Insider Volume 22 Issue 13

INSIDER 13.12.2019 | VOL. 22 | ISSUE 13

STUDENT MAGAZINE OF XAMK

Featuring Event Suomi 102 Fashion , Trends & Future Guest Writer Recipe Student profile

STAFF

EDITORIAL

LIDIIA BENKOVSKAIA

ARIAN UKAJ

JASMINE LAIMER

MUHAMMET CAKIROGLU

CLAUDIA RIVA

PRAKHAR SHARMA

ANNA RYNDINA

NIKITA MUNENKO

JOONATAN BERG

QUYNH ANH VU

INSIDER STUDENT MAGAZINE South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences Paraatikenttä 7 45100 Kouvola INSIDER ISSN 1457-1587 Editor in Chief: HUGH CLACK

PHONE +358 44 702 8758 WEBSITE insider.xamk.fi EMAIL insider@xamk.fi 2

EDITORIAL Last one We are happy to announce that we have made it to the end of this semester. This will be the last issue of Insider and we will see you again next semester. We, as the whole magazine, would like to thank everyone that have been with us through this period.

Liidia will be writing about Independence day of Finland in Kouvola-Talo. National holidays are celebrated with hype in Finland and let’s hope this one is going to be one of those.

Christmas is coming as well. And of course, everyone is excited about the Christmas food. We are going to know how to make Christmas cookies.

Check out our recipe this week.

There was some days we laughed, some that we had fun and many days we have been in parties.

Also very rarely, we have been studying. We hope that everyone is having a good semester with Most interesting one, the GALA. We have taken their studies. Honestly, it is quite easy if you just our seats on the gala and Prakhar is going to tell balance the party and studying. But that does not you all about it. seem to be the case for most of us. Sad. It has been a great semester for insider. We have For the last issue, we have a guest author. Jagat experienced some things that we did not have a Bahadur. He is going to write an article about chance to before. We hope all of you had a good education trends and how the methods are semester as well and we wish you good luck for changing. We suppose everyone wants to know upcoming days. how our school is adapting to life.

It is too early now but HAPPY NEW YEAR! We also have an article from our editor in chief for the last issue. Hugh is also writing about trends but the subject is far more important. Fashion. What is going to happen to fashion in future. Take a look.

Muhammet Cakiroglu 3

EVENT Independence Day Gala December has a special place in the hearts of all the Finns. That is so because every year since 1917, Finland celebrates their Independence Day on the 6th of December. This year marked the 102nd anniversary of Finland’s Independence and the excitement about it could be easily seen on people’s faces. Like every year, students at XAMK Kouvola Campus were waiting for one of their favourite times of the year as this year as well the student union Kupla Ry had organised a beautiful Independence Day Gala.

"Fragments"- series of paintings

seats in the great hall under the flickering lights.

The catering team of the Upseerikerho had done an amazing job in preparing the venue for the event as all the decorations gave a very warm and cozy look considering the weather outside at this time of the year. The evening began with everyone raising their champagne glasses to celebrate 102 years of Suomi.

The event was hosted on the 3rd December, which was the Tuesday of the same week as the Independence Day. The venue for the gala was the Upseerikerho (the Officer’s Club) near the Kouvola campus where everything from the portraits of previous Finnish Presidents to the medals and arsenal of old musket rifles, created a perfect atmosphere to the evening. As far as the dress code was concerned, that all the attendees had to adhere to “black tie” which loosely translated to a dark suit with a bow tie for men and a long evening gown below the knees for the women.

At 7 pm sharp everyone settled in their assigned 4

After the wine was served and all the guests comfortably started talking to one another at their tables, they were told to proceed to start their appetite with starters which included delicious fruit and chicken salad, Walldorf salad, and smoked salmon with butler sauce along with a couple of different types of breads.

