Erasmus 25th Anniversary Photo Competition

The Finnish Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) launches a photo competition in honour of the 25^th anniversary of the Erasmus programme from June to October 2012.

The best photos will be rewarded and published on CIMO's website.

Subject: My Erasmus Exchange

For whom: The competition is open to all students studying in a Finnish University who have participated in Erasmus student exchange or Erasmus work placement abroad, and for international students who have completed their Erasmus student exchange or Erasmus work placement in Finland, or are currently on their exchange period.

What: The photos should be connected to Erasmus student exchange or work placement, for example to intercultural situations, studying, working, accommodation and free time.

When: The competition ends on 31 October 2012. The winner of the competition will be announced in December 2012. The winners are personally contacted by e-mail.

Submisssion: Please return the photos as an attachment by email together with your full name(s), contact information (email and postal address), home University, host University (in case of student exchange) and exchange year to erasmus-kuvat@cimo.fi by 31 October 2012. You may also add a few thoughts of the photo or a photo text.

Instructions and rules:

• Remember to ask a permission to use the photo and inform the persons in the photo where it will be used.
• Avoid photos and situations which can give a stereotypical impression of people, or which are offensive.
• Write down the names of the persons in the photos and where it was taken.
• Participants have to own rights to the photos provided for the competition.
• The photos can be taken individually or in groups.
• Each student/group can return a maximum of 3 photos.
• The photos will not be returned to participants.
• By sending the photos to the competition, the participants give CIMO the right to use and publish the photos on line and in print. The photos can be used for example on CIMO's website, brochures and information and training sessions. The name of the photographer will be published together with the photo. The participants remain a right to use the photos freely.

Selection and criteria: The photos should be of good photographic quality and suitable for publishing online. Emphasis is also given to originality, cheerfulness and intercultural aspect.

The winners will be selected by a jury which consists of CIMO's and ESN-Finland's representatives

 and photographer, MA Satu Haavisto.

Award: The winners of the competition will be awarded.

More information:

Centre for International Mobility CIMO

Erasmus programme

erasmus-kuvat@cimo.fi

Europe Day in St Petersburg

The ’Europe  Day’ was celebrated in St Petersburg on Saturday 22 September 2012. All those interested in the European Union had the chance to visit the embassies and consulates of the EU member states for more information of the countries and their current status in the Union. The ’Europe Day’ also opened the doors of the Consulate General of Finland in St Petersburg where the Finnish higher education institutions were presented to the potential applicants and their families. The event was most successfully coordinatd by CIMO. The estimated number of visitors during the five-hour event was ca 600 – an all-time record!

When the doors opened to the Consulate General at noon, the event hall was quickly full of locals busy finding their future place of study. TAMK introduced its four degree programmes conducted in English at the event together with the University of Tampere and Tampere University of Technology. The Unipoli universities were met with lots of enthusiasm and a flood of questions from the young Russians.
 

Minna Peltola (above right) from the University of Tampere and Riku-Matti Kinnunen (left) from TAMK met the visitors at the stand.

The four degree programmes conducted in English that will start at TAMK in the Autumn Semester 2013 will offer studies in Media, International Business, Nursing and Environmental Engineering. More information can be had at www.tamk.fi/en. The application period for the Degree Programmes in English will run from 7 January till 12 February 2013. The on-line application can be filled in at www.admissions.fi.






Text: R-M. Kinnunen
Photos: Minna Peltola & R-M. Kinnunen

Rethinking education at EAIE

It was a truly inspirational week taking part in the 24th Annual EAIE Conference in Dublin, Ireland. TAMK representatives from the International Services, Language Services and the School of Art, Music and Media enjoyed a very full programme of networking and learning.

Kirsi & Sohvi at the exhibition booth 

The week commenced with a special keynote address from “Global Education Superstar”, Sugata Mitra. Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University and Visiting Professor at MIT, Sugata is well-known for his “Hole in the Wall” project. What started in 1999 with an internet-connected PC installed in a hole in a wall bordering an urban slum in New Delhi is an experiment that has come to challenge some of the key assumptions of formal education, demonstrating that an environment that stimulates curiosity can cause learning through self-instruction and peer-knowledge. His work inspired the book Slumdog Millionaire that went on to become the Oscar winning film of 2009.

