Events

Cross-border cooperation attracted 100 high school students and teachers from northern Sweden and Finland.

In the border city of Tornio, high school students and teachers from northern Sweden and Finland gathered on October 8-9 2024 for two days of international exchange focusing on cross-border cooperation and exploring opportunities for working, studying, and living across the national border under the theme "Borderless North."

"The goal of the exchange is to encourage cross-border cooperation to strengthen our common region. We already have a strong network between schools that cooperate across the border, and this is an opportunity for them to meet in person, exchange experiences, and learn together. Meeting in Tornio and Haparanda adds extra significance as these border cities are practical examples of how borderless cooperation can work. A border doesn't have to present challenges, it can rather open up opportunities," says Raija Paasimaa, project coordinator at Vocational Institute Lappia.

The Borderless North event was organized within the framework of the Interreg project Aurora Entrepreneurialis, which aims to develop an entrepreneurial culture in schools, sustainable entrepreneurship, and cross-border cooperation between upper secondary schools in the region. 

The event began with two lectures that provided insights into what the border has meant in the region's history. Joni-Pekka Karjalainen from the Tornio Valley Museum spoke about the region's shared history and how the 1809 border splitting up Finland and Sweden affected the people here in the border area. Sari Moisanen from the Sea Lapland Development Center spoke on the theme "The green growth starts from the north" and highlighted ongoing and upcoming investments in the region.

"As a history freak, it was incredibly interesting to learn more about how the border has evolved over time. I feel hopeful about the future as there are investments in the region. Personally, I want to work in the arts. Even though many investments are focused on industry, I think it will also positively affect opportunities in art and culture," says student Nette Nikula from Lappia (Tornio).

With a combination of lectures, workshops, and company visits, the students and teachers delved into cross-border collaborations, with entrepreneurship and sustainability as the central themes. The participants visited companies such as KaMa-palvelut, Pipelife Finland, Tornion Panimo, Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan in Haparanda, Rajalla shopping center, Business Tornio, and IKEA.

"For me, it has truly been an eye-opener. The company visits were particularly inspiring, seeing more of what happens behind the scenes. I feel motivated to arrange more study visits at my school," says teacher Ville Ahmala, Oulun normaalikoulu.

"It is incredibly educational for our students, who, besides learning interesting subjects, also get to practice social and language skills, which is a big part of working with entrepreneurship," says teacher Merja Marjakangas, Oulun normaalikoulu.

"Personally, I really appreciate doing this type of activity with our students and teachers. It adds a special touch to everyday life to learn and experience together, and you return to your daily routine filled with new energy," says Anette Lund, principal at Björknäsgymnasiet in Boden. "I would also encourage other school leaders to participate in this type of cooperation as it facilitates its integration back home," Anette concludes.

The students worked in groups with both Swedish and Finnish participants, during and after the company visits, to develop visions for cross-border cooperation in the future.

"I really liked the company visits. It was great to get to see what we've studied in practice. As a relatively new resident in Oulu, it was fun to meet lots of new friends. Already on the bus ride here, I got to know other students from Oulu. And for me, who enjoys brainstorming ideas, all the different exercises were super interesting," says 16-year-old Minja Tervo from Oulun Suomalaisen Yhteiskoulun Lukio.

Some of Minja's new friends are Kristiine and Hilla from Tornio.

"It’s been so fun to meet lots of nice and cool people. Everyone has been super kind, and it’s gone well to collaborate with students from other schools in Sweden and Finland. Even though one of the big challenges with the border is language, it has gone surprisingly well to get to know each other," says Kristiine Abong and Hilla Jauhiainen from Tornion Yhteislyseon Lukio.

Oliver Lindquist, Anton Berglund, and Milton Brostöm, first-year students from the Technology program at Björknäsgymnasiet in Boden, agree that language can be a challenge, but they still managed to make new friends from other schools.

"It was a bit uncertain with English at first, but you quickly get into it," says Oliver.

"You realize the benefit of working across the border as it allows for a larger market and more customers," says Anton. "But language differences are still a challenge. It feels important to have good camaraderie with your neighboring country."

Project leader Linda Strandenhed from Young Entrepreneurship Norrbotten summarizes:

"It feels particularly exciting to raise issues of cross-border cooperation here in Tornio and Haparanda, where it is such an important part of the place's character and heritage. We want to contribute to creating long-term cooperation around entrepreneurship education and sustainable entrepreneurship between schools, and this exchange is part of that work."

