SoMe, Sauna and white nights - two intensive weeks in Finland!

Scenery from the accommodation at Lomasaari

Hi my name is Alexander Steverink, a fourth year International Business and Languages student at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, located in Zwolle, the Netherlands.

Before I get to the actual story of my experiences during the Intensive Programme I would like to tell you how I got selected for the IP in the spring 2013. Earlier this year I read a notification on the intranet of Windesheim, they asked students to apply and those who met the requirements and were selected could join on this two week Intensive Programme DIGISOMEMAR - Digital, social and mobile media in marketing, internet and IT applications & management of M- and E-business, coordinated by Tampere University of Applied Sciences, TAMK. Due to my interest in this area and close affinity to it I was one of the four students selected to represent Windesheim together with one of our lecturers. After the application, approval and preparation it was time to pack my bags and travel to Finland.

The Dutch student team Joost, Alexander, Mariko and Anne

The journey started in Amsterdam where I took the plane to Helsinki to meet up with the other Windesheim students and our professor to travel to Tampere. The next day in Tampere we had a delicious breakfast and already met some other students. During the day we had plenty of time to get to know each other a little bit and we had a rather interesting introduction at TAMK. After the introduction we spent some time in Tampere and left for Virrat, our ‘’basecamp’’ for the next two weeks. I was happily surprised once we reached our final destination. Just outside this little town Virrat there is a beautiful lake surrounded by forest and some cottages where we stayed during the IP. Each cottage is located at the lake, with an own kitchen, bathroom and sauna. Not bad at all!

Audience preparing for a presentation

The first day we also had the opportunity to do some shopping and to get to know the surroundings a little bit. The rest of the time we worked in the DIGISOMEMAR IP, coordinated and guided by Pirkko Varis, a very warm, caring and helpful person that works at the TAMK University of Applied Sciences as an international coordinator and senior lecturer in marketing. All students and professors from every participating university presented and discussed on various topics relating to the IP, besides these presentations you participated in workshops that covered a wide range of topics.

A workshop session

The programme of the IP was very intensive, not only due to high number of subject related presentations, courses and workshops but also due to all the activities during and besides the programme. The programme itself was filled with various presentations and workshops related to the theme but it is unimaginable what students and teachers came up with to share with the group. From frequently made mistakes within social media communications up to real live augmented reality gaming, from mobile media marketing all the way up to new technologies such as NFC (Near Field Communication). A very comprehensive programme that offered you as a student the possibility to widen your horizon and get a glimpse on the latest developments.

Some fun between presentations

The most challenging part of the programme was not the programme itself or the content but the different people, cultures and countries they came from. It was highly interesting to hear and see how students and professors form an opinion or explain their experiences with a certain product or service. Do not forget that even though most participants were from countries inside the European Union, the European Union itself has a lot of different cultures and perceptions. All in all it was a really challenging and intensive two weeks, in a beautiful country, with very warm people and interesting presentations and workshops in a multicultural setting. You did not only learn by participating in the mandatory part of the IP but also during the parties, during the sauna or during a dip in the ice-cold lake. Actually you were learning 24/7 in these two intensive weeks!

Fire made by ourselves

 The DIGISOMEMAR IP was a really great experience, even if you had been abroad to study or work, meeting new people from different cultures in this setting created completely new challenges. Besides the benefits of this programme for your own development, participation in the IP is something that can give you a head start when applying for a vacancy.

Pirkko and Iittala team members happy with the work done

Alexander from the Netherlands and Alexandros from Greece enjoying the IP

Text: Alexander Steverink, a student of Windesheim University of Applied Sciences

Photos: Christian Reimann, FH Dortmund; Pirkko Varis, Tampere University of Applied Sciences

Silent Room for students and staff

Do you feel stressed? Too much information from every direction? Are you worried? Do you need a quiet place?

TAMK now has a Quiet Room which any student or staff member may use for a moment of rest from the day’s hassle.

