The campuses create great cooperation opportunities

Our aim is to be the best campus partner, both for our owner universities and other customers. At the end of 2020, we had around 100 tenants as customers. The development has been significant compared to the first few years of operations. In addition to universities, our campuses house universities of applied sciences, comprehensive schools, oral health services and hospital district functions. Our campuses also house private day-care centres and small, medium-sized and large enterprises in various sectors.

Campus sites

All our university campuses are located in different parts of Finland: in Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Rauma, Rovaniemi, Tampere and Turku. SYK also owns research stations in five different locations. At the end of 2020, the universities were leasing nearly 900,000 m² of premises from SYK.

The campus is an ideal location for parties that work or seek close cooperation with universities. Synergy is created between the actors from doing things together, open interaction, sharing resources and the encounters of various actors. In 2020, we signed about twenty corporate lease agreements. Most of our corporate tenants have their facilities in the Kampusareena and Tietotalo buildings on the Hervanta campus in Tampere.

Redevelopment of vacant properties and premises

At the end of 2020, our occupancy rate was 94.2%. Vacant space amounted to 60,500 m². Nine per cent of the premises were available for renting directly. In the strategy discussions with universities about premises and campuses, the further development of vacant premises plays an important role. Before the further development of properties, it is ensured that universities currently have no need for the premises in question. Of the campus cities, the occupancy rates of Jyväskylä and Turku are lower than other cities. Further planning and development of these sites is actively implemented.

Breakdown of customer groups by revenue in 2020

Breakdown of customer groups, excluding universities, in 2020

Premises and campus strategies to guide the development work

One of SYK’s priorities in 2020 was the development of customer relationship management. Our annual campus-specific strategy discussions with universities provide guidelines for our operating activities and future measures. The goal of the discussions is to engage in open dialogue on the universities’ views of the future, determine guidelines for matters related to facilities and discuss topical themes. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the meetings and development work took place in digital environments. Despite the exceptional circumstances and the arrangements resulting from them, the key issues were well promoted.

Customer relationships have been involved in the preparation of project plans with the representatives of the users of premises. In many locations, we have prepared project studies and plans related to renovations, improvements and even new construction. The progress of the pandemic in the spring created a new situation that called for a more extensive assessment of future facility needs if multi-location working and studying continues to increase.

The parties responsible for university premises, such as the rector, financial or administrative management, and a representative of premises services, participated in the premises and campus strategy discussion with each customer university. The discussions took place in September-October 2020. Development based on openness and dialogue was deemed necessary to establish a common strategic objective.

The goal is to make the facility and campus strategy process a continuous method for determining and achieving joint targets through an aligned will. The universities and SYK will cooperate to prepare action plans for the various strategy levels (campuses, properties and facilities), with schedules and designated persons in charge. This enables us to better concentrate measures and jointly develop campuses over the short and long term.

SYK is also familiar with the facility needs of primary schools and early childhood education

Our buildings have normal schools, or internship schools, where teacher candidates studying to graduate as teachers participate in teacher training. The normal schools are located at our premises in Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Rauma, Rovaniemi, Tampere and Turku. In Vaasa, SYK owns the properties of the Swedish language comprehensive school and upper secondary school (Vasa övningsskola). In Hämeenlinna, SYK owns the day-care and school properties leased by the City of Hämeenlinna. Because the Savonlinna normal school has ceased to operate, SYK is to divest the school property.

Thanks to normal schools, we know the requirements of early childhood education and comprehensive school regarding premises. It is therefore natural to respond to the premises requirements of schools in cities at our campuses as well. Both in Lappeenranta and Tampere, our campus has both a comprehensive school and a private day-care centre. The fact that the day-care centre is located at the campus has been especially praised by parents working in the area, because their daily work has been facilitated by the location of the day-care facility near their workplace.