One of the things I was most excited about in the FCP alumni program was a return to Rovaniemi and a reintroduction to the Arctic Circle. I have long been fascinated with Arctic issues. Since my last trip to Finland in 2013 the Arctic has resurfaced as a big topic in geopolitics – and, according to Timo Koivurova, Director of the University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre, not always with the nuance ...
Tag: innovation
Getting acquainted with post-Nokia Finland
So what has changed within the last 12 years in Finland? This is a question I kept hearing from Finns during my FCP alumni week in Finland; the question I also occasionally asked myself while meeting various people and enjoying life in Helsinki or Rovaniemi.
Strangely enough, the last time I visited Finland was 12 years ago in 2004. (Perhaps, because of living close to Finland, a delusive feeling ...
Experiences of conducting interviews in Helsinki
What a day was yesterday! During the FCP every day something new and unexpected happens. The programme is so dense that it feels as if we arrived here many days ago already, but in fact Wednesday was only the third day of our stay here.
In addition to the common meetings, we also started to work on our individual assignments. I remember in 1998 one of the several striking moments was to interview ...
Is Finland still the best place for innovation?
Before I came to Finland, what I knew was that the country has a strong capability of innovation. From Nokia to Angry Birds, Finland is best represented by ICT, the game industry, and arts and design.
But some people doubt this because as a result of the recent years of depression, the Russian crisis, and changes in its own economic structure, Finland’s economy has weakened. Now the question is ...
Only two weeks to go
My first contact with Finland was placed under the family Christmas tree in 2003: a Nokia 3510. It was indestructible and kept me company for nearly seven years.
Finland is not only famous for its innovative cell phones although the country is – geographically – on the fringe of Europe. Finland was and still is one of the world’s leading nations for innovation and technology. The energizing ...
There was a little girl in Shanghai writing to Santa Claus
More than 7000 kilometers away from Helsinki, there was a little girl in Shanghai writing to Santa Claus: please fly me to the lakes, to the forests and bring me to see the northern lights! 20 years later, the little girl becomes a TV journalist. She travels all over the world, making business and political interviews with important people. One dream she keeps to herself: meeting Santa Claus in ...
Packed my insect repellent and enthusiasm – ready to go!
When I hear the word Finland, education and mosquitoes are the first words that come to my mind.
Finland is the country with the best public education in the world and a role model in the field of technology for educational purposes.
Speaking of mosquitoes, Finland humorously reminds me of them because many friends have told me about their encounters with Finnish mosquitoes.
All jokes aside, this is ...