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

New Factory Open finalized the Demola season

The event called New Factory Open gathered several hundred people yesterday to see the best Demola projects from Finland and abroad, the New Factory start-ups and the speakers from different innovation sectors. The day climaxed with a pitching competition of three Demola teams that were selected to the finals out of all Demola teams the day before. The winner of the best Demola team award was chosen by an international jury.

A bunch of TAMK students have been working in Demola projects this season and TAMK was strongly presented also in the teams that made their way to the final competition.

The winners of the best Demola team award, including also two TAMK media students:
Rosanna Salminen and Erika Sangah Kim.

One of the three teams in the final competition was working on a project called "Visualize it!" for Yle, the national broadcasting company. The international TAMK group members, Joanne NH Wong, Lubos Rezler and Martin Kleinberns were happy for being a part of Demola community. After the last pitching, only one thing needs to be done with the project: to present their concept for Yle representatives in the headquarters in Helsinki.

The succesful Visualize it! team created a concept called Uncle Onni for Yle to attract young people. 

TAMK exchange student Martin Kleinberns giving a pitch

The event attracted lot of people to see what's going on in the innovation scene

 Changseok Kang ,TAMK exchange student in Chemical Engineering, and  Réka Hajdu-Rahkama,
TAMK degree student in Environmental Engineering, were happy to present their Demola project.

This was the end of Demola Spring Season, but applying for Demola Summer starts at week 24. If you, TAMK degree or exchange student, are interested to work in a multidisciplinary team to create innovative solutions for real-world needs, check out the Demola page for more information.

Text and photos: Kaisa Merilahti, International Services

TAMK agreed on Double Degree with a Chinese partner university

TAMK has a Double Degree agreement for students in Degree Programme in Paper, Textile and Chemical Engineering. On Tuesday January 15th a delegation from Shandong Polytechnic University in China visited TAMK with an intention to sign a Double Degree Agreement for the next three academic years.

The delegation had negotiations with Marja Sutela, Vice President (degree education), Ulla Häggblom, Head of Degree Programme and with Kirsi Tolvanen, Head of International Services. At the end of the meeting the agreement for Double Degree as well as for exchange activities was signed and now TAMK has another valued partner in China. 

Shandong Polytechnic University (SPU) is a modern university with over 21.000 students and new university premises with modern laboratories located in the capital city Jinan in Shandong Province of China. For TAMK engineering students in Degree Programme in Paper, Textile and Chemical Engineering, the Double Degree agreement offers a possibility to attend an academic year in SPU and receive a Bachelor Degree from both universities, SPU and TAMK. The co-operation in coming years is set to be continuous and fruitful.

In the picture from left: Fang Zeqing from SPU International Offie, Vice President of SPU Wang Xiqui, and Vice President of TAMK Marja Sutela.

Text and pictures: Noora Kahra, International Services