Being in a quiet place helps. You can spend a few moments alone, with only your thoughts. You may listen to calming music, read some encouraging lines, pray or just be – rest.

The Quiet Room is always open. If you don’t want others to disturb you, you may use the Open/Closed sign hanging outside the room to ask others to wait.

The Quiet Room is located at the first floor of Kuntokatu 4, room S1-07 (go through the glass doors across the elevator, the room is the very last room).

Be curious, stop, visit. Maybe you hear more in the silence…

If you have questions, feel free to contact the TAMK Pastor Katriina Hallikainen: katriina.hallikainen@evl.fi, tel. 050 3657595.

Text: Katriina Hallikainen

Photos: Mirja Onduso

Omani students learnt entrepreneurship skills at TAMK

Joy, inspiration and friendly words!

A summer course offer TAMK made for Oman brought 36 young Omani higher education students to study entrepreneurship skills at TAMK. We had the chance to work with glad and friendly Omani students during the summer.

The group of the best Omani higher education students arrived in Finland after Midsummer for a one-month study trip. The education included idea generation methods, project management, development of self-marketing, development of personal business ideas, and above all, experiences on Finland. We at TAMK received a lot of information and understanding of the life and education system of a country so far away but yet so close.

Differences in learning cultures

Our learning culture differs considerably from the Omani one. A student described the Omani way of lecturing like this: ”First the teacher opens a book, lectures about it, and closes the book. After this we believe that it is so. In Finland we have been able to ask, wonder, and participate in teaching. The idea generation methods were challenging but extremely interesting ways to develop new business ideas.”

This was not our first experience on Omanis but whether the course succeeded and the Omanis felt comfortable kept us in suspense for the whole July. We wanted our guests to enjoy and return to their home country with positive experiences and inspiring ideas. Luckily the students were flexible and self-directed. We soon learnt the culture differences and got used to the men doing everything before the women. The women were used to waiting and it was natural for them to remain in the background. On the other hand, the men were very polite and considerate towards the women. Discussions with the women revealed their wide education and willingness to develop themselves and find meaningful employment. On the basis of what we heard, Oman has same problems as Finland – there are unemployed young people and it is difficult for them to find work. Entrepreneurship is often the only option.

The summer with the students went fast. Our biggest worry was the food. Finding the right ingredients and cooking the food options were challenges for our cooperation partners in food services. The students bravely fasted almost their whole time in Finland. Could you do this – in a foreign country, in the middle of strange habits without food and drink during daylight?

The group achieved a lot

The visit took place during the Finnish holiday season and TAMK facilities were quite freely available for us. Y-Campus offered a great setting for teaching new learning methods. Due to the holidays, there were not many company visits; we offered business life examples by inviting company representatives to TAMK. Despite the holiday season, TAMK Extension Studies staff and numerous teachers participated in the summer project. Tabula was used diligently and emails and text messages flew in order to make everything succeed as desired.

The students also readily shared information with each other. An Arabic lecture on blogging was interesting. Ideas were exchanged and hands swung eloquently. The group spirit was literally tangible.

And what was achieved concretely? The male group practised for example video editing. They probably had a twinkle in their eye when uploading this video to YouTube after the study day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eruPlloxw4Y&feature=youtu.be

Our guests started their return journey feeling wistful. They packed memories and a piece of Finland in their suitcases. We at TAMK had a feeling of success with experiences of a new but already familiar culture.

Text: Kerstin Jääskeläinen and Taru Orell

Photo: Badr AlKhatri 

Kamilla got inspiration from Erasmus Staff Training at TAMK

TAMK Social Counselor Mirja Onduso and Kamilla Trubicki picking up new international degree students from the airport.

Hei!

My name is Kamilla and I’m from Austria. I work in the international area of the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Wels Campus. Our university has approx. 5000 students in total, 1500 of them at Wels Campus, so it’s fairly small.

