The International House concept in Jyväskylä

City of Jyväskylä has ventured into an initiative to establish the International House concept in Jyväskylä together with the key partners involved. The International House concept can be described as a place (physical or virtual), where all the services related to promoting the overall integration of international population of the region and support for local employers to boost the recruitment and retention of international talents are brought together - by means of a wide network-based collaborative functioning. The policy instrument mentioned in the MILEstone project - The Integration Programme - serves as a guiding document for this endeavor. The services and support measures which the International House Jyväskylä aims to assemble can be broadly categorized under following themes:

• Enhancing employability and entrepreneurship for the international residents.
• Encouraging and supporting employers to engage in unbiased and diverse recruitments.
• Promoting holistic and two-way integration of the internationals into the local society.

The objective of bringing together services under “one roof/umbrella” is to improve the accessibility of the services for its users and to promote synergic collaborative work among the actors involved.
 

Stakeholder group

International House Jyväskylä is working together with a wide group of experts and key partners from the region. It includes Higher Education Institutions, Vocational Education Institutions, Regional Center for Economic Development, Transport and Environment, Regional network representing the Third Sector Organizations, City of Jyväskylä’s Employment services, Regional Council of Central Finland, Regional Chamber of Commerce to name a few. This amalgamation is based on the integration ecosystem identified and formulated by the Talent Hub project being coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä, which is a regional expression of the nation-wide Talent Boost programme currently running in Finland.