As the people were enjoying their first course, Sauli Sarjos – the chairman of the Student Union Kaakko took the opportunity to give a speech in which he mentioned about the great milestone of 102nd year of independence of Finland and spoke

The moment everyone was done with their dinner, there was a special guest, Kirsi Rouhiainen – senior lecturer and Entrepreneur & Project Manager at XAMK, who lifted the audience’s spirit with her speech and shared some positive and cheerful insights on the occasion of Itsenäisyyspäivä. One of her the most remarkable quotes: “True freedom is being without anxiety in the environment.”

about other important events that took place during the year. He ended his speech on the note of his concern about the Finnish youth. In his opinion, it was about time to ensure the continued welfare of all the Finnish citizens no matter old or young.

After the first speech was over, it was about time for all the attendees to begin with the main course which included dishes such as Pork fillet with creamy pepper sauce, chicken delicacies, fried Parisian potatoes and falafel again with creamy pepper sauce. It was worth mentioning that the menu had vegan options in both salad and maincourse, so that even the people who didn’t prefer meat had a good time celebrating the evening.

Even though the evening was mostly in Finnish, the duo of Stela and Juho amazingly spread the rhythm of their music in the audience and even got some guests bouncing on their beats. They performed numerous songs which were mostly in English and Finnish for the audience. While the music performance was on, many attendees were also busy getting their hands on the delightful desserts with some coffee or tea.

To conclude the evening, the organisers had arranged a small spot at the venue, where anyone could get their pictures clicked in the amazing outfits, they were sporting that night. It was a good opportunity for all the friends to get together and have some memories for the future.

But the show didn’t end here, as the after party was set to begin at 23.00 in none other than, The Bank – Drinks & Music in the city centre of Kouvola.

Prakhar Sharma Pictures By Prakhar Sharma & Lidiia Benkovskaia 5

SUOMI

Itsenäisyyspäivän 120 vuotta!

On 6th of December, all Finland celebrated one of the most important state holidays, Independence Day, namely its 102nd anniversary. Therefore, I decided to devote today's article to this particular holiday. To tell from where what traditions came from and tell a little about how they celebrate it in our city of Kouvola.

one of the largest in Jyväskylä.

Independence Day was first celebrated on December 6, 1917 after the Finnish Parliament approved the Declaration of Independence of Finland. On this day, it is customary to commemorate those who died in the Winter War, watch the film "Unknown Soldier". The festivities begin with the official ceremony of raising the national flag at 9 o’clock in the morning on Tyahtitornimäki Hill in the center of Helsinki and are traditionally accompanied by solemn speeches and songs. This tradition dates back to 1957. This is followed by worship in churches throughout Finland and the laying of flowers at the graves of heroes. Large military parades are taking place,

In the evening, student associations of the metropolitan area hold a traditional torchlight procession of students, starting from the Hietaniemi cemetery and ending on Senate Square at about 18 hours. The President and his wife greet students from the balcony of the Presidential Palace.

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Four planned actions were also held in Helsinki this year: the ultra-right march in honor of the country's independence, the Helsinki-Free Nazi demonstration, the ultra-right “612” torch march and the Odin Soldiers nationalist march.

One of the main events of this day is the gala reception of the President of Finland at his residence of famous Finns, veterans, as well as foreign citizens who have done something useful for Finland. For several decades, the reception has traditionally been broadcast on television. A critical discussion of the outfits of guests at the

102 YEARS presidential palace is Finnish favorite traditional entertainment this evening.

Families and friends get together this evening for dinner, at home or in a restaurant. Flags hang out, drink champagne congratulate each other. In memory of those who died in the windows of the houses, the Finns light two blue and white candles from 18 to 20 pm.

Celebrations took place in our city, too, but I was surprised that they were more funeral than festive.

Most people were dressed exclusively in black.

Mostly, elderly people and veterans were present.

First, there was a service in the main Kouvola temple, and then laying flowers at the monument to soldiers, at 11:30 the official part was held in the city hall, a festive cake and coffee were prepared.

First, the mayor of Kouvola, Marita Toikka, congratulated all those present. Musical groups of folk instruments, a singer and a pianist were invited. Various military men and women made festive speeches. They recalled the historical facts associated with this date, the soldiers who died. At the end, the anthem of Finland sounded.

