Digitization training
In Finland, there has not been a permanent digitization training program available, which is why digitization skills have generally been acquired through practical work and organizations’ own orientations. As a result, the overall picture easily becomes fragmented. There are vast amounts of analog material, especially in memory organizations. By digitizing, the findability and accessibility of the material can be improved, the need for physical storage spaces can be reduced, and the security of the materials can be enhanced by distributing them to multiple locations. Digitization is a continuously evolving and renewing field, where new technologies such as artificial intelligence become part of the digitization process and support quality assurance.
To meet all these needs, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) and its partners Mikkeli Development Company Miksei Oy, the National Archives, and Samiedu have designed and implemented practical digitization training in RDI projects (2018-2025) as part of the Memory Campus cluster and its development. On this page, we present in more detail our digitization projects and their results.
Honorable Mention as Archive Act of the Year 2022 by the Finnish Archive Association
Planning Project for the Expert Education of the Mass Digitisation
In the project by Mikkeli Development Company Miksei Ltd. and Xamk, training programs were designed for digitizers and digitization experts, and the workforce needs were assessed. The implementation period was from November 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. The project was funded by the South Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment from the European Social Fund.
Professional Ditigizer Training
In the project by Xamk and Mikkeli Development Company Miksei Ltd., 38 students were trained: digitization experts and digitizers. The implementation period was from September 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. The project was funded by the South Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment from the European Social Fund.
Digitization competencies training
The project by Xamk and Mikkeli Development Company Miksei Ltd. addressed identified labor market needs by developing a training program focused on the planning and preparation of digitization work. In the project, 33 digitization experts were trained. The implementation period was from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The project was funded by the South Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, with REACT EU ESF+ funding.
Digitization Competency Mapping
Xamk's project compiled an overview of the digitization skill needs and gaps in both the public and private sectors. The implementation period was from January 1, 2023, to April 30, 2023. The project was funded by the Regional Council of South Savo from the Sustainable Growth and Vitality of Regions appropriation.
Flexible skill paths for digitization
The project by Xamk, Samiedu, and the National Archives of Finland addressed the growing skill needs in digitization by creating an agile, work-life-oriented digitization training solution for two educational levels (Digitization Developer and Digitization Implementer), and by building pathways from digitization training to the workforce. The implementation period was from May 1, 2023, to May 31, 2025. The project was funded by the South Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment from the European Social Fund (ESF+).
Digitization expert network
Digiksi
Digiksi - A Guide for Planning and Implementing Digitization Projects (NOTE: full-text available only in Finnish) is aimed at everyone planning and preparing a digitization project. The guide was produced in the "Digitization Competencies Training" project (2022).
Digitally Better - Develop Digitization Responsibly
The open online publication for digitization developers provides a view into sustainable digitization, provided by JoDi project in 2025. Note: full-text available in Finnish only.
More information about developing digitization competencies and the related RDI projects: Memory Campus coordinator Kati Saltiola, firstname.surname@xamk.fi