At the signing ceremonies, L-R Jarno Tuimala, Hyria Education CEO; J. David Armstrong, Jr., Broward
College president and Ari Orimela, Hyria Education president.
Broward College’s President J. David Armstrong, Jr. joined with leaders of Hyria Education Ltd. on October 29 in Fort Lauderdale to sign an affiliation agreement with the Hyvinkaa, Finland-based vocational education and technology center.
Hyria Education is a private institution that enrolls more than 5,000 students in seven centers and sites in Hyvinkaa, and Rihiimaki, in southern Finland, just north of Helsinki. The affiliation is expected to result in the creation of Broward College courses in English there, starting in the fall of 2010.
Hyria Education plans to create an American-style program for its students, providing two years of education using Broward College’s program in Finland for students who plan to transfer to the United States to complete baccalaureate studies, to remain in Finland to complete their baccalaureate studies, or to enter the workforce. As a result of the affiliation with Broward College, Hyria will award associate degrees to program completers in business and technology programs, following a model similar to ones Broward has established in Singapore, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Peru and Vietnam.
David Moore, Broward College’s associate vice president for international education, and Monica Ramirez, academic dean on North Campus, in Coconut Creek, visited Hyria Education in June 2009.
“Our new partners in Finland are eager to have a link with a U.S.-based institution and felt that the connections with Broward College were mutually beneficial,” Moore said. “Finland already has one of the finest education systems in the world, 99 percent adult literacy and a growing percentage of the population that speaks English. Broward College is pleased to provide students from a member of the European Union with an opportunity to begin their American education at home and complete it in the USA.
“As a result of the action taken by our Broward College District Board of Trustees, we are honored to have the CEO and president of Hyria Education lead a delegation to Broward College to sign the affiliation agreement,” Moore said.
In all, Broward College currently has affiliations with 11 institutions in 10 countries.
Officials from Broward College and Hyria Education Ltd. at the signing ceremony. Top row, L-R:
Vesa Hiltunen; delegation member; Markku Loiskekoski, Hyria Education vice president; David Moore,
Broward College’s associate vice president for international education; Virpi Sanders, former education
coordinator, City of Hyvinkaa; Dianne Ruggiero, Broward College’s Finland program coordinator, and
Russ Adkins, interim vice president for academic affairs. Front row: Jarno Tuimala, Hyria Education CEO;
J. David Armstrong, Jr., Broward College president and Ari Orimela, Hyria Education president.
|
