Inclusion By Integration: Designing Online Training for New Immigrants as Future Workforce Contributors to Finnish Society

Article Sidebar

PDF
Published: Jun 5, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v16i1.37223
Keywords:
inclusive design, accessibility, immigrant integration, adult education, co-design
Issue
Section
Design Cases
Need a more accessible version of this PDF?
Contact us

Main Article Content

Marja Ahola
LUT University
Anita Hartikainen
University of Turku
Erkki Sutinen
University of Turku

Abstract

This design case describes three iterative development phases of online integration training design from 2015 to 2021. Online integration training is a public educational service for adult immigrants who are registered as unemployed in Finland. The learners are from diverse backgrounds, typically residing in sparsely populated areas or unable to attend classroom education for other reasons. Fully online and starting from language proficiency level zero, this full-time integration training design is among the first of its kind globally. Many participants had no prior experience studying online, and their digital skills varied widely. Initial impact expectations were low. This case illustrates how an accessible and collaborative online training design promotes inclusivity and agency in a new homeland. Development challenges between design iterations, particularly involving interaction among stakeholders, teacher workload, and learner engagement. The best design for learners wasn’t necessarily the best for teachers, prompting compromises in design to ensure optimal functionality for all users. Results exceeded expectations in language and cultural learning outcomes and subsequent placements. Quality stemmed from the design’s interactivity, attractiveness, practicality, shareability, and repeatability. The unique features of immigrants’ online learning and the significant increase in immigration require further effective educational solutions in the future. Harnessing new technologies to respond to international workforce mobility and precisely coded co-design will enhance the effectiveness of online education services.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Article Details

How to Cite
Ahola, M., Hartikainen, A., & Sutinen, E. (2025). Inclusion By Integration: Designing Online Training for New Immigrants as Future Workforce Contributors to Finnish Society. International Journal of Designs for Learning, 16(1), 58–78. https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v16i1.37223
Author Biographies

Marja Ahola, LUT University

Marja Ahola is a PhD researcher in Software Engineering at LUT University. Her areas of expertise include user interaction, accessibility in digital environments, creative and anticipatory problem solving, and social inclusion. She has extensive experience in integration education, pedagogy, and educational product
development.

Anita Hartikainen, University of Turku

Anita Hartikainen is a doctoral researcher whose work focuses on the organization of national integration training in Finland. Her research particularly examines online learning design and teacher competence in virtual learning environments.

 

Erkki Sutinen, University of Turku

Erkki Sutinen has been a Professor of Computer Science (Interaction design) at the University of Turku since 2015. He moved to Namibia in 2019 to set up the first overseas campus of the University of Turku, which was located until 2024 at the premises of the University of Namibia, in its main campus in Windhoek. Sutinen got his Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki in 1998, based on his research in string algorithms. In 1999-2015, he was a professor at the University of Eastern Finland (1999-2009 University of Joensuu), where he founded a research group in educational technology, hosting an online Ph.D. program, IMPDET. In 2010-12, he was the chief technical advisor of the 22 M€ STIFIMO science, technology, and innovation program in Mozambique. Erkki has been researching educational technology, Computing education, ICT4D, and co-design. He has supervised 35 Ph.D. students and co-authored approximately 400 papers. As an ordained Lutheran priest, his current interests include digital theology.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2026 by the International Journal of Designs for Learning, a publication of the Association of Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), published by Indiana University Libraries Journals. Permission to make digital or hard copies of portions of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee, provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page in print or the first screen in digital media. Except as otherwise noted, the content published by IJDL is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. A simpler version of this statement is available here.