Erasmus+ Staff Week Savotta: Exploring HEI Safety & Resilience
All dates are in day.month.year format
Let’s Gather for Savotta!
18.-22.05.2026 Hämeenlinna, Finland
Savotta is a Finnish term that embodies the spirit of hard work and dedication. Traditionally it refers to a logging site or a worksite where intensive labor is performed. In a broader sense, it symbolizes any challenging task or project that requires perseverance and teamwork. Savotta represents the commitment to achieving great results through collective effort and determination.
We have entered a world where rapid change is the norm. Globally, factors like geopolitical instability, economic shifts, and climate challenges have created an environment where the future is hard to predict. In European higher education, similar dynamics are at play. We face unpredictable challenges ranging from evolving student needs and digital transformation to funding uncertainties and the lingering impacts of recent crises. This shared sense of uncertainty pushes both society and education to reconsider long-held assumptions.
Our age questions traditional views of what it means to be safe. Today, the concept of safety isn’t limited to physical well-being and campus security; it extends to areas like digital security, academic integrity, occupational safety, stakeholder and national interests, and even mental well-being of students and staff. Higher education institutions across Europe need to rethink their approach to safety and security from altering perspective, such as combining traditional and cybersecurity measures seamlessly, increasing vigilance over hybrid interference, creating supportive environments to address student mental health, and ensuring that academic practices adapt to both external threats and internal pressures. This shifting landscape means that no single definition of safety can capture all dimensions of security in our modern world.
We are in urgent need of robust capacities that can absorb shocks and drive transformation. Globally, industries and communities are investing in adaptability not only to survive turbulences but also to turn challenges into opportunities. In Europe’s academic realm, this translates into initiatives like building a safety culture through shared values, combining cybersecurity and traditional safety measures, endorsing flexible safety competence management, sharing safety and security practices to assure the unhindered and safe mobility of our students and staff, and fostering innovative research partnerships for safety and security. Higher education institutes need to become increasingly agile, employing proactive measures that help them respond to rapid changes in technology, demographics, politics, and economic conditions.
Faithful to the Finnish savotta tradition, we believe that collaboration is the best way to create solutions, no matter how overwhelming the problem. By rallying our colleagues to gather with us, we hope to build a network that shares insights, best practices, and new ideas, endorses cross-border collaborations, and engages with industry partners and stakeholders.
With these thoughts, it is our pleasure to welcome our European colleagues to gather for Erasmus+ Staff Week Savotta: Exploring HEI Safety & Resilience in Hämeenlinna, Finland, from 18.-22.05.2026.
Main Themes and Approaches
The programme is tailored especially for university staff working in the fields of safety, security, and contingency of higher education institutes. However, other support and academic staff are also welcome and will certainly benefit from participating.
The programme focuses on three core themes:
- Sense of Safety and Resilience – Understanding the key elements that foster a safe, secure, and adaptable academic environment.
- Applied Learning – Engaging in experience-driven methods such as design-based education and collaborative problem-solving to develop and implement safety solutions.
- Collaborative Solutions – Enhancing inter-institutional cooperation on matters related to HEI safety and resilience, as well as security and preparedness issues across Europe.
The Savotta week features interactive workshops and outdoor experiences designed to inspire new perspectives and practical ideas:
- Insight Sessions – Sharing expertise through presentations and discussions on building community-based safety policies and leveraging professional competencies for resilience.
- Co-Creation Sprints – Environmental exploration examining intrinsic safety, natural intelligence, and Finland’s deep-rooted connection to nature through design-based approaches.
- Synergy Building – Collaborative sessions encouraging European cooperation, fostering new professional relationships, and strengthening collegial networks that will extend beyond the event, supporting HEI safety and resilience in the future.
Preliminary Programme
Monday 18.05.2026 we meet at the Hämeenlinna University Centre. The first day will be dedicated to orientation, networking, and setting goals for the week. After work in the afternoon, we invite you to join us for a tour of Hämeenlinna’s most beloved landmarks and scenes.
Tuesday 19.05.2026 kicks off at Hämeenlinna town centre with the first insights session, where we take a deep dive into the definition and dimensions of safety and security, and discuss the topic from Higher Education Institution (HEI), European, and global perspectives. After the session, we move on to our first Co-Creation Challenge, in which teams spread out to explore an urban environment. The second day closes with a presentation of the challenge results. The evening is free time.
Wednesday 20.05.2026 we head out to the heart and soul of Finland, as we will spend the day at HAMK UAS’s Evo Forestry Campus. The third day includes another insights session, this time discussing resilience and well-being with various approaches. The second co-creation challenge will take us even deeper into the woods, and all paths eventually lead to a campfire session, where we break down the findings and enjoy a very Finnish evening.
On Thursday 21.05.2026, we return to the Hämeenlinna University Centre for the third and final insights session. After lunch, we undertake our third co-creation sprint, focusing on the future. Topics for Thursday will be announced later. In the evening, we gather for a celebration dinner.
Friday 22.05.2026 is the wrap-up day; more information about the programme will be available soon.
Registration
Registration for Savotta Staff Week: Exploring HEI Safety and Resilience closes 26.03.2026. A maximum of 40 places are available. Please notice that this is an Erasmus+ Staff Week.
Registration fee
The registration fee includes the program and social events specified in the programme (subject to change). Dietary restrictions can be accommodated if notified during registration.
- Early Bird Registration: 395 € (until 04.02.2026)
- Standard Registration: 450 € (05.02. – 26.03.2026)
Registration fee must be fully paid 31 days before the staff week begins, by 17.04.2026)
Cancellation and refunds:
- Cancellation until 100 days before the event (by 04.02.2026) or before invoice is due: full refund of an invoiced fee.
- Cancellation 100-51 days before the event (by 25.04.2026): 50% refund of invoiced fee.
- Cancellation after the registration has ended, (after 26.04.2026): No refund.
The refund will be refunded to the invoiced party.
Good to know before registration
Participants are responsible for booking their own accommodation.
Start planning your week with us at Visit Hämeenlinna website (link).
Learn also more about our university and campuses (link), and read about HAMK’s safety thinking (link).
Before registration, you may want to consider the following:
- The week includes outdoor activities, and weather conditions may vary. Bring appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear.
- Some event locations may be challenging to reach for those with mobility limitations. Remote participation is not available. The event emphasizes physical attendance to fully engage in HEI safety and resilience practices.
- Participants are expected to follow the university’s code of conduct and the principles of a safer space.
Be part of a week dedicated to exploring HEI safety and resilience in higher education. Together, we’ll share insights, build meaningful connections, and uncover opportunities for future collaboration!
Please bookmark this site and check back regularly for updates on the programme, traveling to Hämeenlinna, and other important information
Event email: savotta@hamk.fi
See Savotta event page at Erasmus+ iMotion here.
See Savotta event page at LinkedIn here.
Kirsi Hipp
Tutkijayliopettaja
Sosiaali- ja terveysalan TKI-toiminta
Privacy Notice
We process your data acording to the HAMK’s privacy notice on Processing personal data when organising events, which you can read here.
All dates are in day.month.year format