Study Guide

Descriptions

DESCRIPTION OF THE DEGREE PROGRAMME AND COMPETENCE AREAS
The cultural manager's core competencies include the design and implementation of productions, productization, brand building, and communication. The cultural manager is able to anticipate and assess benefits of productions, be they cultural, economic, or social. A student who graduates from the programme is able to design content and productions for different target groups in a profitable way. Productions may be cultural service products, events, media products, or campaigns, irrespective of the field.

A professional cultural manager is familiar with service design, different methods of ideation, and content development. They are aware of their target group and adopt a customer-oriented approach to their work. In participatory design, they are able to use different methods of group counselling. They understand changes in consumer behaviour and the opportunities provided by the anticipation of changes.

The cultural manager masters the basics of production techniques and technologies. They master the use of the content tools essential for their career plan. The cultural manager has good interpersonal skills. They are able to act as a manager in charge of a production.

A graduated student is able to communicate in a goal-oriented way. They master marketing communication and the tools for its planning and are able to utilise social media in an effective way. Thanks to sufficient language skills, they are able to apply what they have learned also in a global operational environment.

After completion of their studies, the student of cultural management recognises their competencies and is able to assess, describe and actively develop them. They have a clear idea of their professional strengths.

The cultural manager understands the multidimensional nature of sustainability as a working life skill. They know how to plan and execute production in a resource-efficient manner. From an economic perspective, production must favour environmentally friendly and socially sustainable choices. The producer also takes into account accessibility and cultural diversity in his work, especially from the perspective of audience work. In the working community, the cultural manager strives through its activities to promote welfare at work, which values and respects the rights of all.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY PROFILE
The cultural manager's extensive competencies are needed in different productions in the creative sector and in administrative tasks in the public, private and third sectors. There is a need for the cultural manager's competencies in, e.g., the media and entertainment industry, publishing, sport-related productions, advertising and marketing organisations' productions, art productions (music, theatre, visual arts, TV, film), and game and other interactive productions.


PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
The studies in cultural management are based on project learning, which means that starting from the first year, all the studies are integrated with working life. Individual courses are integrated into larger productions or projects, and students act in groups of different sizes. Students' team work skills and interactive skills develop through collective learning.

The teacher acts as the student's mentor and counsellor, who facilitates and supports the learning process. The student can also go in depth into the subareas of culture in which they are especially interested. The student's own career path is planned throughout their studies. Networking is of particular importance; for this, real cooperation with working life is sought throughout the studies.

Students are encouraged to gain international experience. An internationally-oriented study module of approximately 30 credits, mainly targeted at incoming exchange students, is offered during one semester; second or third-year students of the degree programme are also eligible to participate. Moreover, students can complete part of their studies in another country. They can spend all or part of the practical training periods abroad. On several courses, students use professional literature written in a foreign language as study material and have exams based on it.

The curriculum has five transversal seams that run through the studies. They are based on SeAMK's reports, studies and strategy, as well as national and international recommendations and regulations for polytechnics:

The information acquisition seam strengthens the student's professional and sectoral information acquisition skills through studies and is part of working life skills. Finding and using knowledge is an integral part of learning in all studies in the degree program.

The Internationality seam develops the student's internationalism competence throughout their studies. The cultural manager works in internationalising work environments and can communicate and work with people from different cultural backgrounds. Through internships and exchange studies students have the opportunity to network and be employed in international work assignments

The entrepreneurial seam is internal and external entrepreneurship. Internal entrepreneurship is a mode of attitude and activity that is particularly reflected in productions and internships performed during studies. Students are also encouraged to engage in initiative and interaction in the development of activities. External entrepreneurship appears as individual courses in financial management and management studies, as well as more broadly integrated content in student productions. During the studies, students become acquainted with building a business concept.

Sustainable development as a seam helps students to become aware of social responsibility and understand the diversity of sustainability as a working life skill. Adopting the ways of thinking and operating sustainability is the ability to observe and understand complex systems from different perspectives (ecological, economic, social, cultural, etc.), as well as on a different scale (global and local). Adopting a sustainability mindset will also help collectively develop and implement sustainability measures locally and across different organisations.

Career guidance as a seam helps the student identify their own career opportunities. Studies include reflections on one's professional growth and identifying the meanings of multi-professional work. Knowledge of different methods of foresight contributes to the identification of future working life needs. Goal-oriented planning of studies from a career guidance perspective plays a key role throughout the studies. Career guidance enables students to relate cultural competencies and job descriptions to their own competence. Competence is said by person branding, which makes one's expertise visible in various publishing channels. Internship is one of the most significant tools of career guidance.

Development

The curriculum of Cultural Management was updated in 2017. The reform was based on the cultural manager’s job description in 2030. The reform of the curriculum aimed to anticipated future changes in the cultural manager’s job description. Also students and an expert team from working life closely participated in the development of the curriculum. The new curriculum introduced in autumn 2018.