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International Summer School

Do you want to learn more about entrepreneurship and venturing in an international context? The University of Vaasa Summer School on Entrepreneurship and Venturing will take place in August 2026. The three-week academic programme helps you gain essential entrepreneurial knowledge and skills in an international context.
University of Vaasa students outside on the seaside campus.
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Multidisciplinary Summer School by domain experts

The Summer School on Entrepreneuship and Venturing combines lectures, discussion sessions and workshops with practical activities lead by domain experts. The guest speakers of the programme include renowned academics as well as company representatives. Our instructors are experts in their fields and teach with enthusiasm and contemporary relevance. As it is a multidisciplinary course that invites students from different universities, you will get to work together with students from different fields and backgrounds. 

The Summer School takes place in Vaasa, also known as the energy hub of the Nordic countries. Vaasa is the educational, cultural and tourist centre of Western Finland, located by the sea near the Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage area. Our unique maritime campus is a short walk away from Vaasa city centre. Each week of the Summer School, we will organise extra-curricular activities in the beautiful seaside city and its surroundings.

Who is the Summer School for?

The Summer School is for students in higher education institutions who are interested to build a global start-up or seeking to work at an established company with intrapreneurial competences sparking innovations that have the potential to address global market needs. We welcome students from different academic disciplines and levels. The programme is in English, so you need to have fluent English language skills to participate. 

The Summer School is free of charge for degree students from the University of Vaasa, other higher education units located in Vaasa, degree students at partner universities of the University of Vaasa and of network partners in HERMES and GBSN. For other students, the tuition is 150 euros per ECTS (credit).  

Please note that the first week is organised as a blended intensive programme (BIP) with Erasmus+ support. Students from participating sending institutions have priority. 

Participants must be of the age of 18 or older. Please note that the University of Vaasa is not able to support with travel arrangements or visas, so make sure that you have sufficient time for these arrangements. Kindly note that the University of Vaasa doesn’t provide you with housing during the Summer School. If you come from a partner university abroad, please contact your local institution about the possibility to receive financial support to organise your stay at Vaasa. 

Courses and Schedules

The University of Vaasa Summer School consists of three courses: International Entrepreneurship (6 ECTS), Ideation and Venture Creation (3 ECTS) and Start-up Scouting and Valuation (2 ECTS). You can sign up for all of the courses or select the ones you are most interested in. Some courses may include pre-learning activities.

N.B. More detailed schedules and information about application process will be added by 6 February 2026!

Prepare for your stay

To ensure a smooth Summer School experience, remember to book your travels and accommodation well in advance. Please contact your local institution about the possibility to receive financial support to organise your stay at Vaasa.

There are many possible ways to travel to Vaasa depending on your departure location and travelling preferences. Usually the easiest way to reach Vaasa from aboard is to fly to the Helsinki airport and from there, continue with a flight to the Vaasa Airport or by train to the Vaasa train station. There are daily flights from Helsinki to Vaasa (operated by Finnair) and several daily train connections. Please visit the Finnish rail company VR’s website for more information about train connections. You can also travel from Helsinki to Vaasa by bus, for example Onnibus is an affordable option.

Remember to make sure you have all your travel documents up-to-date. If you are not a citizen of a Schengen member state, you will need a visa for your stay. The accepted students can request the invitation letter needed in the visa application from the University. Please make sure that you have all the documents for the visa application well in advance, such as your passport, travel insurance, hotel reservations, flight tickets etc. More information about the visa requirements in Finland. 

You will receive more information about the prices and possible discounts with the confirmation email. It is recommended to book your travels and accommodation as soon as you receive the confirmation.

Please note that the University of Vaasa doesn’t provide you with housing during the Summer School. If you come from a partner university abroad, please contact your local institution about the possibility to receive financial support to organise your stay at Vaasa. 

You can find hotels in Vaasa region on Visit Vaasa's website (most affordable prices at EC Hostel, GreenStar Hotel Vaasa and Omena Hotel Vaasa).

Getting to our Palosaari campus is a breeze. The University of Vaasa is a 20-minute walk from the city center (a 5-minute bike ride / electric scooter ride). You can also hop on one of the local public transportation buses.

Online journey planner for regional public transport Lifti

There is an online journey planner for the joint regional public transport network of the City of Vaasa and Municipality of Mustasaari. In the journey planner, you can check the current location of a bus and suggestions for bus lines based on your destination.

You can select your location and destination on the map, and the journey planner will suggest a suitable route and bus line. Alternatively, you can select a bus stop and see what bus lines stop there and when the buses are due to depart. You can search by typing in the place of departure and destination. The search recognises landmarks, such as schools, the public swimming pool and sports fields.

The journey planner can be used on a smartphone or a computer. The planner is available in English.

The bus stop in front of the university on Wolffintie is called Wolffintie – Yliopisto/Universitet.
The bus stop in front of Novia University of Applied Sciences is called Wolffintie 27–31/Novia.

Lifti – Public transport for the Vaasa region

Lifti journey planner

Questions?

Course Coordinators will help you in matters related to course contents. In practical matters, please contact summerschool@uwasa.fi