Our focus in the conference this year was to deepen and renew our links with existing partners, and we certainly did so by hosting a joint reception under the “INland Finland” theme together with JAMK University of Applied Sciences. International activities have been a spearhead in collaboration between the two UAS’s and we once again proved that by linking our partners with each other’s partners.

TAMK & JAMK hosts at the reception 

At the Closing Plenary we heard from an award winning social entrepreneur and international advocate for persons with disabilities, Caroline Casey. Over the past ten years, Caroline has brought a unique blend of leadership and vision to the business and political world by promoting the abilities of those with disabilities on a national and international level. Founder of Kanchi and the O2 Ability Awards, she continues to look past limits and affect change through positive solution based thinking.

The week was filled with dozens of more than valuable meetings with colleagues from all over the world and will serve as a priceless tool for quality assurance in everyday activities with partners. We want to thank all the partners who attended our reception and came to exchange views and experiences at our booth at the exhibition.

Hope to see you again in Istanbul in 2013!

Kirsi Tolvanen – Head of International Services
Camilla Kalevo – International Coordinator, Mobility Projects
Piri Hiltunen – International Coordinator, Outgoing Students
Sohvi Sirkesalo – International Coordinator, School of Art, Music and Media
Tarja Haukijärvi – Head of Language Services

Text: Piri
Photos: Kirsi & Nina

Two groups from Miyagi University

In the end of August two groups from Miyagi University, Japan, arrived in TAMK for study visits. Three Nursing students participated in an intensive course called Gerontological Nursing. At the same time Research & Development department was hosting a group of six Miyagi students.

The nursing students Yoriko Arashida, Risa Nishiyama and Chiho Saito had a full programme for the whole two weeks. They participated in the lectures with Finnish nursing students and they had a chance to see different aspects of elderly nursing in Finland like hospitals, retirement homes and home care. The organizer of the visit, Principal Lecturer in School of Health Care, Sirpa Salin was really pleased to see how eager the Miyagi students were to learn. She also got lot of new energy when she saw the enthuasism of the students.

The girls become friends with TAMK nursing students and luckily they're going to meet again next spring when the TAMK student group is going to visit Miyagi University.

In the end of the visit Principal Lecturer Sirpa Salin handed out the Certificates to the Miyagi students.

The other Miyagi group consisted of six students from different fields like Tourism, Design and Business studies. The aim of the programme was to innovate new concepts in collaboration with R&D staff and their projects. During the visit the student stayed at home accomodation so they got the first-hand experience of Finnish homes, families and culture.

Looking forward to having active cooperation with Miyagi University in the future as well!

Text and photo: Kaisa Merilahti, International Services

Language Bath - Learning language in practice

Henri Mäntysaari, Kristian Staack, Viktoriia Moiseeva, Arthur Duchamp
and Iddah Ali took part in Finnish Bath last spring

Are you going for an exchange and you need to freshen up your language skills? Do you want to learn spoken language instead of grammar? Would you like to meet people who are interested in your native language? Or did you learn a new language during your exchange and you want to maintain your skills? If yes, Language Bath could be a good option for you!

The Student Union TAMKO started the Language Bath service last spring and because of the good experiences, it's here again! In Language Bath you can teach a language you know and learn a language from native speakers in discussion.

Viktoriia is having a conversation with three native speakers
in French Bath group.

Last spring international degree students Arthur Duchamp and Viktoriia Moiseeva took part in Language Bath groups as teachers and students. About Finnish Bath Arthur said: "Here I can use the words and the things I've learned in the Basic Finnish course." Viktoriia added another positive aspect: "In Language Bath group I can ask about the vocabulary that I'm interested in and that I need in my everyday life."

Find more information about joining the groups on TAMKO web page.





Text and photos: Kaisa Merilahti, International Services