Establishing a Finnish International School in Georgia

Introducing Finnish Education in Georgia

Polar Partners was a key partner in establishing Georgia’s first Finnish International School (FIS) which was opened in Tbilisi in September 2019. The plan was to create the best school in Georgia with the best available teachers, learning environment, and opportunities for individual students.

Polar Partners has been supporting the client during the COVID-19 pandemic through online teaching. According to parents, the teaching and learning quality has reached a satisfaction rate of 88% out of 100%, making the Finnish International School of Georgia one of the leading schools in the country.

Country:	Georgia
Actions:	– Introducing all the aspects of high-quality Finnish education in Georgia – Implementing and auditing Finnish International School standards – Committing proficient and proactive teachers to co-design the school
Results:	– Overwhelming interest from teachers, students, and parents – 700 participants at the launch event – Accredited Finnish-Georgia FIS curriculum – Satisfaction rate of 88% out of 100% from the parents during COVID-19
Period:	2018 – 2021

Managing the school design and set-up process

The project started with project preparation during which the Polar Partners project management team conducted a thorough feasibility study (PPEST: pedagogical, political, economic, social, and technological analysis) to deepen our understanding of Georgia, the country’s current education system, and laws and regulations. As a result, our team created a project plan for the Finnish International School (FIS) in Georgia.

School design and set-up started in early 2019 with the school building’s architectural design, school building process, adaptation and localization of the Finnish curriculum to Georgia, teacher recruitment and teacher training processes, curriculum validation and a registration process with the educational authorities from Georgia and Finland, plus a launch and promotion process of the Finnish International School.

Collaboration with the school was ended in 2021 and Polar Partners is not involved with the school operations in anymore.

Polar Partners’ Finnish partners in the project:
Finland University, University of Turku, and private training companies such as KOULU Group, PedaNow, ALO Finland, SkillSafari, Johtajuustaito, Finnish Education Group, Otava, Claned and Unfair.