Courses at Adult Education Centre
At the Vantaa Adult Education Centre, you will learn useful skills or discover new hobbies. We are an adult education centre funded by the City of Vantaa. We arrange approx. 2000 courses around Vantaa every year.
Languages
Learning languages is fun and useful! With us, you can learn languages in a number of different ways – we offer courses, for example, to promote oral language skills, to support professional skills, and as a captivating hobby and a channel to get to know different cultures.
If I had known that learning languages is such fun, I would have come to the courses 10 years ago!
The key values in our courses are an open attitude towards others, acceptance of differences, active interaction, working in a team and increasing awareness about one’s own culture as well as other cultures.
The classes had such a nice atmosphere where you dared give it a try even if not everything was going exactly right.
Sociability, community spirit and interaction promote learning, that is why in our classes students work a lot in pairs or small groups.
With us, you can study more than twenty languages taught by approx. 70 language teachers. We arrange language courses in the entire Vantaa region as well as distance courses. Our course offer includes day and evening language courses. Apart from traditional weekly courses, we also have fast-moving intensive courses and special and short courses, lectures and events related to languages, cultures, travel, and country knowledge.
At our college, you can take the National Certificate of Language Proficiency (Yleinen kielitutkinto YKI) test in Northern Sami and Finnish; besides, our college is the only place in Finland where you can take the official examination in Spanish (DELE).
In the teaching process, we use a variety of different working and teaching methods, and in addition to traditional teaching materials, we utilise new digital learning environments. Handout fees are included the price of language courses; as to the textbooks specified in the course information, you should acquire them yourself.
Our coordinating teachers will be happy to advise you on choosing the right course for you and welcome you to new languages and ideas.
Language proficiency levels
How do I find the right language course for me – language proficiency levels?
Language skills are as multi-layered as a flower bulb. At first, there is just a seed, but then, little by little, layers will grow on to it as the language skills expand and deepen. Everyone decides themselves when their skill will burst into bloom – we all have different requirements when it comes to language skills.
Language skills do not improve constantly – sometimes you might feel as if you are not learning anything new. But when the conditions are right, the progress may surprisingly happen fast. Sometimes it may be a better option to revise what has already been learned than to push forward. Learning a language is like tending a garden – it takes time, but it is worth enjoying every flower and every bud.
National Certificate on Language Proficiency (YKI) test
National Certificates on Language Proficiency tests are language tests intended for adults. They measure language skills in practical situations where adults have to speak, listen, write and read a foreign language – either in Finland or abroad.
Spanish language test – Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera (DELE)
DELE is the only Spanish language test approved by the Ministry of Education of Spain. The test is recognised in different parts of the world. It is suitable for everybody who wants to work in the jobs that require Spanish language skills or in a Spanish-speaking environment. In Finland, the only place to take this test is the Vantaa Adult Education Centre.
Los diplomas de español DELE son títulos oficiales acreditativos del grado de competencia y dominio del idioma español, que otorga el Instituto Cervantes en nombre del Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional de España.
Physical education, health and well-being
Exercise, dance and yoga courses
Everyone will find an active hobby for themselves from among the exercise, dance and yoga courses of the Vantaa Adult Education Centre. There are courses are for people of all ages and fitness levels, both during the day and in the evening. The aim of the courses is to support the overall well-being of the participants and offer opportunities for versatile exercise. Courses are offered throughout the semester, and we also offer shorter intensive courses on different themes. Welcome to our courses to enjoy exercise, fun working together and a good feeling!
Health and well-being
In health and well-being courses, it would be necessary to consider your clothing; even though the courses are not exercise courses, for many of them it would be good to wear comfortable, flexible clothes. Please always check with your course to see whether anything special has been mentioned about clothing or equipment and prepare accordingly. Please also note that in the couple's massage course both partners of the couple should register for the course. One partner of the couple can register for both by phone, but online registration has to be done in person.
Good to know
Remember to check with your course if a textbook is used in the course. If a textbook is mentioned in the information about the course, it has to be available during the course.
In some courses, the teacher brings the necessary material for which a small fee is collected on the spot. Please make sure you will have the necessary amount of cash on you.
Other exercise and well-being in Vantaa
Home and gardening, nature and environment
Go wild with green!
At gardening courses and lectures, you will learn gardening, landscaping, greening and floristry. You will also get to make and try flower arranging yourself, and even do some small-scale gardening by taking care of useful and ornamental plants in the courtyard of the College Building. From the lectures and courses, you will get a lot of tips and the newest information on maintaining and renovating your own garden.
Domestic Science
New flavours and ideas for the kitchen
In domestic science classes, you get to try something new! Domestic science also reviews basic skills and encourages students to engage in peer learning. In the field of domestic science, you will learn not only about cooking but also about home maintenance and organization, textile care, cleaning, wine culture, and attend lectures on various topics.
