TAMK won the HVAC student competition in Jyväskylä

The student competition between universities of applied sciences in the HVAC field was hosted by Oy Lindab Ab in Jyväskylä in March. The competition, which was organized for the 15th time, was won by the TAMK team, with Xamk coming in second place and SAMK coming in third.

The students were able to demonstrate their skills in practical and theoretical tasks prepared by the host company and the teachers who served as judges for the competition, as well as in a task related to managing building regulations.

Since 2008, teams from all universities of applied sciences that offer HVAC education have been able to participate in the competition, which has been organized almost annually. The premises for the practical tasks of the competition and the framework for the day have been arranged by an annually selected Talteka member company. A jury representing various educational institutions and industry organizations has prepared the theoretical questions. The winning team consisted of Krista Hakkarainen, Evgeny Sidorenko, Eero Ojala ja Ilpo Nyberg.

The competitors described the competition as enjoyable. In the competition, “the tasks are interesting and challenging, and you also compete with yourself,” as one of the students summed it up. The day passed quickly, even though it seemed a long time. “The implementation of the competition tasks highlighted teamwork skills and abilities, which were delightfully good in all teams,” says the chairman of the competition jury. Mika Kuusela.

Creating competition tasks is a meticulous task, as different educational institutions handle things in different order and different teams have different things fresh in their minds. Competition tasks must also be motivating and yet at the same time they must be such that they differentiate the level of competence of different teams.

The theoretical assignments prepared by the teachers covered ventilation sizing, water and sewer network design and sizing, refrigeration technology, and the carbon footprint of construction. Regulatory management was tested with questions related to energy efficiency prepared by SuLVI. The bonus assignment was to measure the airflow in the duct and evaluate the factors affecting the accuracy of airflow measurement.

"We are very happy and grateful that we have had the opportunity to have these future building technology professionals and their teachers as guests. It is great that we have been able to participate in organizing this traditional competition," says an acoustics expert from Lindab, the 2026 host. Tuomas Veijalainen.

Lindab is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of ventilation equipment. "We collaborate with educational institutions in several countries. We offer ventilation theory and product training, internships, summer jobs and thesis positions. Together with educational institutions, we train future professionals, build better energy efficiency and better indoor air conditions."

The competition organizing committee and jury consist of teacher representatives from all participating educational institutions and representatives from the sponsors Talteka and the LVY Foundation. The secretary of the jury is VVS Föreningen i Finland rf. Siru Lönnqvist and Mika Kuusela from Xamk was elected as the chairman of the jury from among the representatives of educational institutions this year.

The host company was represented on the competition jury by Pasi Sauvolainen, which initiated the competition for students. “We are happy to host the student competition. We believe that the competitions will encourage students to study HVAC technology in a broad range of fields and at the same time give them the opportunity to get to know companies in the field and network with each other.”

“Being successful in competition requires not only your own expertise, but also teamwork skills, endurance and enthusiasm, which are also needed in working life,” says Siru Lönnqvist from VVS Föreningen.

"It has been great to watch the professional and enthusiastic attitude of young people studying for the field in the difficult competitive tasks. The competition is an established and respected event in the field. It also provides a benchmark for future experts in the field and educational institutions to assess their own competence," he says. Juhani Hyvärinen From the collection.

"The competition is part of the organizations' cooperation with educational institutions and offers the host company a way to meet students and vice versa, and students a chance to get to know the most influential companies in the field in addition to challenging their own expertise. The competition also offers teachers from educational institutions an opportunity to meet each other and discuss current issues related to teaching," says SuLVI's executive director. Samuel Konko.

More information

Juhani Hyvärinen

Leading expert

juhani.hyvarinen@rt.fi +358 40 745 7907

Finnish Building Services Industries and Trade (Talteka)

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