Lidiia Benkovskaia

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FASHION

The male grooming industry boom

The male of our species has always been paying attention to their look and appearance. In fact, we see the same behaviour in certain animal species whenever a mate is to be attracted. Of course, the same can be said of females, when they have a need to attract a mate for breeding. For some time, men have spent many hours on their appearance and in particular, their grooming habits. For many years this attention lapsed, especially for men in their 30s where the trend of the 80s and 90s was a so-called “modern” approach to grooming with sports celebrities leading the trend with their less groomed, just out of bed look, which in actual fact took a lot more effort to achieve, with mixed results. Is that designer stubble, or have you just forgotten to shave?

for today’s modern male. The industry is a growing one, and businesses need to take advantage of this.

We can see this happing not just in the plethora of implements, ointments, and lotions adorning the shelves in the bathroom of the modern man, but also with the rise in high street barber shops and in the numerous webstores offering grooming products. The traditional hairdresser and barber shops are expanding and also offering more differentiated services to compete for customers.

In Kouvola, we already had M-Room with their concept of a membership system approach and a “men’s club” atmosphere and look to their hair studios. Now just over a year ago, Mikko Korpela introduced Kouvola to Craft Barbers & Today we have seen an upsurge in the attitude to Brews, the perfect combination of barber services modern grooming where men are actually taking with a fully licenced bar offering craft beers and care of their grooming habits, not necessarily Finnish whisky while you wait your turn. A great to impress or attract a mate, but more because business idea! In fact, it has also been introduced they simply want to look and feel better about to Hamina (Vanhakaupungin Parturi) and Kotka themselves. Today’s savvy businesses have (Rust Barbers & Brews). The website https://www. realised this upturn, and now cater more and more hetiparturiin.fi/ shows all three barbers and their

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TRENDS&FUTURE offerings.

Mikko explained that he came up with the idea after walking into a barber’s in London, “Someone put a bottle into my hand and said ‘take a seat and have a beer while you wait’” he smiles, “I thought at the time, that’s a great concept, it was almost like a religious experience!” Of course, bringing the idea to Finland wasn’t so easy, but a change in the law in 2018 paved the way for Mikko’s new venture “and just 3 months later, everything eventually came together” he recalls.

The idea of Mikko’s barbers was not to create another chain store feeling, but more of a personal approach to the whole concept. He wants people to experience something special when they walk into his barbers shops, a personal service that you will immediately appreciate, whether it is in Kouvola, Hamina, or Kotka. Mikko further explained that the approach to “offering barber and beers is more of a marketing gimmick”, it is a barber offering beers rather than trying to create a bar that offers barber services, and it has proved to be successful and is certainly a growing industry. “People are coming here to have haircuts or shaves or both, and taking a beer either while they wait or after. It is good haircut or a shave. ” or was he just talking to not about the drinking but about the experience.” me…?

Mikko explains.

So, if you find yourself in need of a haircut or shave The majority of clients at barbers today are mainly (and not just to attract a mate) pop along to Craft there for haircuts, with “a wet shave something Barbers & Brews in Kouvola’s Manski. Take a seat more of a special treat” says Mikko. Indeed, with and actually enjoy waiting your turn with a beer or the rising trend of webstores offering a vast array single malt whisky, it’s an experience! of traditional shaving equipment, creams, soaps, lotions, and so on, the modern man can take his time and enjoy the luxury of a traditional wet shave every day at home. It’s not so easy to cut your own hair though.

Mikko has some advice for the modern man, “Take care of your appearance, it is important to look and smell good. You should at least have a

Hugh Clack, Editor in Chief and double edge razor risk-taker!

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GUESTWRITER

Common trends in education and our changing requirements As educational practitioners and learners, it is important to continuously assess the overall trends in the education sector. Some issues are starting to become vital part of the general discourse in this sector. Particularly, it is important to be aware of the changing role of education in the society, the process of learning, role of and relationship between learners and instructors and the design of learning spaces.

