The South Carelia Vocational Education Foundation funds annually ca. €100 000 worth of grants and awards. The goal of the foundation is to support and promote education and research activities in the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, the South Carelia Vocational College and the South Carelia Adult Education Centre.

The foundation offers also thesis grants to Saimaa UAS students. Grants are awarded to theses that will benefit the South Carelia region and its business life, as well as the local companies. Students can also apply for financial support for placement abroad. Applications can be sent throughout the year and the total sum to be distributed in 2011 is €8 000. In 2010, the foundation awarded €3 800 worth of thesis grants to Saimaa UAS students.

- Many UAS students are not yet aware of the available thesis grants. Hopefully, this will change in the future, states executive manager Birgitta Tiljander.

In 2010, the foundation granted €101 363 worth of awards. Saimaa UAS students received in total 102 awards, the worth of which amounted to €82 668, and South Carelia Vocational College students received 147 awards, the worth of which amounted to €18 695. The foundation presents awards and scholarships to students during their studies and when they graduate. Proposals for awards and scholarships are made by the educational institutions.

The foundation was founded by the South Carelia Municipal Federation of Education on 3 June, 2003, and it helped to unify the fund structure of the Municipal Federation of Education. The total assets of the foundation amounted to €643 540.14 at the end of 2010.