An important part of domestic science education is to provide students with the joy of new insights. The course themes are diverse. You will get to explore different food cultures and ingredients, trends, and traditions. Our domestic science teachers are professionals in their field who have designed their courses and ensure their smooth running. In food courses, tasting portions are often prepared so that everyone can taste the different dishes being prepared.
Please bring indoor shoes, an apron, and a container for possible take-home portions to the cooking courses. The Adult Education Centre´s cooking courses are primarily intended for adults and young people over 16 years old. Exceptions are child-parent courses, where the recommended age for the child is mentioned in the course description, as well as wine courses intended only for adults. If you wish to bring a young person under 16 to a cooking course, please contact the coordinating teacher first to see if it is possible. Please do not bring a child to an adult cooking course without informing us.
The content of domestic science classes also includes after-work, such as handwashing dishes, emptying dishwashers, sweeping floors, and cleaning your workstation. Every student in the course participates in after-work tasks. If something breaks or, for example, fat burns onto the bottom of the oven, please inform the teacher.
Domestic science instruction is conducted in the language in which the course content is written. Courses will also specify if they are, for example, in English or Spanish.
In the domestic science classroom, you are free to make mistakes and succeed, discuss, challenge, and learn enthusiastically. Warmly welcome!
Special Diets
Separate courses are organized, for example, completely gluten-free, vegan, or without milk/eggs. We strive to keep the ingredients of all courses lactose-free, but there may be exceptions. If you have a special diet not mentioned in the course content, please contact the coordinating teacher to see if the course is suitable for you.
Materials and Fees
Domestic science course and material fees are invoiced after the courses. An exception is the additional material fee for wine courses. Please always check this in the course description of wine courses.
Materials and prepared foods may change due to the availability of ingredients. Occasionally, poor harvests, strikes, or other major changes also affect store selections. Courses are generally not canceled or postponed due to ingredient shortages. The courses discuss, as needed, the substitution of different raw materials for another.
Wine Courses and Food and Wine Courses
The Adult Education Centre offers wine tasting courses. In addition to tasting, these courses cover many aspects of wine culture, including different grape varieties, regional differences, geography, and the history of wine. You can bring your own wine glasses (e.g., a pack of 6 in a cardboard box) and some snacks for yourself or to share. Bringing your own glasses or snacks is not mandatory.
The Adult Education Centre also organizes courses that combine food and wine. In these courses, you prepare foods that pair well with wines. The wines included in the course content are also explored in more detail during cooking.
Wine courses have a separate material fee. Please check the amount and payment method in the course description before attending the course. If you do not wish to taste wine, for example, in food and wine courses, please contact the coordinating teacher before the course starts so we can better plan the course budget. All wine-containing courses are for adults only.
Cooking with Children
The Adult Education Centre offers cooking courses designed for an adult and a child together. Registration for these courses is always in the name of the adult. The course fee and registration include one adult and one child.
Please check the recommended age for the child in the course description. Do not attend the course with more than one child without informing us. You can inquire in advance with the coordinating teacher if it is possible to bring two children with one adult. This is often possible if the course is not full and there is no waiting list.
Home Economics Teaching Locations
Domestic science can be taught not only at the Tikkurila Opistotalo but also in the facilities of other schools. There are no aprons available for students to borrow in other schools. In other school facilities, sticking to the course schedule and careful handling of after-work tasks are particularly important.
Home Economics Distance Learning
For distance courses, the teacher sends a shopping list, instructions, and a teaching link by email to those registered.
Ingredients for the course are self-provided. The ingredient costs are often 10-20 euros per person, depending on the selected recipes and the student's own supplies.
You will need an internet connection and a computer or smart device to follow the online instruction. We use Teams or Zoom at the institute. The program used is mentioned in the course description. Instructions for using the programs can be found, for example, here.
During the course, a meal will be prepared in your own kitchen under the guidance of the teacher. Please ensure you have the course ingredients in advance according to the instructions. If you have not received an email from the teacher 4 days before the course (check spam), please contact the Centre’s customer service.
Handcraft
Joy of creating by hand
Every year we arrange about 200 handcraft courses. Most of the courses are organised close to good transport connections in Tikkurila, but there are many activities in different parts of Vantaa. Our teachers are experts in their handicraft techniques who enjoy creating by hand as well as teaching adults.
Apart from the teachers, the students also praise our good teaching facilities, the condition and number of machines and equipment devices as well as the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. You will learn more in a group than by drilling alone and get a lot of new ideas from both the teacher and other students of your course!
Materials for handcraft courses
All the materials used in the handcraft courses have to be mainly purchased by students themselves. Exceptions are courses where course content information specifies joint purchase of the materials or the course includes an information session where all the required material and equipment purchases are reviewed. Attending the information session is mandatory; you will not be accepted to the course if you do not attend the information session.
