Mikkeli has traditionally been a strong student city. The city’s further education is organised by the South Savo Vocational College (Esedu), where some 3,000 young students and 5,000 adult students study annually. They offer 47 different undergraduate, 24 vocational and 8 specialist qualifications. Approximately 80% of graduates stay to work in the region.

The South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) also operates in Mikkeli. The Xamk is the fifth largest university in Finland in terms of student numbers. Xamk offers higher education studies in 89 degree programmes to a total of 7,900 degree students. About half of the students study at the Mikkeli campus. The applied university also offers seven degree programmes in English.

Mikkeli University Centre is one of three educational units operating in the city and several different universities units are located on the campus of the University Centre. These include: Aalto University School of Business International Business Training Unit, University of Helsinki Ruralia Institute, National Library Digitisation and Conservation Centre, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT) Entrepreneurship Research Unit and the Green Chemistry Laboratory training international postgraduate students.

Every year, about 250 undergraduate students at the campus study for the English-language Bachelor of Science in Economics programme and 320 in the Co-op Network Studies programme. Additionally, the University of Helsinki provides continuing education for approximately 1,150 students per year at the campus. The campus employs 130 permanent staff. Furthermore, the Natural Resource Centre, the Summer University and the campus’s Researcher Hotel offer facilities for about 150 experts and researchers.

According to surveys, Mikkeli, along with Kuopio, have the best cooperation between companies and educational institutions in Finland.