Master students of International Project Management on a bus trip to St. Petersburg

A group of Master students of TAMK International Business visited St. Petersburg 14-16 May 2015. St. Petersburg appeared to us as a modern and European big city, which reminded us of the great Russian history. Of course the current economic situation was shown too especially when moving further from the city centre. We had very interesting company presentations of Finpro and Sokos Hotels. Both company representatives told about Russia and doing business there, especially was interesting to hear about the future changes in the Sokos restaurants.

This northernmost metropolis is a huge and is populated almost the size of a Finland. The city has beautiful buildings especially along the Neva, the palaces and museums are in scope of its own (the Winter Palace, the Church of the Saviour on the Spilt Blood, St. Isaac’s Cathedral etc.) – a really one of the unforgettable places to visit. Many of us noticed that St. Petersburg had indications from Paris. 


We were positively surprised that young Russians spoke well English in general. For example in coffee houses and restaurants there was always somebody who spoke English and that made the communication much easier. Plus the restaurant menus were in English too.

Our location in the city center and near the Nevsky Prospect was great. We were a walking distance to the main attractions, shops, good restaurants and night out. I think restaurants had good price-quality relation. A lot of places offered sushi and more Italian and French cuisine restaurants could be found in the center. Positive thing was that some stores were open 24/7. Since the weather was good, we took a cruise on one of the canal ships and experienced some excitement and beautiful scenery in that way.

Honest opinions of adult international students, but most of us for the first time in Russia

“What I experienced once again is that Russia is what it is, fascinating, unpredictable and surprising. What makes it fascinating, is the culture and the way how things works. Their rich culture and history are full of amazing stories. What comes to society and its functions, it is easy to see that Russia is not a fair, modern or democratic society, which take care of its citizens equally. That is why Russians are creative people who will find their ways to survive in unpredictable society. My experience is that Russia also always surprise you somehow, either positively or negatively.”

“I had heard and read a lot about Saint Petersburg before our trip. The more I found out the more nervous I was about it. Especially the news freaked me out so I completely stopped watching them about three weeks before the trip. It was nothing like I expected. It wasn't that difficult or slow to get past the customs as people had been telling, or then we were really lucky. The water in the shower wasn't brown. I didn't get mugged, killed or arrested and neither did anyone else in our group. The traffic in the city centre was surprisingly hectic, but I still wasn't as afraid as when crossing a road in Tampere. I was very positively surprised about Saint Petersburg. I really enjoyed our trip and especially the company. Although when planning the trip a few people were concerned about the location. I'm glad we did this, because otherwise likely many would have never gone to Russia.”

Good way to know each other better – a bus trip from Tampere to St. Petersburg

Trip was excellent way to get to know the team of project managers even better. Absolutely the only way actually! We had interesting talks during bus drive and in St Petersburg also. St Petersburg was lovely and beautiful, getting information from business trips gave more understanding of the Russian business culture. 



Many thanks to all students, Russian student translators, excellent driver with excellent knowledge about St. Petersburg and especially thanks to our teachers Mauri and Kai for making this true with some pressure ! This is an educational trip, which we shall never forget!

Text collected and edited by Ursula Helsky-Lehtola, event coordinator at TAMK and Master student of International Project Management (IPM) 

Visitors from the “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, Romania

TAMK International Services had a pleasure to welcome two colleagues from Romania on 2nd of February 2015 to visit the TAMK main campus. The reason for this visit was to create links between TAMK and ULBS. The visitors were Mr Silviu Nate and Mr Dacian Popa.  ULBS has 23 000 students and more than 300 partner universities all over the world.

During the visit Romanian colleagues met Ms Kirsi Tolvanen, Head of International Services, Mr Riku-Matti Kinnunen, International Coordinator for Engineering, Technology and Natural Resources and Ms Riitta Vihuri, International Coordinator for TAMK School of Business and Services.

One interesting detail about Mr Popa needs to be mentioned. He studied at TAMK International Business programme during 2004-2007 and he still has tight links to Tampere and Finland.

Visitors’ impressions about TAMK were very positive:

“At Tampere University of Applied Sciences we met a dynamic and open team for promoting academic internationalization. Visit at TAMK was a real pleasure to observe a successful combination between academic vision for preparing future generations by providing practical support and educational infrastructure at the highest level.

The relatively similar volume of TAMK’s and ULBS’s ERASMUS+ mobility, study visits, and International Weeks represent excellent prerequisites for future collaboration between our universities.”

From the left: Riitta Vihuri, Dacian Popa, Silviu Nate and Kirsi Tolvanen

Text: Kirsi Tolvanen, Silviu Nate and Dacian Popa
Photo: Krista Merikoski

International atmosphere - BE CURIOUS, GO ABROAD!

It's that time of year again - applications for student exchange in the academic year 2015-16 are flying into the database by the minute (deadline 1st Feb), chat service is busy with all sorts of chatter, and parter universities materials are available for browsing in the main lobby. Info desks have blasted videos from partner universities in the lobbies and all the buzz is positive. :)

Some leaflets are still printed... not everything is online!

