Minister of Education and Science Jukka Gustafsson will inaugurate the new Saimia building of the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences at the Skinnarila campus on Tuesday 17 January at 12 o'clock. In addition to the Minister, the speakers at the inauguration include Rector Anneli Pirttilä, Chairman of the Board Tuomas Telkkä and Chairman of the Student Union (SAIKO) Board Mikko Valtonen. At the end of the inauguration, the guests are welcome to take a tour of the Skinnarila campus area, jointly occupied by the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences and the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT).

 The Saimaa University of Applied Sciences has been using the new building since the beginning of October 2011. The joint campus of the two universities is the only one of its kind in Finland. The Saimaa University of Applied Sciences has rented approximately 6,500 m2 of the buildings of LUT, and the Language Centre of the University of Applied Science operates in the facilities of the University of Technology. Joint solutions have been developed at the campus to meet both universities' need for technical laboratories. In addition, the Lappeenranta Academic Library combining the libraries of the two universities began operations in August. Approximately 200 employees of the University of Applied Sciences work at the joint campus. The number of students totals at more than 2,500. LUT has approximately one thousand employees and 5,500 undergraduate students.

The Saimia building will mainly contain teaching facilities for the social and health care, technology and business administration sectors, administrative premises and common services of the University of Applied Sciences, adult education operations, working facilities for the business administration staff and the premises of the Student Union. The building also has a gym, auditorium and the restaurant Valkama for the staff and students of the University of Applied Sciences.