Skills Centria – support with studies
Skills Centria is designed to support students in their studies while also offering low-threshold activities related to well-being and the fluency of studies. The activities are open to all students and are organized in both English and Finnish.
- Special education teacher’s open workshops
- Basics of essay writing workshop
- Language and Communication support and workshops
- English language and communication support
- Mathematics and physics workshop
- Medication calculation workshops for nursing students
- Need help with your IT courses?
- Need help with your business courses?
- Software support and workshops
- Support with thesis
- Career and work-life services
- Wellbeing, everyday-life and studying skills
Special education teacher’s open workshops
The special education teacher will be there for you every Monday starting in September from 15 to 17 in the pink space on the first floor at the Kokkola campus (158). She offers advice, help and support for study assignments. If doing tasks at home doesn’t work, come to campus on Mondays to work — help is next door!
Support for study challenges and help with tasks can also be obtained remotely. The special education teacher will be on call on Zoom starting in September on Thursdays from 8 to 9.
Passcode: 885496
Both workshops run from the beginning of September until the end of May.
You can also contact the special teacher at any time and book an appointment in Kokkola or remotely on Teams. Päivi Ruohoniemi, tel. +358 50 5359690, paivi.ruohoniemi@centria.fi or specialteacher@centria.fi.
Basics of essay writing workshop
Essay and thesis writing techniques, such as referring and a list of references.
Meet on Zoom:
- Thursday 4.12. at 9 – 10
- Friday 12.12. at 9 – 10
Meeting ID: 663 6249 8055
Passcode: 885496
Language and Communication support and workshops
Finnish Language and Communication support
Teacher: Hertta Erkkilä, email hertta.erkkila@centria.fi
The student receives guidance according to their own needs. You can participate in the meetings occasionally. The student can bring with them reports or essays they have written that the supervisor can comment on. The content is refined according to the learning objectives of the participants. This meetings also supports the written phase of the thesis process. The meetings are intended for everyone, both Finnish and international students.
You can attend a face-to-face meeting or online. Appointments are arranged through the online appointment system. The student sends an e-mail in advance about their participation and explains more about their learning goals. The teacher responds to the email and provides the student with a link through which he or she can book an appointment smoothly.
Puhutaan suomea! – Let’s Talk Finnish
Walk-in discussion group where we only speak Finnish. Everyone is welcome – whether you are a beginner or already know Finnish.
The discussion group gathers on Thursdays 18.9.–4.12.2025 at 17.30–19.00 in classroom 131 on Talonpojankatu Campus. We will skip Autumn semester, so no meeting on Thursday 16.10.2025.
The discussion group is organized in cooperation with KOSEK and Inter Kokkola.
More information: Matthew Mendy / KOSEK (matthew.mendy@kosek.fi) or Emilia Pollarikoski-Pahkamäki (emilia.pollarikoski-pahkamaki@centria.fi).
English language and communication support
Teacher: Karin Kallis, email karin.kallis@centria.fi
The student receives guidance according to their own needs. The aim is to strengthen your English language skills. You can participate in the meetings occasionally.
You can attend a face-to-face meeting or online. Appointments are arranged through the online appointment system. The student sends an e-mail to the teacher in advance about their participation and explains more about their learning goals. The teacher responds to the email and provides the student with a link through which he or she can book an appointment smoothly.
Mathematics and physics workshop
Do you need help with math or physics assignments?
The support workshop is held on Thursdays from 14:00 to 16:00 – alternating between the Kokkola campus and online.
The first math and physics support workshop will be held online on September 11!
You can come to work on course assignments, prepare for exams, or deepen your understanding of challenging topics. In the workshop, you’ll receive personal guidance and can ask about exactly the things that are puzzling you.
Online participation requires registration in Peppi for the course YY00AT61-3008
- September 11, 2–4 PM online
- September 18, 2–4 PM on campus, room 086b
- September 25, 2–4 PM online
- October 2, 2–4 PM on campus, room 086b
- October 9, 2–4 PM online
- October 23, 2–4 PM on campus, room 086b
- October 30, 2–4 PM online
- November 6, 2–4 PM on campus, room 086b
- November 13, 2–4 PM online
- November 20, 2–4 PM on campus, room 086b
- November 27, 2–4 PM online
- December 4, 2–4 PM on campus, room 086b
- December 11, 2–4 PM on campus, room 086b
Medication calculation workshops for nursing students
Come and practice medication calculations for your exam or exam-retake.