City of Oulu, Ung Företagsamhet Norrbotten, and Vocational College Lappia invited the participant schools of the project to the Kickoff event in Oulu. Nearly 80 participants, both students and teachers, joined from Northern Finland and Sweden. We warmly thank the organisations and companies which contributed to the event by hosting company visits to our participants:

Kiertokaari Oy
Nallikari Seaside Oy
VTT
Fingersoft Oy

The 2-day event in Oulu gathered nearly 90 participants, both students and teaching staff, from the Bothnian Arc and Torne Valley regions. We were honored to have Perttu Pölönen, a futurist, inventor and author, as the keynote speaker for the event. Participants visited local companies and organisations to learn about working life, sustainability and the future.

A warm thank you to our company visit hosts:

Probot Oy
NOKIA
Oulun OP
Centre of Sustainable Development
Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Nuve Lab)
University of Oulu (Virtual reality Lab)
City of Oulu (Urban Environmental Services)

Sustainable entrepreneurship and cross-border collaboration at the UF fair in Luleå

Almost 100 upper secondary school students and teachers from northern Sweden and northern Finland met on 27.-28.2. to collaborate, learn more about sustainable entrepreneurship and participate in this year's UF fair.

The event aimed at schools was part of the Aurora Entrepreneurialis project, which is implemented by Ung Företagsamhet Norrbotten, the city of Oulu and Lappia. Its goal is to develop entrepreneurial culture, sustainable entrepreneurship and cross-border collaboration in upper secondary schools.

It was great to be able to participate in creating collaboration between schools, teachers and students on both sides of the border. We want to emphasize and strengthen sustainable entrepreneurship, and it's great that we can do it together with the city of Oulu and Lappia, says Linda Strandenhed (project manager, Ung Företagsamhet).

The program included, among other things, a workshop related to circular economy with Teknikens Hus, collaboration challenges, an interactive competition for teachers and students on the theme of sustainability, and a visit to the UF fair, where a few Finnish students also presented the businesses and their products that they had created during Year as an Entrepreneur course.

From Sweden, four schools from the municipality of Piteå, Haparanda, Boden and Pajala participated in the event. From Finland, Oulunsalo and Haukipudas Upper Secondary Schools and OSYK's teaching staff, as well as students and teaching staff from different units of the Lappia Vocational College participated. In addition, participants also included upper secondary school students and teaching staff from Tornio Upper Secondary School and Muonio Upper Secondary School. Collaboration opportunities were considered important both by the teaching staff and students.

Events like this allow students to see beyond the border. Many people think that the world ends at the border of their country, but here in the north, students come into contact with others and can create networks. This makes the neighboring country visible and illustrates the possibilities. When we work together here in the north, we have something interesting and unique to offer also internationally, said Kari Tikkala (teacher, Tornedalsskolan).

It was very inspiring to see different business ideas at the UF fair. These two days were very rewarding, and I got a lot of new ideas for my own teaching. It's always refreshing to meet new people and learn about their perspectives, said Matias Kolström (teacher, Muonio Upper Secondary School).

A very varied and fun event. We got to know Luleå, had very good conversations with the Swedish students and ate well. We also met different Swedish companies and other actors, say Krista Anttila, Sonja Ikonen and Moona Alaniemi, (students, Haukipudas Upper Secondary School).

The next time for collaboration is at the three-day Innovation Camp event, which will be held in Luleå on 16–18 April 2024.

It's really wonderful to see how  upper secondary school students have joined the events and find them meaningful and important for their own future. We will continue the events also in the coming school year, when students will be able to collaborate and get to familiarize themselves with the local business life in three different cities. (Kati Ilkka, project manager, city of Oulu)

(Comments translated from Finnish)

Innovation Camp Luleå - a three-day innovation competition culminated on Thursday with the awarding of the winning team.

Nearly 100 teachers and students from Northern Sweden and Finland worked together for three days on topics related to the green transition and societal change in Luleå (Sweden). Both teachers and students worked in mixed groups, using English as the common working language. 

The event began with a lecture by Dag Avango, a researcher in historical processes of change at Luleå University of Technology, who took participants on a journey through regional development and the events that have driven the development seen in the area today. Northern Sweden is undergoing a historical process of change, which is expected to bring 100,000 new residents to the area as the number of green transition jobs increases explosively. The changes affect every sector of society, and the region needs development ideas to address the challenges brought about by these changes. This is where the participants of the Innovation Camp also got involved.

