SAKUstars is a national competition and cultural event for vocational students in Finland. It focuses on culture, creativity, and artistic skills rather than traditional academic subjects.
The event is organized by SAKU ry and brings together students from vocational schools across the country to compete and perform in a wide range of categories, including:
- Performing arts (music, dance, theatre)
- Media and audiovisual production
- Visual arts and design
- Writing and communication
- Sports and well-being activities
Unlike technical skills competitions such as the National Skills competitions or Euroskills, SAKUstars emphasizes creativity, expression, teamwork, and student well-being. It offers vocational students a valuable platform to showcase talents that may not always be visible in everyday studies.
The event is held annually in different locations across Finland and is one of the largest cultural student events in the vocational education sector.
SAKUstars 2026 in Tampere
In April 2026, SAKUstars was held in Tampere, bringing together vocational students from all over Finland to showcase their creativity, talent, and artistic expression.
The competition brought together around 560 students from 32 VET schools, and some categories, such as photography and “art in two hours,” had nearly 180 participants each.
The competition consisted of two main sections: submission-based preliminary categories and live performance categories.
Submission categories
Participants competed in areas such as:
- Animation
- Graphic design
- Posters
- Sculpture
- Essay writing
- Painting
- Drawing art
- Podcast
- Poetry
- Finnish as a second language (S2) text
- Comics
- Art crafts
- Computer graphics
- Photography
- Videos
Live categories
The live events featured performances and on-site creative challenges, including:
- Band soloist competition
- Karaoke
- Singer-songwriter
- Vocal groups
- Recitation and monologues
- Landscape painting
- Drawing from a model
- Floorball (PIPAlätkä)
- Rap music
- Poetry in one hour
- Group dance
- Instrumental ensembles and bands
- Solo instruments
- Spoken word
- Art in two hours
- Talent
- Theatre
- Photography art in a day
- Video storytelling
- Solo singing
- Solo dance
Once again, SAKUstars highlighted the impressive range of creative skills among vocational students and provided a platform for expression, performance, and artistic development across Finland.
Vamia students at SAKUstars 2026
Vamia was strongly represented at SAKUstars 2026, with more than 30 students participating in the competition in Tampere.
The students took part in a wide range of categories such as dance, singing, photography, painting, drawing, spoken word, monologues, and talent performances. Over three days, they demonstrated courage, creativity, and a strong sense of community.
Vamia students represented several fields of study, including restaurant and catering, mechanical and production engineering, construction, media studies, plumbing, business administration, early childhood care, security services, and software development.
The three-day cultural celebration resulted in unforgettable experiences, new friendships, personal growth, and a strong sense of togetherness — as well as an impressive number of medals and honorary mentions.
Vamia medalists and award winners
Gold medalists:
- Singer-songwriter: Mathew Success
- Instrumental ensembles and bands: Band Wagon (Mathew Success, Peetu Pakkala, Adeyi Dunsin, Emil Basso, Favour Onyeghala)
- Recitation and monologues: Joyceline Shibi
- Karaoke: Eunice Shopein-Mann
Silver medalist:
- Karaoke: Mathew Success
Bronze medalists:
- Vocal group “Treble Makers”: Eunice Shopein-Mann, Joyceline Shibi, Pamela Marime, Mathew Success, Adeyi Dunsin, Ninnet Bordoh, Gabriel Ogoladejesu
Honorary mentions:
- Karaoke: Neela Ruohoniemi, Joyceline Shibi
- Photography (one day): Robin Nyberg
- Art in two hours: Iina Westerholm
- Solo dance: Mim Nowrin
- Solo instruments: Adeyi Dunsin
A warm thank you goes to the supervising teachers and staff for encouraging students to participate, and to Vamia for the opportunity to take part in this inspiring event with such a large group.
Vocational education and training truly opens the door to endless opportunities !