Technical work courses
The teaching of technical work takes place in the technical work facilities of schools and youth activity centres on the conditions of the principal users of these facilities. Students can work there only according to the capacity of the machines and equipment installed in the facilities, i.e. no large-scale work will be done during the course. Small storage spaces also restrict the size of the works; the course participants should be prepared to possibly carry unfinished works with them. The age limit of the participants is the age of majority.
Taking part in the woodworking and metalworking courses requires students’ participation in the orientation session where they will be introduced to and instructed on the use of the machines and equipment used in the relevant courses. By participating in the orientation session, the students of the course will acquire the occupational safety card. The acquisition of the occupational safety card is mandatory for all the participants, and only after it has been acquired the participants will be allowed to use the machines and devices at the course location.
For occupational safety reasons, the course participants are required to purchase their own hearing protection and safety glasses.
Literature and writing
Native language/language care
In the courses, the students will review the basics of grammar, previously learned, e.g., sentence structures, compound words or/and punctuation rules.
The courses are suitable for all previous language learners interested in Finnish grammar, students, those preparing for matriculation examinations, those enjoy writing as well as those who write for work.
Literature
The literature courses of the Education Centre are mainly literature circles where students acquire books themselves, but the choices are made together with the group, except for the choice of the first book. Choices are made based on topicality. Besides reading experiences, students will also learn about the author, author’s personal history, social background and other works.
Creative writing
Writing courses are provided both remotely and face-to-face in West and East Vantaa. There are several creative writing courses because expressing oneself through writing is very popular. There are courses for those who try writing as well as for those who have been writing for a longer time. Writing also seeks well-being and positive thinking, so writing courses may have various goals.
What these courses have in common is the production of a text and voluntary distribution of the produced writings either only to the teacher or to the whole group and a discussion with the group online, on a closed teaching platform, by e-mail or on site whole listening to the texts produced.
Music and drama
Experiences and community spirit with music and drama
Other cultural and artistic services in Vantaa
Visual arts
Unleash your creativity with visual art courses
The visual art course offerings include courses of various range, which create opportunities for, e.g., versatile practise of visual arts, strengthening perception and creativity, developing artistic means of expression and understanding the phenomena of visual culture.
Short courses are educationally focused on the relevant theme or method of implementation, in which case they may awaken participants to new prospectives on artistic work and thinking. We offer opportunities of registering in advance from autumn courses to spring extension courses, so that the studies can become a unified whole spanning over the entire academic year. The option of a longer goal-oriented study is a 2-year visual arts curriculum.
Your own motivation and diligence determine the goal that enables your actions. The teaching takes individuality into account, therefore the students themselves can influence the level of challenges and demands of the studies in guidance discussions.
Please note! The course fees do not include materials or personal tools unless otherwise stated. In some courses, study materials are purchased centrally, in which case a separate material fee is charged.
Citizen’s digital skills and information technology
Digital everyday life and social media
The objective of digital everyday life courses is to bring citizens to a more equal position in terms of IT skills. Digital advice is also offered individually, according to the needs of the client. Digital skills are a today thing, without smart devices, network connection and basic skills citizens are not able to smoothly interact with the authorities, reserve a time for vaccination or any other appointments, let alone participate in the online courses of the Education Centre. Digital skills also include information security: relevant information and protection against online scams. In social media workshops, the participants learn social media skills and how to surf safely in the ever-expanding and wonderful world of the Internet.
Information technology
Information technology courses can be online courses, in which case the student needs to have their own computer, a laptop or a mobile device as well as Internet connections. There is a lot of different free software on the web, and students can practice commercial or recreational use of such software in IT courses. The college building has two computer classrooms. In face-to-face teaching courses, you can learn different, more demanding, installable, paid software. For information technology projects that last several days it is recommended to use your own storage medium or network storage service.
Digital consultations
Digital counseling is available in the autumn semester 2025 from September 9 to November 24. in between. It is possible to get advice on Mondays between 14:00 and 16:30. (not during autumn break week 42)
Digital consultations are free of charge for personal sessions of a maximum 45-minutes. You can book an appointment by phone at 09 8392 4342 from Monday to Thursday from 12:00 to 15:00 and on Fridays from 12:00 to 14.00 or from the appointment calendar.
Other support and help with digital devices in Vantaa
People, society and culture
People and society
At the Education Centre, we talk about social subjects when we mean teaching that is related to people and society. The offering is very diverse, it includes lectures and lecture series and courses on various topics. The lectures are mainly free and the teaching is arranged both online and as face-to-face courses, so participation in the courses is not necessarily tied to a location.
Culture, art history, philosophy, self-development and active citizenship
The range of social subjects is wide, from history to the present day, from local knowledge to international issues and phenomena. From practical knowledge and skills to theoretical considerations. From self-development to joint responsibility, sustainable development and active citizenship.