideas from Finland and other education systems.

Finnish-inspired. Internationally informed. Locally tested.

Academic cooperation

Connections built for real cooperation.

From one informed introduction to a coordinated exchange, PEDU helps turn international interest into a workable next step.

Frequently asked questions

Before the first conversation.

These answers explain how PEDU can help. A tailored scope is always agreed after we understand the context and intended outcome.

Finland programmes

Who can work with PEDU?

We work with universities, schools, education authorities, professional-development providers, NGOs and other organisations that want to learn from Finnish expertise in a way that is relevant to their own context.

Are your Finland programmes fixed packages?

No. The website shows sample themes, but each programme is designed around your goals, participants, timeframe, language needs and intended results. The PEDU Navigator is the best place to begin.

Can PEDU support visas and practical arrangements?

Yes. When a programme is confirmed, PEDU can advise on programme-related documentation and practical arrangements such as accommodation, local transfers, meals, visits and expert coordination. Visa decisions always remain with the relevant authorities.

Can an Erasmus+ or other funded project use PEDU?

Yes. We can help shape a learning visit around approved project objectives in areas such as adult education, teacher development, digitalisation and inclusive education.

How are costs agreed?

After the initial discussion, PEDU prepares a written scope with the agreed activities, responsibilities, timing and budget. Detailed programme design and delivery begin once the commercial arrangements are confirmed.

Central Asia cooperation

What does PEDU mean by a gateway to Central Asia?

PEDU helps European education and academic organisations understand the regional context, identify relevant institutional contacts and shape cooperation that has a realistic purpose and route forward.

What kinds of cooperation can PEDU support?

Depending on the need, this may include partner identification, academic visits, scholar participation, conferences, professional dialogue, curriculum or faculty-development projects, research collaboration and institutional capacity building.

Can PEDU guarantee a partnership or project outcome?

No. Sustainable cooperation requires shared institutional commitment. PEDU can design and coordinate a well-prepared process, but each activity moves forward only when the relevant organisations approve the scope, responsibilities and budget.

Can PEDU help test and promote EdTech made in Finland?

Yes. PEDU can help Finnish EdTech organisations identify relevant Central Asian settings, frame a realistic test or demonstration, and connect local learning with research and evaluation. FinLab offers one example of how an educational idea can be tested and studied in context. See the FinLab example.

How should a European organisation start?

Use the PEDU Navigator to describe your institution, goals, target country or region, timeframe and intended outcome. We will then identify whether there is a suitable next step.

Participant voices

What stays with people after the visit.

PEDU monitors participant feedback and shares only a small selection here. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and several participants have returned for further programmes.

Finnish schools impressed me with their openness and strong reading culture. Books, libraries, and newspapers were visible everywhere, and students actively engaged in self-assessment and critical reflection.

Classroom Teacher

Seeing student-centred learning in practice was transformative. Unlike our top-down system, Finnish education empowers institutions and teachers through strong bottom-up autonomy.

English Language Teacher

The professional development programme was exceptionally high-quality. I gained valuable knowledge and skills, and learning about Finland’s education, culture, and daily life showed me many aspects worth adopting — especially the deep respect for human dignity. Even in a short time, I learned a great deal. I found no shortcomings; everything was excellent. Thank you, Ilkhom.

Head of Teacher Training Department

The professional development programme was very well structured and valuable.

Vice Rector

Dr. Sanho Chung 鍾燊豪Video reflection from a PEDU learning programme.Watch testimonial

National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Dr. Cherng Fu-Yin 程芙茵Video reflection from a PEDU learning programme.Watch testimonial

National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan

Visits & evidence

Real people. Real learning. Real places.

These photographs come from PEDU programmes and education visits in Jyväskylä. They show the sessions, institutional encounters, learning environments and relationships behind our work.

Explore the evidence gallery
PEDU programme delegation gathered in Jyväskylä
Delegation · JyväskyläPhoto: Satu Leinonen
University expert presenting an English-medium instruction session
EMI expertisePhoto: A. Karayel
International educators walking between programme locations
Campus encountersPhoto: A. Karayel
International educator group taking part in an outdoor discussion
Learning beyond the roomPhoto: A. Karayel
Programme participants walking through a Finnish forest
Nature & wellbeingPhoto: A. Karayel
PEDU host and international visitors celebrating their connection
Relationships that continuePhoto: Satu Leinonen

About Prime Education Finland

Rooted in Jyväskylä. Connected to the world.

The Finnish capercaillie—metso—at the heart of our identity represents courage, reflection and deliberate change: qualities that meaningful education requires.

Prime Education Finland was founded in Jyväskylä, Central Finland, a city often described as Finland’s “Athens of Education.” It is home to the University of Jyväskylä, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Gradia and a remarkable teacher-education heritage. Finland’s first Finnish-language teacher-training seminary was established here in 1863 under Uno Cygnaeus, a central architect of Finnish public education. We share this history with international visitors and regularly include local museum collections and heritage sites connected with Cygnaeus in learning programmes.

Today, PEDU brings together experts from universities and education organisations in Jyväskylä and across Finland. Alongside programmes in Central Finland, we can coordinate learning sessions and study visits in Helsinki, Tampere and other Finnish cities when this serves the programme’s goals.

International relationships

Active contacts and partners across three countries, while building responsible new networks around the world.

PEDU Ambassadors

Launching an ambassador programme initially in Arabic, Chinese, English and Russian.

Expertise across Finland

Education specialists from Jyväskylä and beyond, selected around each institution’s needs.

212professional-participation records
56%women among programme records
74%education professionals and specialists
26%formal leadership roles

Across PEDU programmes and delegations in Finland and international cooperation. Explore the track record

Meet PEDU

A bridge between education systems.

See how Prime Education Finland brings educators, researchers and institutions together around learning, dialogue and responsible adaptation.

Watch the PEDU film
Prime Education Finland · Official film

Learn, investigate, connect

A growing education community.

PEDU Ambassadors

We are opening applications for Arabic-, Chinese-, English- and Russian-speaking ambassadors who can bring language knowledge, educational insight and responsible international connections to PEDU’s global work.

Apply to become an ambassador

Students & researchers

Three- to six-month internships, thesis projects and practice-based research around international education encounters and professional learning. Year-round applications are welcome from motivated students with relevant language knowledge and interest in PEDU’s areas of work. Placements are unpaid.

Apply or propose a project

Research-informed practice

PEDU’s Executive Director, Ilkhom Khalimzoda, is also a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Jyväskylä. His forthcoming collaborative article, Cognitive Dissonance as a Catalyst for Professional Learning: In-service Teachers’ Meaning-Making During a Short-Term Professional Development Programme in Finland, examines how unfamiliar ideas can become catalysts for reflection and learning.

Start with your context

What would make this cooperation valuable for your institution?

Tell us your goals, participants, timeframe and intended results. We will identify the most appropriate next step.

Open the PEDU Navigator

Our Finland Network

A Jyväskylä ecosystem for education, expertise and innovation.

PEDU draws on a local network of educational institutions, learning specialists and innovation partners in Jyväskylä.