What is WTFinland!?
The round table was organized by OOO’s project manager Elina Ylönen and Talent Boost’s project researcher Valéria Pinto and the concept is simple: let’s talk about life in Finland in a relaxed and informal way so that international students get more familiar with Finnish life, know what to expect, understand how and why people behave in such a way and improve their experience adapting to the country and culture. Even though nobody was an expert in any field, all of us were very committed to sharing relevant and accurate information about the topics on the table as well as our personal experiences and points of view. Many links with additional information were also shared and the comments, oh, the comments were sometimes hilarious! 😊
What participants say about the project
Timo Juurinen, Xamk Planner in our Mikkeli campus – who is a frequent participant – said that “WTFinland! was a nice, informal breather with people from different backgrounds and cultures and a great example that learning new stuff can be fun!”. Anu Kuusela, a Xamk lecturer in the Construction and Energy Engineering program in Kotka – also a valuable contributor – complements by sharing her view on the project: “I encourage you to take part in WTFinland!’s next season. It is a unique opportunity to see Finland’s culture and everyday life through a New Finn eyes and contribute to integration in a fun way.”
WTFinland! comes back this autumn as participants expressed their desire to keep the conversation going. You can join the round table from 12 September 2023 from 15:00 by clicking here.
WTFinland! welcomes suggestions and comments
WTFinland! intends to be as democratic and open as possible. Suggestions and comments are more than welcome; they are desired as co-creating is not only more fun but also richer! It was Anu Kuusela’s suggestion and Ruchi Gupta’s request to talk about some legal aspects of the international student experience that gave birth to another project called “It’s All Rights!” starting this autumn in partnership with Immigrant guidance and counseling MOONA (Kouvola) and with the participation of guest experts as well.
Participation is free and open to all! So… listen to them, spread the word and save the dates below:
CALENDAR (starting 12 September 2023)
- 12 September – Finnish education system
- 26 September – Harvesting (mushrooms/berry picking/apples)
- 10 October – Famous Finnish people (who/why)
- 31 October – Finland in Europe
- 14 November – General work culture
- 28 November – Finnish services (Kela, TE-toimisto, Vero, DVV, etc)
- 12 December [Bonus session] – How do Finns celebrate Christmas?