Kajaani (Swedish: Kajana) is a town in the region of Kainuu, Finland. In 2009, it had a population of about 38,000. It covers an area of 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi).
The forestry and lumber industries are important in Kajaani.
The former municipality of Vuolijoki was merged with Kajaani in 2007.
The city runs the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (KAMK), a university of applied sciences founded in 1992. It offers courses in business, sports, nursing, tourism, engineering and computer science in Finnish and partly in English. Cooperation with the University of Oulu takes place in some areas. A total of 9 Bachelor's programmes are offered in Finnish, 4 Bachelor's programmes in English, five Master's programmes in Finnish and one Master's programme in English. Noteworthy are programs in e-sports and game development. There are currently 2200 students enrolled at KAMK. KAMK has numerous university partnerships worldwide, in German-speaking countries for example FH Joanneum (A), FH Kufstein (A), FH Technikum Kärnten (A), Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) (D), Albstadt-Sigmaringen University of Applied Sciences (D), University of Bayreuth (D), Hochschule Bremen (D), Hochschule Harz (FH) (D), Hochschule Heilbronn (D), Hochschule Neu-Ulm (D), Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (D), Westsächsische Hochschule (D), Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (D), Hochschule Landshut (D), Hochschule Kempten (D), Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (D).
CEMIS - Centre for Measurement and Information Systems is a joint venture of the Universities of Oulu, Jyväskylä, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. and CSC - IT Centre for Science Ltd. and KAMK. It provides measurement and IT solutions for the cleantech sector and for sports, well-being and healthcare.
The government-run Kainuu Music Institute was founded in 1957 and is part of the Kaukametsä Congress and Cultural Centre. Music and dance (ballet) are taught. In addition to Kajaani, teaching is provided at Hyrynsalmi, Paltamo, Puolanka, Ristijärvi, Suomussalmi, Vaala and Vuolijoki. The Kajaani Public Library is located on Kauppakatu Street and has free internet access and a mobile library service.
Östersund, Sweden, since 1943
Rostov-on-Don, Russia, since 1956
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Germany, since 1973
Nyíregyháza, Hungary, since 1981
Marquette, United States, since 1997
Jiujiang, People's Republic of China, since 2006