Skip to content
TAMK International

TAMK and NSCU - 15 years together and going stronger than ever

— Riikka Kramer
People standing in front of a paper machine.
Ulla Häggblom and Piia Kanto participated in NCSU's pilot paper machine runs with professors Hasan Jameel, Med Byrd, and Lokendra Pal.

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.

North Carolina State University (NCSU) is a public research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The Department of Forest Biomaterials belongs to the NC State’s College of Natural Resources. It’s programs in paper science and engineering as well as in sustainable materials and technology are greatly respected worldwide. The department carries out interdisciplinary teaching, research, and extension activities. (NC State University n.d)

The double degree agreement, which started the fruitful cooperation between TAMK and NCSU, enabled more than fifty American and Finnish students to study double degree program abroad, thus supporting their future international careers. Later, the cooperation has continued as student and staff exchanges as well as visits related to projects such as SUSTAFIT and BeLight. As an example, BeLight project members visit to NCSU in 2022 (Häggblom, Kanto, Rämö & Salminen 2022).

Ulla Häggblom from TAMK’s Applied Research Center and Piia Kanto from Laboratory Engineering program visited NCSU in May 2024. The aim of the visit was to negotiate the direction of the cooperation also towards research cooperation. The professors and researchers at Forest Biomaterials were very interested in our new openings, and we were already able to agree on concrete actions for starting research cooperation e.g. within AMAze project. The Department of Forest Biomaterials has fantastic and diverse laboratory conditions and equipment. Furthermore, there is a huge amount of knowledge and expertise in material research topics in which we share a common interest. We were very welcomed by all the professors and faculty members as always. We were also honored to have several meetings with the new head of the Department of Forest Biomaterials, effective January 1, 2024, Dr. Jingxin Wang. In the end of our visit, we also met an NCSU exchange student who joins TAMK’s Bioproduct Engineering for the fall semester. We were happy to give answers to her multiple questions about studying in Finland and especially at TAMK.

Networking with colleagues abroad gives new possibilities and a wider perspective both in education and research topics. However, it is extremely important to have opportunities for mutual visits and face to face meetings. Functional and active cooperation requires the trust on each other, and that is only possible between people that know each other well.

 

Text: Senior Lecturer Piia Kanto and Principal Lecturer Ulla Häggblom, TAMK

Picture: Raine Viitala, Aalto University

 

References:

Häggblom, U., Kanto, P., Rämö, V. &; Salminen K. 2022 BeLight project team meeting American cousins. TAMK blog. BeLight project team meeting America’s cousins | TAMK blog | Tampere higher education community (tuni.fi)

NC State University n.d. https://www.ncsu.edu/

Keep reading

Theses for International Travel (A Survival Guide for the Bold)

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.

Food waste turn into valuable products and strong sustainability

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.