Workshops on Zoom
- Fri 26.9. at 8–9
- Thu 9.10. at 13–14
- Wed 22.10 at 14–15
- Fri 21.11. at 8–9
- Fri 5.12. at 8–9
- Fri 19.12. at 9–10
- Fri 30.1. at 8–9
The dates for late autumn and next year will be confirmed later.
Need help with your IT courses?
Saifur Rahman, our Teaching Assistant for the IT Department, is here to support you! Whether you’re stuck on an assignment, need guidance, or just want tips on navigating your IT studies, Saifur is here to help you succeed.
Support Hours
- On Campus: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 13:00–15:00
- Microsoft Teams: Message anytime
- Email: saifur.rahman2@centria.fi
- Book a Time
No question is too small. Whether you’re stuck on an assignment, need help setting up tools, or just need advice about your IT courses.Don’t get stuck — reach out and get the help you need to stay on track.
Need help with your business courses?
Do you have an issue regarding your studies? Do you want advice on balancing your academic life? Teaching assistant for business, Confidence Uche, is here to help you out!
In the pink area (space 159) on Talonpojankatu Campus every Tuesday and Friday from 14.00–16.00.
You can also message her any day at confidence.uche2@centria.fi.
Software support and workshops
IT workshop
In the IT Workshop, you can get help with all kinds of IT issues, for example using Microsoft Word or Excel,
printing in campus, uploading attachments to ItsLearning, etc. The information and communication technology teacher is available in ZOOM according to the timetable on Wednesdays.
Support with thesis
Students in the thesis phase can request support and guidance for their thesis primarily from the thesis advisor of their programme.
Start-up videos for the thesis process
Starting a thesis can seem challenging, but with the right instructions and attitude, it is possible! Here are some short videos to help you get started!
Thesis text workshop
Thesis workshop sessions are meant for those who have already started writing their thesis and who have noticed they want or need some more advice or support when it comes to text, language and layout. Please remember that you can also find self-study material from the Itslearning workspace called “Thesis”.
Thesis workshops will be held on Tuesdays from 3 pm to 4.30 pm. The meetings will be organised as online classes only. You can find the Zoom links from the Itslearning workspace as well.
Timetable
- 9.9.
- 7.10.
- 4.11.
- 9.12.
- 13.1.
- 10.2.
- 10.3.
- 7.4.
- 5.5.
Passcode: 849626
Thesis workshop
If you need help finding information for your thesis, come to the library’s workshop.
There you will be guided to information sources and you can also get help with the technical side of your thesis. No registration needed, just show up.
The workshops will be held this spring at the Centria Library in Kokkola:
- Thursday 13.2. from 13.00 to 15.00
- Thursday 13.3. from 13.00 to 15.00
- Thursday 3.4. from 13.00 to 15.00
- Wednesday 7.5. from 13.00 to 15.00
If you can’t make it to the workshop, you can also book an individual appointment.
Kokkola and Pietarsaari
Book an appointment using the online form: link to the form
Contact the information desk directly:
Tomi Virtanen, Tel. 040 808 6616
Ylivieska
Book an appointment using the online form: link to form
Or contact the information desk directly:
Hannele Myntti, Tel. 044 449 2611
Career and work-life services
Career and work-life services are a place for students to stop and consider their dreams, goals and competencies and what direction they want to take in their career path. In addition, we provide concrete guidance and advice on job search matters.
Career and work-life services regularly organize coaching and workshops that are open to everyone to support students’ job-searching capabilities, professional growth and career planning.
Wellbeing, everyday-life and studying skills
The FSHS responsibility areas are:
- to provide students with health and medical care services
- to promote students’ health and ability to study, and
- to promote the well-being of the study environment and student community
Assessing your care needs and making an appointment
By phone
General and mental health services tel. 046 710 1073
Oral health services tel. 046 710 1085
YTHS also organises regional and national remote wellbeing support groups. For more information on groups and other forms of support, visit the YTHS website Groups and virtual courses – FSHS (yths.fi).
We welcome suggestions for useful activities or study circles skillscentria@centria.fi.
Work-life workshops and coaching
Career and work-life services regularly organize coaching and workshops that are open to everyone to support students’ job search capabilities.