The types of learning environments available are the most apparent and drastic recent changes. Learning spaces are transforming from specific classroom set of devices to BYOD arrangements to interactive learning spaces utilizing some form of VR, AR, or mixed reality in lieu with gamification techniques. Digitally enhanced educational technologies, learning management systems (e.g. Moodle, Edmodo) and MOOCs (e.g.

Coursera), once considered novelties are gradually starting to be the norm. It has also become increasingly possible to get accreditation from a respectable university through electronic and distance learning methodologies.

Further pairing of AI applications with the digitally enhanced learning environments is already affecting core parts of the education process such as the design of the content, teaching methods, assessment and communication. Various Interactive Learning Environment (ILEs) and Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) are being designed to massively-deliver and administer automated content in a synchronous, adaptive and personalized manner by using Educational Data Mining (EDM) techniques based on needs, psychological profile, pace of learning and knowledge level of students. However, it is not the holy grail of education. The comparative assessment of AIstudent and teacher-student effectiveness is lacking to conclusively state which one is better. It is also doubtful whether social interaction in the classrooms can be completely replaced by It is not only the obvious digital transformations, which are disrupting education sector. Due to globalization and enhanced mobility of students, classrooms are increasingly diverse. This trend is affecting the design of relevant curriculum (which should perhaps move beyond ethnocentric and local focus), the learning

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methods to account for diverse backgrounds and effective systems to acknowledge diverse a priori learnings and qualifications. Existence of diversity coupled with greater emphasis on group problem solving both in classrooms and workplaces means that social skills are increasingly prized assets. The contemporary problem of managing climate change is also leading towards focus in skills required in an environmentally sensitive economy and preparing students for such needs. The ubiquity of information in the knowledge economy is changing the role of the teacher from delivering information to creating opportunities for students to ‘learn how to learn’, solve problems, and apply learning in meaningful ways.

This also means that from the students’ perspectives, judging the credibility and relevance of gathered information and analyzing those using appropriate tools and methods is increasingly becoming important.

In addition to issues already discussed, there are several other essential skills to survive as learners in the new context. Digital disruption means familiarity with all aspects of science and technology is vital. The virtual organization of workplaces and gig economy means that familiarity and proficiency with remote working and collaboration tools is important. The rise of the gig economy coupled with longer working lives means learning and updating relevant skills is a never-ending process. Lifelong learning is increasingly becoming compulsory. Minute knowledge specialization and group problem solving indicates that it is necessary to individually monitor the volatile labor market and improve teamwork skills. All of these also suggest that rather than focusing on the immediate need for instant academic success, it is important for learners to have stamina (‘grit’ and ‘growth mindset’) to achieve longterm goals. This requires self-directed learning and transformative agency from students, which means the ability to take initiatives and commit to transform academic activities and contexts provided in the classroom for personal and/or own academic ends. All of these efforts coupled with some form of disciplined practice of mindfulness to manage everyday stress, self-regulate and ensure well-being can help students achieve their purposes well.

Jagat Kunwar

STUDIO 123 Kymenlaaksonkatu 1 45700 Kuusankoski 044 375 3686 www.studio123.fi 6.12-12.12.2019

RECIPE Gingerbread cookies

STUDIO 1 TÄYDELLINEN JOULU (12) | 12€ | 1h35min Fri-Sun, Wed-Thur 17:00 CORGI (7) | 11€ | 1h28min Sat-Sun 15:00, Mon 17:00

Christmas is coming! Decorations are everywhere, the snow covered our city and Santa is in Lapland working hard to wrap all the presents on time. It’s the perfect time for the most famous Christmas dessert: the gingerbread cookies. This recipe is easy, delicious and will make your house smell like Christmas!

STAR WARS - RISE OF THE SKYWALKER

Ingredients: 350 gr flour, ½ teaspoon of backing soda, 2 pinches of salt, 150 gr sugar, 2 teaspoons of ginger powder , 2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg powder, ½ teaspoon of clove powder , 150 gr butter, 1 egg, 150 gr molasses.

