The spring semester at The Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region begins – “A full life is lived elsewhere than on social media”
The spring 2025 offerings at The Adult Education Centre of the Tampere Region include approximately 980 courses in knowledge, arts, crafts, languages, and health promotion, starting throughout the semester. Over 270 courses will begin in January, with the last courses held in early June. The course offerings are updated throughout the semester, and registration is continuously open.
The most popular courses this spring, based on waiting lists, are Finnish language courses and specialized craft techniques. Familiar favorites like ceramics, Pilates, and theater also attract many students.
According to Principal Maija-Liisa Gröhn, the popularity of these courses shows that people want to make conscious choices to improve their quality of life and achieve their personal goals.
– People who enroll in our courses have realized that a full life is lived somewhere other than as an extension of smart devices. Many have also awakened to the need for new learning as their life situations change. As for languages, mastering a language and being able to use it in everyday life is a key way to find one’s place in society: in work, transactions, and friendships.
By early January, over 20,100 participants have already found a hobby at the centre for the 2024–2025 academic year.
For those who have not yet found a suitable hobby or are hesitant to join the centre, Gröhn wants to remind them that they can start without barriers and always at their own pace and from their own starting points.
– Learning any new skill keeps the senses and mind ready for unexpected life situations and changes in a completely different way than constantly browsing a phone or social media.
The centre’s general lecture series will begin after mid-January, with the first parts of the health lectures and the series “Aiming for Joy,” focusing on art, aesthetics, and play.
During the spring, the general lectures will also explore old photographs in the “Masters Behind the Camera” series, history and genealogy at The Sampola Genealogy Day, Eastern relations in the “Border as a Rift” series, and historical festivities at the Ylöjärvi general lecture.
Maija-Liisa Gröhn hopes for joy and inspiration in the upcoming semester.
– I hope for joyful and inspiring encounters in the courses, hallways, and café. You don’t have to be alone here, and sometimes even a single smile can save the day!