TAMK has been steadily growing the percentage of students who spend an exchange semester or a training period abroad during their studies. Most students go to Europe through the Erasmus+ programme, but some venture even further. The only unconquered territory is Antarctica, but that may be only a matter of time...
 

Gabriele Mikulenaite, a recruitment specialist from Rhodesnow, showing the hotels where hospitality students train

Rhodesnow is just one of the companies that visit TAMK or promote training placements for students. With an impressive 1000 openings for trainees in the summer of 2015, they held a presentation to a keen audience at TAMK today. The process is quite easy and flexible, so why not spend a summer where the sun always shines? TAMK supports students with Erasmus+ grants, if the training is accepted as part of your degree!

Did you miss the presentation and would like to secure a training placement? Check out the flyer and email Ms Mikulenaite at work@rhodesnow.com

More info on grants and applying for TAMK students HERE (study abroad) and HERE (training abroad)

Text & Pictures: Piri Hiltunen, TAMK International Services

Anadolu University - Mega-Partner!

This week we have had a visit from Turkey - Anadolu University has been in collaboration with TAMK since 2007 and now it's time to see what new and exciting challenges we could come up with in the new Erasmus+ era.

Anadolu University is one of the biggest mega-universities in the world, with a staggering amount of 1.3 million (yes, million) virtual open and distance learners. TAMK's keen interest in developing new learning environments and perspectives gave birth to a flurry of excited discussions with colleagues during the visit.

Nil and her mother Nider

Ms Nil Canbek from Anadolu University also met with colleagues in the TAMK International Services to benchmark some good practices in student and staff mobility, to negotiate future collaboration under the Erasmus+ umbrella and to see if there would be ways to broaden our scope of collaboration from traditional mobility.

Nil arrived in Finland for the very first time and decided to bring along her mother. "I have a young child and a busy job, so this gives us some mother-daughter quality time as well." smiled Nil, when we asked about her personal motivations for the trip to Tampere. With a brief stop in Helsinki before heading back home, the guests seemed to enjoy the unseasonably warm and sunny September weather.

Two-three hours by plane between Finland and Turkey is not far - but in the virtual world the distance is non-existent!

Text: Piri Hiltunen
Photo: Krista Merikoski

Omani students: Summer course full of experiences and edutainment

We had 33 Omani students and their teacher here at TAMK from 11th June to 13th July. This was already the third time for TAMK Extension Studies to arrange summer course for Omani students. The summer course included studies in business idea management, project skills, ideation techniques coaching, social media, marketing oneself, and future trends in business. The students came from different colleges of applied sciences and from different study fields, such as public relations, engineering, IT, and design. 


One of the tasks students were given during the course was to write a blog text about their stay here at TAMK and in Finland. Here are two blog texts that were nominated as the best ones:

Sultan giving a presentation on the final day of the studies

A Wonderful Edutainment Experience in Finland

Since the moment I received the good news from my college to visit Finland for study purpose, I was feeling extremely excited for it. I opened my PC immediately to check out some information about the city and the educational institution which I was going to be in couple of weeks. After seeing the amazing things the excitement reached its peak. It felt like one of my dreams coming true, and actually that’s true because I’ve been waiting for a similar chance for a long time and I finally got to visit a great country that I dreamt to spend time. Great Finland - I can say - has a very good reputation in my country because of its great industrial success in different fields. So, there is no doubt that most people in my home country dream to visit such a country.

When I arrived here, I felt like a newborn bird with all its energy to fly in the open and pure sky. Lovely weather, well maintained systems, very kind people, clean air and beautiful nature. All these elements helped me out to adapt easily to Finnish society. Then, I joined one of the greatest universities in Finland known as TAMK. In this university I’m experiencing really useful teaching methods so far. Interactive lesson, creative sessions, field visits and many other things have made me feel different and have strengthened up my attitudes towards studying. I became more enthusiastic toward studying and I`m feeling refreshed and being able to learn more and to gain unlimited knowledge. Although the subject which I’m studying in TAMK is irrelevant to my specialization, I really liked it and became interested in it in a short period of time, and undoubtedly that`s because of the amazing and different teaching methods. The teachers are applying ”learn through fun” method, of which effectiveness and efficiency has been proved world widely. So, I can say that this is their main secret which makes them unique and irresistible among others.

I’m still on the way, and there are only two weeks left to finish my program here, and I will try as hard as I can to use my time well and get benefit from all available materials and resources in this great campus and in this great country as well. Finally, from the bottom of my heart I say that ”I wish I could stay much longer in this incredible place, and I will definitely carry on this amazing experience to my home and tell others about it”.

Written by Sultan Al Saraai

All students gathered up to hear each team´s presentation.

