International work-related travel is not just about hopping on a plane and “seeing what happens.” Oh no—it's a delicate dance of meetings, delegation dynamics, unexpected surprises, and perhaps a suitcase full of goodwill (and hopefully, snacks). Here are some “theses” for surviving, thriving, and occasionally laughing your way through international travel.
During our trip to Namibia as a part of the Circular Economy Models in Namibia: Capacity building project we had an opportunity to visit a local training centre in Swakopmund. In our visit we discovered a circular economy ecosystem which appears as a good example of strong sustainability covering environmental, economic and social elements. We also learned a punch of good practices on how to create value for local actors and communities from circular economy.
There has been a unique cooperation between TAMK and North Carolina State University (NCSU) for over 15 years. The cooperation has included, among other things, a double degree agreement already in the very early days of the cooperation. This co-operation has since then turned into active student and staff exchanges, both as guest lectures and project-related visits. In the future, the intention is to focus on cooperation in research as well.
Ulla Häggblom and Piia Kanto were invited to present the concept of the working life-oriented concept “Talent Factory” in July 2024 in the BioTech Tunisia Project Closing event in Tunisia. The presentation got excellent feedback because of the interesting topic and the captivating way of presenting.
On November 11th and 12th, 2024, the EU Interreg Central Baltic project Succeed in Business started with a dynamic two-day event in Riga, Latvia. The Succeed in Business project aims to encourage young people to become entrepreneurs by providing them with practical skills, international networks, and continuous mentorship. This project offers a platform for students to turn their business ideas into reality, supported by coaches, mentors, and an engaged network of peers from across the Baltic region.
The collaboration between Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), Finn Church Aid (FCA), and Kenyan Technical and Vocational education and training (TVET) institutions is creating new opportunities for youth employment and education in Kenya. This partnership aims to improve vocational education and address youth unemployment by combining Finnish expertise in education with local Kenyan needs where the emphasis on collaboration with workplaces is expressed in the notion of “Dual TVET”. Project called Youth Employment and TVET in Kenya is funded by the German development cooperation organization Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The May 16th to 17th 2024 Learning, Teaching & Training (LTT) activities of DigiSTEM project took place in Bratislava. Over the course of two days the attendees learned much about the use of technology in math teaching, and got a special treat, too!
Tampere University of Applied Sciences' Succeed in Business project aimed at young people aged 18–25 in the Pirkanmaa Region interested in entrepreneurship to participate in international training that strengthens networking and competence. The Awareness Rising Conference organised at TAMK was attended by 22 participants. I was particularly pleased with the young people's sociability and openness to talk to each other and share experiences and questions about entrepreneurship right from the start.
Pedagogy experts from TAMK, Mikko Turunen and Henri Annala, gave Chilean teachers an intensive training week on Finnish pedagogy and teaching methods. The week was arranged as part of the Play and Learn project funded by the Government of Santiago and Fundación Entrepeneur on the 27th – 31st of May, 2024.
In early summer, I visited the Nonwovens Institute (NWI) and the Wilson College of Textiles in North Carolina. An important part of the visit was to learn about the characterization of nonwoven fabrics and get to know NWI's operations and the services offered to the industry.
