IB Varia FAQ

What is IBCP?

The IB CP (International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme) is one of the four educational programs developed by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The best known and oldest of these is the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP), which has been in existence since 1968.  In the 1990s, alongside the DP, the Primary Years Programme (PYP) was introduced for lower grades, and the Middle Years Programme (MYP) was introduced for upper grades. IB for career related studies began in 2006, as the IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC), and was re-launched as the CP in November 2014. As of May 2024, there are 385 schools offering the CP in more than 52 countries.

What is the aim of IB education?

IB CP students simultaneously complete two diplomas: a vocational qualification (first students get a vocational qualification in Finnish in Information and Communications Technology comprising the qualification title: Welfare Technology Installer, “hyvinvointiteknologia-asentaja”) and they also get the IB CP diploma. The purpose of IBCP studies is to prepare students for postgraduate studies, develop their international and ethical thinking and, according to the IB's own description " to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world."

How does the IBCP differ from regular vocational studies?

The IB CP complements vocational studies. The CP’s three-part framework comprises the study of at least two Diploma Programme (DP) courses alongside the distinctive CP core and a career-related study. At Varia, students study a standard Finnish undergraduate vocational qualification, basic degree, on top of which the IB content is added. IBCP consists of three components: CRS (units from the vocational qualification), IB Core (four courses, the scope of which varies between 50 and 90 hours) and DP courses, i.e. IB Diploma programme courses (at least two are required for each student, with a scope of 150 hours).

What is the timetable for IB education at Varia?

The IB education takes place simultaneously with the vocational education, so that the two-year IB CP education begins one semester after the beginning of the vocational education and ends one semester (six months) before the end of the vocational education. For example, the students of the first IB group will start their studies in the fall of 2024. IB studies will begin in January 2025. According to the schedule, IB studies will end two years later, i.e. at the end of 2026. The students' vocational studies will end in the spring of 2027 according to the schedule. When there are no IB studies, students are normally studying vocational qualification studies.

What are the core courses?

The IB Core consists of four tailored courses to supplement vocational education and training. The purpose of Core is to develop students' study skills, eligibility for postgraduate studies and various everyday and life management skills, as well as ethical and international thinking. The CP core bridges the IB academic courses and the career-related study and provides students with a combination of academic and practical skills.

Service Learning:  Service Learning is active citizenship: The practical application of knowledge and skills towards meeting an identified community need. Great opportunity to make a positive difference to the community. Through service, students develop and apply personal and social skills in real-life situations.

Personal and Professional Skills (PPS): Personal and professional skills is designed for students to develop attitudes, skills and strategies to be applied to personal and professional situations and contexts now and in the future. In this course the emphasis is on skills development for the workplace, as these are transferable and can be applied in a range of situations.

Language Development (LD): LD language cannot be the student’s strongest language; for example, Finnish-speaking students study English as their LD language.

Reflective Project (RP): An independent project where students explore an ethical question related to their vocational studies.

What are DP courses?

IB DP courses are so-called IB high school courses. A student must complete at least two IB DP courses to obtain the IB CP diploma. At the beginning, Varia offers students three DP courses: Digital Society (for everyone), English B and Finnish B (the language to be studied is determined using the same criteria as in Language Development).

How is the performance assessed?

The evaluation of courses varies according to the type of course. CRS studies are normally evaluated in accordance with vocational qualification requirements and evaluation criteria. DP studies are graded on a scale of 1-7 (7 being the best). The core courses are evaluated internally in Varia by using the scale 1-5. Personal and professional skills, Service learning and Language development are marked for IB as passed or failed. The Reflective Project has its own evaluation criteria for IB from E to A (A as highest score).

What is the language of IBCP?

All teaching, communication, teaching materials and other communication regulated by the IBO in Varia takes place in English (in the rest of the world, the language of IB teaching can also be Spanish, French or German). English is also the language of instruction in the teaching of the Finnish language.

The exception to this is CRS, i.e. the teaching of the basic vocational qualification is mainly in Finnish.

In the IB student selection, the student is required to have basic skills in Finnish and English. Both languages are taught during the studies. The DP courses English B and Finnish B are taught according to the DP curriculum. Language Development, which is part of the Core studies, is more free-form, and its purpose is to support vocational studies in Finnish for those studying Finnish as a foreign language, and IB studies in English for those studying English as a foreign language.