My Time at TAMK

My name is Abdul Rahman Al Farsi. I’m 21 years old. I’m an Omani student, studying English Language and Literature at Rustaq College Of Applied Sciences (RCAS). I’m having a summer course at Tampere University of Applied Sciences otherwise known as TAMK, which is located in Finland. And I’ve got to say that so far it’s been a FANTASTIC experience, except the food part which I didn’t like very much. However, apart from the food everything else has been more than perfect for me: people, studies, shopping, nature, accommodation and the city itself.

- Why is TAMK different?

What’s even more interesting is the methods of teaching used in TAMK. A good variety of methods is found here from the classic way of teaching to the more current trends of teaching methods, and then to even more sophisticated but effective methods. At first, as a future English teacher I thought that such methods or approaches of teaching are just some kind of a theoretical talk that can only be found in books. It was maybe the teaching and learning environment in Oman that led to such a way of thinking of my part. However, it is not the case here in TAMK.

- That’s how it’s done!

For topics such as Business Idea Management, Project Skills, Ideation Techniques Coaching, How to Market Yourself and Future Trends in Business a traditional way of teaching would not be as effective as the communicative approach where authenticity is what really matters, where the students actually get to experience a simulation of a real life situations of which they are expected to be part of. An example of authenticity is a situation where a group of students is asked to create a business idea. Therefore, it`s more effective and long-lasting learning experience when it is carried out as a role play where the students act out and undertake different roles of an organization or a company, in which the responsibility is divided among individuals. The roles themselves depend on the business idea.

- Teacher’s and learner’s roles

The teacher in this case is more of a facilitator rather than a controller of the learning process, which is actually good in the sense that it gives the student a chance to be responsible for his/her own learning. This emphasis the fact that student-centered learning, which is adopted in TAMK, is, as the communicative approach suggests, more powerful and effective in enhancing the learning experience of the students. This was pretty clear in the final outcomes of our first week in TAMK where the Business Idea Projects were fabulous and very creative to the point I never thought can be reached by myself or one of my classmates. Fortunately I was wrong.

What’s even more interesting is the methods of teaching used in TAMK. A good variety of methods is found here from the classic way of teaching to the more current trends of teaching methods, and then to even more sophisticated but effective methods. At first, as a future English teacher I thought that such methods or approaches of teaching are just some kind of a theoretical talk that can only be found in books. It was maybe the teaching and learning environment in Oman that led to such a way of thinking of my part. However, it is not the case here in TAMK.

- What makes a unique learning experience?

There are three other points that might be a crucial factor of this unique and interesting teaching methodology at TAMK. The first one is team work. It is like the essence of learning here in TAMK. Almost everything is done in teams or pairs, however, team work skills, such as dividing the roles and taking leadership, are required . This leads to the part where we talk about the project management tools which help the project team or group to organize and update their work strategies. Team members are kept posted during the project period which in return is reflected on the quality of the outcome of the product. For me this is the first time to use tools such as Trello, Google Drive and many other interesting tools. The second point is the use of technology. Technology is an essential part of the learning process in TAMK where tutors try to adopt the latest and current trends of technology in their teaching methods. The third point is the learning aids and facilities that enhance the learning experience of the students and facilitate the learning in a way that helps to increase the creativity level in the learning outcomes. “You can’t expect to meet the challenges of today with yesterday’s tools and expect to be in business tomorrow” (Source: Unknown).

- Conclusion

No wonder why Finland has one of the best educational systems in the world. Apart from the unique grading system in schools Finns started from the very basis of education in schools where assessment is only found to lead the students to the right way and to guide them and prepare them for the future. Finally, I am very grateful for this beautiful experience here at TAMK and I would like to thank those people who were in any way part of making it possible.

Written by Abdul Rahman Al Farsi

Introduction text and editing: Telma Rivinoja
Pictures: Essi Kannelkoski

FINNIPS entrance exams in Warsaw

Last week I had the privilege to supervise entrance exams for candidates to Finnish universities of applied sciences, this time in Warsaw in Poland. The exams are organised by the FINNIPS network for the whole of Finland and attendants came from Poland, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Slovenia and the Ukraine.

- I'm glad we actually made it here, despite the global situation as it stands at the moment, said Oles and Taras, brothers from the Ukraine who hope to start international business studies in Finland in August.

Long days with 3-4 hours of exam at a time. Water, water, water...

In the group interview part of the exam the hopeful candidates shared their hopes and dreams in their future field of  study. Most already had some experience through spending a few months in Finland as an Erasmus exchange student, or already had friends or family studying in Finland.

For myself, this was a first-time experience which I shared with a colleague from KYAMK. Thankfully he had lived in Poland for six years, one of which was in Warsaw. I got a good overview of the city in the brief free hours of each evening, with a travel planner right next to  me... thanks Jori!

If you have a chance to go for a similar assignment abroad, I sincerely recommend you take it!

Text & Photo: Piri Hiltunen / TAMK International Services