At the brand-new Nokia showroom
On Thursday morning, the bus headed to Karamalmi, the headquarters of Nokia.
The newly renewed shiny blue showroom offered a pleasant atmosphere for the presentation and demos of the day. At first, we learned about Nokia’s history all the way from the first paper factory to mobile phone success and the current Nokia Networks. The latest major news have included the purchase of Alcatel-Lucent.
Tsinghua delegation was particularly enthusiastic about the demos which presented Nokia’s new technologies and they got to try out map services working with oculus rift and segway filming 3D videos.
After the lunch, we learned about start-up company facilities maintained by Nokia, from where companies can rent rooms or work desks. In addition, we visited Me and MyCity, the concept that operates in eight cities in Finland. Through the concept, the majority of the Finnish sixth-graders can learn to operate in the working life and society. At first, pupils have ten lessons under the direction of their teacher concerning different sectors in society, job search, working life and taxation, for example. After this, they write a job application and CV, based on which they are employed by one of the services and companies of the city. Each company also has a CEO. Children have jobs and participate in meetings, go to the bank and vote.
Me and MyCity is a teaching innovation that has received international acclaim and the royal couple of Sweden, for example, has visited Me and MyCity. Children have also consistently provided excellent feedback. A similar concept is being prepared for ninth-graders.
Our guests were delighted by the Marmon-ride
After Nokia, we headed to Design Factory to get to know their activities. We were presented with an extensive tour and learned about their operations. Our guests were particularly delighted by the multidisciplinary aspect of Design Factory.
Next, it was time to head to Startup Sauna. Chairperson of AaltoES Julius presented their activities and we took a traditional group picture on a sauna bench. We learned more about the Finnish startup scene at Entocube’s container. Later in the evening, we tasted Entocube’s crickets at the cocktail event.
From the Startup sauna, we headed back to Design Factory with a fancy ride, the museum vehicle Marmon, which drove our Chinese guests around Otaniemi.
Cocktail snacks included Entocube’s delicious crickets in chili marinade.
At Design Factory, the evening began with a cocktail event, from where we continued to the sitsit at Stage. In addition to the Chinese guests, the alumni involved in Tsinghua cooperation also participated in the event. Finnish delicacies were served: as a starter we had rye bread with smoked salmon filling, the main course was meat balls with mashed potatoes and the dessert was Finnish ”squeaky” cheese. The programme included traditional sitsi songs, exchange of gifts and the surprising triple quartet performance of the Polytech Choir. Our guests also sang numerous Chinese songs, which added to the unique atmosphere.