Jukka Tirri – Specialist Expert in Collegiate Sports and Key Contributor to the HUMKK Auditing Process

Briefly describe what HyMy Village is and what your role is in its operations HyMy Village (short for Hyvinvointia Myllypurosta, or Wellbeing from Myllypuro) is a people-centered and multidisciplinary learning and development environment where innovations and services are born through inspiring collaboration. This authentic learning environment enables Metropolia students to gain future skills and provides working life with the competent professionals it needs. We offer diverse and affordable wellbeing and healthcare services for everyone – easily and accessibly. At HyMy Village, students practice key professional methods in customer work, individual service design, new service concepts, and innovative development. Our operations are multidisciplinary, and our students also take part in developing the activities. Our services are overseen by supervising teachers, who are professionals in the healthcare field. I work at HyMy Village as a planner, and I’ve been employed at Metropolia for about a year. My role is very versatile, including both operational and strategic tasks. No two days are alike. In short, I coordinate HyMy Village’s activities and services and take part in its development. How are the specific needs of elite athletes considered in HyMy Village, for example from the perspective of services or the learning environment? HyMy Village offers a wide range of services—from head to toe. We can examine clients’ and patients’ situations from a multidisciplinary perspective and offer a variety of services. We recognize that many of our services are particularly beneficial for elite athletes. For example, we have a top-level motion laboratory that conducts walking and running analyses as well as isokinetic muscle strength measurements. From the students’ perspective, HyMy Village is a great learning environment where they have the opportunity to interact with elite athletes and consider their specific needs from the viewpoint of their own field of study. Additionally, one of HyMy Village’s strengths is its ability to provide a genuine and flexible learning environment. When needed, we can create tailored study implementations. Flexibility and customized study modules can help elite athlete students combine their academic studies with high-level athletic goals. You have participated in the HUMKK self-assessment process and audit interviews. What observations or insights did this process reveal? I had never participated in a process like this before, so it was a great opportunity to be involved and to learn something new. I contributed to writing the self-assessment text from the perspective of HyMy Village’s activities. I mapped out what HyMy Village offers to elite athletes from both client and student perspectives. The goal of the self-assessment was to identify our opportunities and think about how we could further develop our operations. Since innovative development is at the core of what we do at HyMy Village, it is essential that we continuously reflect on what HyMy Village could be in the future. Part of the audit process included participating in the audit interview and presenting HyMy Village’s facilities to the audit group during their visit to the Myllypuro campus. A big thank you to the entire Metropolia sports team for the excellent collaboration! Even though I’ve previously known how unique and valuable HyMy Village is, the audit process made visible just how great the work we’re doing really is. We realized that we offer a vast number of services that especially benefit elite athletes. What concrete development actions or good practices emerged during the audit process? The audit process encouraged us to genuinely examine what HyMy Village offers elite athletes, both as clients and students. We were able to list the services available to athletes. Now, HyMy Village is in a much better position to initiate collaboration discussions, and we are more aware of our potential for supporting elite athletes. As a result of this reflection, we also created a section on our website titled “Urheilijan HyMy-kylä” which clearly presents the services we offer from an athletic perspective. This webpage lowers the threshold for elite athletes to contact us. What thoughts or hopes do you have for the development of HyMy Village and the support of athletes in higher education? It would be great if HyMy Village’s collaboration with various sports clubs and athletes became even closer. It is extremely valuable to encounter athletes in as many different ways as possible and thus offer our students excellent learning opportunities. The customization of study modules for athlete students is already possible, but with further development and clear operational models, I believe we can make these customizations a standard part of HyMy Village’s operations and learning environment.

Your Role at Metropolia and in the Pro-Athlete UAS Audit Process I work at Metropolia as the Head of the Degree Program in Physiotherapy and as a Lecturer, as well as the Coordinator of Metropolia's Sports Team and the Sports Customer Manager. In the Pro-Athlete UAS audit, I support the audit coordinator. Through the audit process, the sports team has prepared, developed, and renewed processes and practices related to the dual career and studies of athlete students. Athlete students and their special needs have become familiar to me both in the field of physiotherapy and through the students in the degree program. What does the role of Sports Customer Manager entail? As Metropolia's Sports Customer Manager, I act as a liaison with sports organizations, stakeholders, and networks such as Urhea, the Olympic Committee, and other sports actors. My job is to build and develop cooperation through, for example, networking, need-based and agile services, and research, development, and innovation activities. Learning Experiences during the Audit Process The audit process has been a valuable learning experience for Metropolia. It has been great to see how Metropolia has eagerly taken on the task and built our university towards Pro-Athlete UAS audit. At the same time, we have sustainably prepared for continuous development and response to the needs of athlete students after the audit. Thanks to Metropolia's sports team and our other actors for the great cooperation! I also thank Urhea and the Olympic Committee for their excellent cooperation, sparring support, and clear instructions as part of the process. So far, the audit process has increased understanding of what a dual career requires from both the athlete and the university of applied sciences, the studies, the degree programs, and the staff involved in the athlete's studies. Impact of the Audit on the Metropolia's Development and Athlete Students' Studies The preparation for the audit has already helped to clarify and establish practices. In the future, the practices and observations generated during the audit process will be integrated and developed even more smoothly as part of the athlete students' studies. The research, development, and innovation perspective (RDI) as well as the research, development, innovation, and learning perspective (RDIL) will also be examined more strongly as part of the cooperation with sports organizations and students' studies. The audit acts as a kind of "kick-off," from which the university of applied sciences will continue to implement, establish, and develop activities in diverse cooperation with various actors. Insights from the Audit Process During the preparation for the Pro-Athlete UAS audit, I have met many people who genuinely want to promote matters related to the dual career of athletes. When an athlete student's studies progress smoothly, it also enables the development of the athlete's sports career. When both careers run smoothly side by side, the necessary time and space are found for both