I had been thinking of going on an Erasmus Staff Training for some months, but somehow the timing of the proposed staff training weeks never seemed right. When I discovered that TAMK holds its Orientation Weeks for both Incomings exchange and international degree-seeking students in August, I knew it would be a great opportunity for me. Usually staff trainings are held during organized staff training weeks, but as TAMK was very flexibly with hosting me, in my case this was a spontaneous and individual week.

Exchange students getting to know each other

I stayed at TAMK from August 19-23 with the goal to attend both mentioned Orientation Weeks and also to meet the whole International Team at TAMK. As my tasks at my university contain taking care of international students of our English taught Master’s degree programme “Innovation and Product Management”, but also Incoming exchange students, I knew I would learn a lot during my time at TAMK.

My week started, as it did for more than 100 exchange students (amazing!), with welcoming words by Kaisa and Marika and interesting introduction sessions on Monday and Tuesday. And some korvapuusti of course. It took me three days to remember that word, but I still know it! :) On Tuesday there also was a trip to Viikinsaari Island which was organized by the international coordinators for all the exchange students, with various games, team building activities and grilling sausages. It was a great opportunity for the exchange students to get to know each other and also the finish sauna culture – which I enjoyed a lot, too. :)

Get-together activities for new exchange students during the orientation week

The rest of the week I followed the Orientation Weeks for international degree-seeking students. It was really amazing to see the excitement to welcome international degree-seeking students! All the department heads and staff members welcomed those students and made them feel really comfortable. Another great part of the week was meeting the social counselor of TAMK, Mirja Onduso. She takes care of mainly international degree-seeking, but also regular and exchange students’ social issues on a full-time basis. We got to pick up some students, show them their apartments and also organize furniture for some students together. It was really inspiring to see Mirja’s – and of course also TAMK’s – commitment towards international students.

Finally I also had the chance to meet many of the international coordinators that I only knew from exchanging e-mails. It’s always great to meet people you usually only deal with by e-mail in person!

Kamilla took part in the trip to Viikinsaari Island together with the new exchange students

What I brought back home from my week at TAMK? First of all a great intercultural experience and a lot of inspiration by the great work of the International Services at TAMK. A head full of new ideas to improve my own processes in working with international students, some of which I’m currently trying to implement. And a great recipe for korvapuusti (thanks Mirja! :), but that’s still on my to do list.

Kiitos to Mirja, Kaisa, Marika, Matti, Piri and Noora for a great week at TAMK!

Herzliche Grüße aus Österreich,

Kamilla

http://www-en.fh-ooe.at/

Tampere by night

The first exchange students from Brazil and Lebanon

Mateus Engels Henke from Brazil and Fabio El Khoury from Lebanon have the honor to be the first TAMK exchange students presenting their home countries. Mateus is studying Paper Technology and Fabio is studying Film & Television at TAMK.

 Mateus Engels Henke and Fabio El Khoury in TAMK main campus during the orientation week

The students are from very different parts of the world but the reasons why they chose TAMK in Finland as their first option were the same: they searched information and they noticed that the level of studies is high in Finland and the education system works well thanks to the investments of the government. Fabio also got recommendations about TAMK from his Head of Degree Programme in Saint-Joseph University who had been a visiting lecturer at TAMK earlier. In addition, Fabio was tempted by the peaceful lifestyle in Finland so the desicion was easy to make.

The first impression of Finland was also similar for both: lot of trees and lakes, lot of space and a language which is really different from the other languages they know. Mateus was suprised to see how the cities are planned and Fabio noticed how everything is so well organized.

Mateus is a scholarship student of  Science without Borders programme which is a large-scale mobility programme primarily funded by the Brazilian federal government. Thanks to this new way of cooperation, next spring there will be more Brazilian students joining TAMK for the exchange studies.

Altogether, around 170 exchange students from 30 countries will do the exchange studies or training at TAMK this semester.

A bunch of exchange students and international tutors getting to know each other on Viikinsaari island

Text: Kaisa Merilahti, TAMK International Services
Photos: Kaisa Merilahti and Annika Dillenburger