– The width of the smile is directly inversely proportional to academic success.
Teacher Heikka Valja is joking while two students, Mila Kuussaari and Elias Ahlgrén, are photographed at the unit.
On a grey Monday morning, the smiles are not very wide, but there is a solid basis for the teacher's message of academic success. Both students have had great success in vocational skills competitions: They came second in the Game Production series of the Taitaja 2021 competition.
In addition, Kuussaari also won the WorldSkills Asia Online competition in 3D Game Graphics last autumn. She has been part of the National Team since 2020 and has participated in several online competitions.
Valja teaches Game Design, as well as 2D and 3D Game Graphics, at the Muotoilijankatu unit. He is the Team Leader of the Game Production Team and the Coach-Judge of 3D Game Graphics. Of his current students, Elias has already got his foot in the door of a game company. His internship for the autumn semester is about to be extended.
When Valja says that the Muotoilijankatu unit provides the best post-comprehensive school education in Game Graphics, it is easy to believe him.
Reach for your interests
Kuussaari and Ahlgrén are third-year students, and they aim to graduate during the spring.
Studies at the Muotoilijankatu unit begin with an initial vocational qualification in Media and Visual Expression on the competence area of Audio-Visual Communication, and after the initial vocational qualification it is possible to specialise in Game Production.
Ahlgrén has been doing “some programming” since primary school. His interest in game programming kept growing in lower secondary school, and he decided to apply to study in the field.
Valja says that not all students will begin their careers in gaming companies immediately during their studies at the Helsinki Vocational College and Adult Institute, Stadin AO, as working life requires deep familiarity with the field. Ahlgrén has been gaining it since before beginning his studies in the field.
Kuussaari, on the other hand, has been interested in animation, and it was game graphics that drew her to Game Studies.
– I had been thinking about working in some artistic field. During my studies here, I have realised that it could be the gaming industry.
What kind of a message would you like to send to young people who are planning to study in the field? Ahlgrén advises to begin by reflecting on one’s interests, and then reaching for them.
– Being interested in what you are doing makes learning easier, he says.
Kuussaari says that showing initiative important when working and studying in the gaming industry. It is also good to be interested in games or at least in graphics in general. Neither of them can yet say for sure whether they are going to apply for further studies or to seek employment. Kuussaari already has experience with Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, as she worked on a training project with Metropolia.
Sought-after study place
Students can apply for education in the Muotoilijankatu unit of Stadin AO through the joint application system after completing comprehensive school with a basic education certificate. The comprehensive school-based programmes last 2.5–3 years. There are a total of 120 starting positions in basic studies, 30 of which are in Game Production.
– We receive applications from all over Finland. Our reputation is known far and wide, as we have students all the way from Rovaniemi, Valja says.
The school has collaborative projects with, for example, gaming companies, and students are designing new games with them. Not all of them are just for practice, as the best ones will be published.
Valja says that not all students know how to code when they begin their studies. The studies alone are not enough to make a student a qualified coder. Learning different programming languages requires commitment even outside the classroom. But on the other hand, one hardly needs to learn coding when specialising in Game Graphics.
A student specialising in Graphic Design does not need to learn coding at all.
– In Game Graphics, it helps to have strong imaging skills or an interest in 3D Graphics, Valja says.
Students with initial vocational qualification in Media and Visual Expression are equipped to work in a wide range of media tasks. In addition to the gaming industry and animation, other possible avenues of employment for the students are graphic design, photography, printing technology, finishing printed publications, moving image, audio engineering, event technology, web design and digital publications.
Game Production is studied in the competence area of Audio-Visual Communication.
Further information in Finnish on the qualification(Link leads to external service)
Original text in Finnish: Kirsi Riipinen
The article was originally published in January 2022.