Tekijä: Inna Saarinen

As a student in University of Applied Sciences, students are given the opportunity to go abroad to study as an exchange student.

What was it like to do this kind of exchange?

Every year many students awaits impatiently about the information on the subject. This is a wonderful opportunity to go abroad, meet new people, gather different kind of knowledge, and get familiarized with different cultures.

But unfortunately, this is not the case for every student. Some students would like to have the same opportunities, but might have aspects in their lives, that does not make it possible. Some might have children, or they are not able to have a long period leave-of-absence from their workplaces, for example.

As we were starting our second-year studies last autumn, we were given the opportunity, to embark in this short-term Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP). The intensive week of the course would last only a week, but would happen at PXL University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hasselt in Belgium. Funding granted from Erasmus+ Programme made the decision of taking a part in this project very easy. From the get-go, our whole group of classmates was willing and able to participate.

We were given a short introduction to the upcoming week in advance, and we then found out, that we would be doing and actual project for an actual commissioner. It was not revealed to us completely, but we had a little bit of information regarding the subject. The project would be taking place in an old castle and its surroundings.

Needless to say, we were excited!

Alternative ways to be an exchange student

When we were offered this kind of opportunity, we were thrilled to participate. We were excited to meet people from different cultures and experience studying in a different way. Even though most of us have travelled a lot, we were all equally excited to go! The week we spend in Hasselt was not an ordinary study week, instead we got to hear many interesting seminars, and the most important part was to work for a real-life case for a real commissioner. We got to create a business idea for an old castle in Maasmechelen, which was extremely interesting and definitely something different from our usual studies.

In addition to us from SAMK and the Belgium students from PXL, we were also accompanied by Croatian students for PAR University College. We all learned a lot from co-operating with different nationalities, and we had a really great time with everyone!

What did we learn?

By working with multiple other cultures, we had a lot of fun, but we also learned a lot from ourselves and about working all together. We also improved multiple skills, like working in a group, working with different personalities and people with different ways of doing schoolwork which can be challenging.

The good thing is we all remembered to have fun in the middle of the tight schedules and all, so our time management skills were on point. At some point it was difficult, as it is known that Finnish people are more punctual when others weren’t as much, we learned to be flexible, communicate and make compromises.

Overall, I think we can all agree that we learned a lot from this trip, whether it was through our successes or our mistakes. We gained valuable tools for the future and improved our skills we can benefit from in similar future projects!

Text: SAMK students Heli Kulju, Siiri Romoi and Johanna Ylioja

Images: PXL

Collaboration with business should be embedded into business education. Studies aim to provide students with competencies needed for a successful career. As much as possible the learnt skills should be put into practice; both to strengthen them and to show that they can be useful in real life.

Sales Pitch is a project carried out in collaboration with Rauma Chamber of Commerce at SAMK Campus Rauma. The Chamber of Commerce grants an lnternationalization Award to a company or other active party in the region annually. 

The SAMK students work in small groups. They can be both degree and exchange students. This time they were a very international group of students coming from Belgium, France, Latvia, Vietnam and Australia, and  among them also one Finnish student.

In the project the students familiarize themselves with the finalists for the award both by searching information on them and also interviewing them. This way the students get an overview of who the finalists are and especially what kind of activities and operations make them potential candidates for the internationalization award.

The preparation stage for the students contains revising report writing and giving presentations. The  main focus, though, is on learning what pitching is, in what kind of situations it could and should be used. Understanding the general structure of pitching, and creating a sales pitch, are in the centre of practice. Learning about pitching is also appreciated by the students. One of the students comments that ”in my opinion public speaking is one of the most important skills in life”.

The students submit reports on the finalists to the judges of the Internationalization Award. The reports concentrate especially on how international the finalists are, what kind of international activities are part of their work. The students also look at the impact of the candidates on the region.

In their groups, the students design a pitch talk on the finalist they have familiarized themselves with. They rehearse the pitch and decide which member of their group will deliver it in the award event. The comment from a student shows the benefit of real life experience: “The fact that I had to do concrete work on an existing company was very interesting for me. I liked the fact that I had to present in front of the Chamber of Commerce and the company managers, although it was a little  stressful.”

The students, on top of getting an understanding of pitching and getting familiar with a local company, also build up their transversal skills. They learn about teamwork, scheduling and language skills, among other things. Last but not least, it is also essential to gain confidence and courage in a variety of skills and contexts. The core of it is stated by a student: “I am very proud of myself, for going outside my comfort zone for this project.”

Text: Marina Wikman, Lecturer

Picture: SAMK students with certificates for the completed Chamber of Commerce project (Marina Wikman).

SAMK has been active in Interreg Central Baltic projects supporting companies in developing business activities outside EU markets. The SME Aisle project team has worked on export activities in Southern African countries in the fields of trade, maritime and logistics, renewable energy, automation, and ICT. One of the SME Aisle project members, Tiina Mäkitalo, has also worked in an export project IHMEC that was targeting Saudi Arabian construction markets with indoor hygiene solutions that aim to break the chain of infection with built environment. The aim of this text is to compare these two markets as both projects have been funded by the Central Baltic program.

When looking at the similarities between the two markets first, the entry is quite the same since both markets bring identical challenges: contacts and networking, business culture, and market information. Similarities and differences are presented in Table 1.

Both the construction and the health care sectors are highly regulated, and the challenge for the IHMEC case was that providing the “Nordic solution” wasn’t sufficient, but it had to be adapted to local context in Saudi Arabia. The product must be more tailored based on the needs of the market and customers. To seek approval for the solution for instance, the IHMEC project targeted lead users and opinion leaders.

The second similarity is the importance of building trustworthy relationships. It imperatively begins by going into the country, experiencing the culture, and meeting people. In both situations, networking is the key to a successful entry and implementation. It is so important that it is almost impossible to establish a position without at least face-to-face communication.

To highlight the differences between the two areas: Finnish companies are perceived a bit differently from a country to another. In Southern African markets, it is seen as reliable, humble, and innovative. Finnish companies listen well and adapt their products well to the target market. They are usually seen as technologically advanced and having high standards. However, they are also perceived as bad marketers struggling to show the value proposition of the product (mainly based on practical aspects only).

The Saudi Arabian point of view is that Finland is a reliable and non-corrupted country known for its good PISA results, having advanced health care and being the happiest country in the world. Companies are seen as reliable, but maybe not so flexible compared to Saudi business culture where all business is personal. In addition, Finns are seen as less adaptive in Saudi Arabia. Saudis expect reactivity in business meaning that they would like partners to be in contact also outside the “business hours”. They also share business material via WhatsApp, which is not usual, or even not allowed in Finland.

The final variance is the purchasing power. Southern African countries (except South Africa) have a low purchasing power leading to a preference for B2B and B2G. Yet, Saudi Arabia is a very rich country with possibilities to purchase the best technologies. They favour American solutions and utilise those as standards. For Finnish solutions, the challenge is to convince the demanding customer about the novelty, high quality, and why it is “better than the American ones”.

All in all, both of the markets have high potential for business. Long term commitment from companies is needed for success.

Text: Arthur Dessenius, Tiina Mäkitalo, Minna M. Keinänen-Toivola

Photo: Pixabay: TheDigitalArtist