Participants acquired knowledge and created new solutions

Participants worked during the days on two different tracks. On one track students learned more about the changes and they were visiting local stakeholders, from whom they learned about existing solutions and attitudes toward the region's transformation. Teacher Jaana Stoor (Tornion yhteislyseon lukio), who participated in the event for the first time as part of the Aurora Entrepreneurialis project, found the visits inspiring and the topics of the event important: 

"It was especially nice to visit SSAB's factory, as my uncle worked there his whole career, and I had heard a lot about the factory. The area is massive. It was also interesting to hear about the company Hybrit and their need to build a factory over 200 meters high to produce fossil-free steel. I also enjoyed the city tour on the second day and the fact that the short film from the textile rental shop on the first day became concrete during the visit to a similar organization (Butiken Samlat), where we saw firsthand how a clothing rental shop operates." 

Miina Happonen (Oulun Suomalaisen Yhteislyseon lukio), who was also participating in the project activities for the first time, found it particularly important that sustainable development was present both in the content of the event and in its practical implementation: 

"As a first-timer, I have been able to network easily and flexibly. I have enjoyed working in our own teacher group, which in turn acted as a coach for the student group. I especially appreciate that sustainability has been taken into account in meals, with primarily vegetarian options available." 

In addition to gathering information and doing study visits, participants simultaneously worked on developing their own idea in the innovation competition. On the first day, they were given the choice to focus on creating solutions that promote people's desire to settle, integrate, and thrive in the area or to focus on ways to protect biological diversity and the local environment. Student Helmi Aula (Haukiputaan lukio), who had participated in all events of the Aurora Entrepreneurialis project this academic year, found the three-day event successful:

"I have really enjoyed having a bigger project to work on. I have participated in all events of this academic year, and this 3-day innovation camp has been even more enjoyable than the 2-day ones because we have been able to settle in here somehow, and we haven't had to leave for home the next day. Here we have been able to use creativity, learn perseverance, and also develop our own social skills. We have worked every day in our own mixed group, which includes both Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking students from different schools. Competition against other teams has been challenging but fun." 

Helmi worked in the same team with Petra Vänttilä and Irina Smed (Oulun Suomalaisen Yhteiskoulun lukio), who were participating for the first time. Both Petra and Irina highlighted that there was plenty of program, and there was no shortage of activities. Irina was happy about the themes the teams discussed with young people from different regions: 

"I am participating for the first time, and it has been really nice to immediately start doing various things with new people. I have especially enjoyed discussing topics that we usually don't talk about in everyday life. It has been nice to have shared activities here, but also some free time in between." 

For many participating students, this was a new experience working in mixed groups with Swedish and Finnish students: "These have been exciting days; we have met other students and made international contacts. It was good for the task to be able to discuss things from different perspectives," summarized Vocational College Lappia students Iida Lukkarila, Miku Ukonaho, and Jerry Rantala. Eleanor Hannu and Filippa Mäki (Gränsälvsgymnasiet, Övertorneå) echoed similar thoughts: 

"The days have been eventful, lots of new and fresh impressions. We didn't know much about the changes in the area before, and we have never worked with people from other countries. So, we got new contacts and practiced English and Finnish."

At the Innovation Camp = learning, developing and competing

The Innovation Camp organized by Aurora Entrepreneurialis project's had three main goals:

1. Participants learn about the extensive changes affecting the area and understand the complex sustainability issues involved.
2. Participants use creative problem-solving skills to develop ideas and solutions to address the challenges facing the area.
3. Teams practice and execute their own short film presenting their solution ideas.

On the third and final day, small groups condensed their ideas into a short film, from which the jury (Maja Alasalmi - Region Norrbotten, Jenny Lindberg - Luleå Municipality, Helena Sundberg - HYBRIT, and Roine Viklund - Luleå University of Technology) chose the winner of the entire innovation competition. The jury's choice fell on the proposal "Learn and React," developed by the student team: Vilma Pesonen, Sonja Ikonen, and Pauliina Myllymäki (Haukiputaan lukio, Oulu) and Felicia Sannerborg and Ana Paula Duda (Tornedalsskolan, Haparanda). The team's solution to the challenge was to create a course targeted at young people, in which participants would learn first aid, promote physical and mental health, and learn various ways to help their fellow human beings. The course could also give participants confidence in crisis situations and promote safety in everyday life. 

"We are very pleased with the results of the innovation competition. The students have worked well together and developed creative and interesting ideas. We are grateful to all the companies and organizations in Luleå that have welcomed us for visits and have helped in other ways to make our students and teachers feel welcome," said project manager (UF) Linda Strandenhed. 

The event concluded with a look into the future together with project coordinator Raija Paasimaa (Vocational College Lappia): 

"It's nice to look into the future after a successful event. We will meet again in Tornio in October 2024, where the theme of the 2-day event will be 'Borderless North'. Thanks for this year, and see you at the beginning of the new semester!"