Metropolia's core activities in learning and business are conducted through 10 different departments, with the School of Rehabilitation and Examination being one of them. This department includes a variety of degrees, both at the bachelor's and master's levels.   My main task as the director of school is to lead the activities of my department in accordance with Metropolia's strategy, with a particular focus on learning activities. As the Director of School of Rehabilitation and Examination, I am responsible for the results, personnel, finances, and quality of the department. In practical terms, this means close cooperation with team and degree coordinators, planners, and lecturers.  I have been working as the Director of School of Rehabilitation and Examination for just over a year. My predecessor also served as Metropolia's representative on Urhea's Board, so this role naturally transitioned to me. As Metropolia's representative, I actively collaborate with Urhea, so it was only natural that I participate in the Pro-Athlete UAS audit process. I am active in sports myself, and my children have also engaged in various sports. A few Finnish championship medals have even landed in my family. Promoting an active lifestyle and supporting elite sports are also personally close to my heart. Heidi Stenberg is the director of school of Rehabilitation and examination and Metropolia's representative on the board of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Sports Academy, Urhea. What is Your Role as Metropolia's Representative on Urhea's Board?  Urhea's board consisting of representatives from sports federations, secondary schools, universities, and cities, among others. In addition, the board includes various athlete, support service, and expert members. Metropolia is one of Urhea's seven university partners and one of the founding members of the Urhea Foundation. Collaboration with Urhea is very important for Metropolia.  Urhea's mission is to enable success in sports and dual careers through close cooperation with network partners. Urhea's board meets regularly several times a year, and as Metropolia's representative, I bring the university's perspectives to the board meetings. The representative role emphasizes strategic cooperation, i.e., how Metropolia, as Urhea's university partner, can support Urhea in succeeding in its strategy. Another important task in this role is to ensure the flow of information so that Metropolia's Urhea actors and sports team are informed about the issues discussed in the board. Collaboration with Urhea also involves participating in various events, which either I or other Urhea actors, such as Urhea Customer Manager Titta Komssi or Study Counselor Paula Lindqvist, attend.  How is the Combination of Elite Sports and Higher Education Promoted in Different Departments?  Elite athletes have been identified as an important customer group at Metropolia, and as a university of applied sciences, we are committed to supporting athlete students' opportunities for dual careers. The combination of elite sports and higher education is promoted in various ways within the departments. Promoting dual careers for athlete students requires cooperation both within Metropolia and externally. I communicate about the "Athlete Metropolia" concept to other directors of schools in our joint meetings. Another example of internal cooperation is the athlete student pathways built for different competence areas, which have been facilitated by experts in continuous learning. Many of Metropolia's experts are involved in this internal cooperation.  In addition, personal study plans (HOPS) for students include various ways for athlete students to complete their studies, allowing them to choose the options that best support their sports careers. These include online studies and the recognition and accreditation of prior learning (AHOT). In addition to HOPS, tutors and study counselors assist athlete students in scheduling their studies. It is crucial for athlete students to highlight their athlete status so that Metropolia can implement the elite athlete process.  What New Insights has the Pro-Athlete UAS Audit Process Brought to the Cooperation Between Metropolia and the Sports Academy?  The audit process is still ongoing, but the work done so far has emphasized the importance of broader cooperation with partners. Our task at the university of applied sciences is to train new professionals to meet the needs of the changing workforce and to build educational pathways that align with the Ministry of Education and Culture's Vision for Higher Education and Research 2030.  Creating and maintaining cooperation structures is extremely important, and the Pro-Athlete UAS audit process has reinforced this idea. Metropolia has several business and organizational partners, with designated customer managers from Metropolia's staff working with them. The appointment of a customer manager demonstrates our commitment and investment in cooperation, which we hope will be as smooth as possible for all parties involved. Collaboration with Urhea is not only the responsibility of the customer manager but also involves a sufficiently broad group of actors to ensure that the cooperation progresses as planned. Systematic and organized cooperation is needed, and for this purpose, Metropolia has assembled a sports team from its staff and the student organization METKA. The sports team's task is to advance development processes and identify areas for improvement in Metropolia's operations.  The audit process currently involves a self-assessment, where we examine Metropolia's activities and practices to enable dual careers for athlete students. In the next phase of the audit, an external group will interview Metropolia's staff and students regarding these practices. It is very important to conduct such audits because they provide us with insights and data on how we can better support athlete students and enable dual careers.  What Message do You Want to Convey about the University's Pro-Athlete Sports Activities and the Significance of the Audit?  The Pro-Athlete UAS audit highlights the importance of elite sports - I believe elite sports have a significant impact on national identity. Watching sports competitions and seeing Finns succeed in sports brings great experiences to many. The 2024 Paris Olympics provided me with such experiences. Although the media portrayed Finnish Olympic success as weak, there were also successes. I closely followed dressage, where Finns performed excellently. It was thrilling to watch the competitions - I lived through the competition. Elite sports can provide us with wonderful, shared memories. Sports have been a part of my life since childhood through my father, and watching many sports competitions has left a strong, emotional memory. I still vividly remember how the whole family watched Finnish elite athletes' performances in both individual and team sports on TV with excitement during my childhood.  At Metropolia, we have the privilege of playing a significant role in supporting elite athletes. We are part of a larger whole - we can help ensure that Finnish elite sports thrive. The audit is an important tool for us to examine our own activities and further develop the support for athlete students and the enabling of dual careers at Metropolia.