STUDIO 2

EXTRA: 170gr powdered sugar, 1 egg white, 1 spoon of lemon juice, sprinkles.

VEITSET ESIIN (12) | 12€ | 2h10min Fri-Mon 19:00 (12) | 14€ | 2h40min Wed-Thur 19:00

MYSTERY MOVIE (12) | 12€ | ?h ?min Tue 19:00 SYSTEM CRASHER (16) | 12€ | 1h59min Sat, Wed 19:15 TARHAPÄIVÄ (12) | 11€ | 1h38min Fri-Sun, Wed-Thur 17:00 DOWNTOWN ABBEY (7) | 12€ | 2h2min Sat-Sun 14:45 Tue 16:45 STUDIO 3

Equipment: Cookie cutter, rolling pin, oven paper, plastic wrap.

Take all the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, sugar and all the spices (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove). Put them all in a bowl and mix them together. Add the cold butter and mash it with the dry ingredients with a fork until it is light and fluffy. Now you can add the egg and the molasses. Mix everything again with a fork. Use your hands to create a nice and smooth ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it chill from 1 to 2 hours in the fridge. Once the dough is chilled, unwrap it and roll it with a rolling pin. Use your cookie cutter to cut your shapes or you can just use a knife and some artistic skills! Put some oven paper on your oven sheet and move your beautiful cookies on it. Cook them in the oven at 180° for around 10 minutes.

LAST CHRISTMAS (7) | 11€ | 1h42min Sun-Tue 17:15

Your gingerbread cookies are ready to eat!

MESTARI CHENG (7) | 12€ | 1h54min Sat-Sun 14:45

EXTRA:

JOKER (16) | 12€ | 2h2min Fri-Sat, Wed-Thur 19:15 LIGHTHOUSE (16) | 12€ | 1h49min Sun-Tue 19:30 Students/armed services, pensioners 1€ discount on all full priced tickets of 10€ or more

When your cookies are cold, you can decorate them as desired with an icing and sprinkles. To make the icing you just have to mix powdered sugar, egg white and lemon juice together.

Happy holidays!

Claudia Riva

STUDENTPROFILE

Meet Melissa!

In the last issue of 2019, I’m glad to have a nice time talking with Melissa, who is an exchange student in Kouvola Campus.

First, can you tell a little bit bit about yourself?

Hey, my name is Melissa Jasmin and I’m 21 years old. I’m from Limburg (Germany).

Would you like to introduce something about your city and your university?

I study business administration focusing on HRM at university of applied science in Gießen. It’s a student friendly city close to Frankfurt. I do really lakes, to travel a lot (not only in Finland), to meet like the city I’m living in. My university is quite good people and to grow personally. and I have learned a lot so far. University of applied sciences has a huge practise orientation, which I If you have to describe your exchange consider as really helpful for a future career. semester in Finland in 3 words, what are they?

Would you like to share about your hobbies?

Relaxed, peaceful, exciting

In my free time I love to meet my friends and also to go to the gym with them. I enjoy going to concerts/cafes. I am also into traveling a lot.

Christmas is coming to town :D. What are the things that make you excited most for Christmas?

How many countries have you visited?

I’m excited for Christmas, because I’ll be coming home by then. I’m happy to see my favourite human beings again ☺

...Well, a few

I’ve been to Italia, Croatia, Netherlands, Do you want to send some Christmas wishes Switzerland, France, Austria, England, Ireland, to people who are reading?

Turkey, Portugal, Spain, Tenerife, Norway, Estonia, Sweden and I have lived primarily in Germany, but Hyvää joulua/ Merry Christmas/ frohe Weihnachten also in Australia and Finland.

P.s: Thanks for being part of XAMK. I’m sure I’ll Is this the first time you’ve been to Finland? miss studying here.

What is the best part of your exchange life here?

Yes, it has been my first time in Finland! My favourite part is to learn another language, to experience another school system, to see wonderful nature &

Quynh Anh Vu