Aalto on Tracks magazine

lto a A ing k ITY a N T U M COM ki n i s l He m o hai r g f n ha S o t ain r T By

Photo: Timo Id채nheimo

Photo: Jyri Tuulos

Contents

Aalto on tracks How to take 82 Aalto University students and personnel from Helsinki to Shanghai - by train.

And what happens when you decide to make it happen.

Life on the train Making it happen 5

6 7 8 10 12 14

Editor’s commentary: There and back again How it all got started The Patron of Aalto on Tracks Aalto University and China How to rent a private train Aalton on Tracks - Pre 24h Aalto on Tracks Program

16 17 18 20 22

24 26

Short Days Country Profile: Russia Exchanging favors and ideas Eetu on Tracks Internationalization at Aalto University Sports on the train Cycling on Tracks

28 32 36 38

39 40 42 43

A train as a flexible space Longest sitsit ever TEDx on tracks Case: The future of internet banking Case: Samlink Lake Baikal Yoga and Dance Bavarian beer workshop

Experiencing Mongolia

and China 44 46 48

50 52 53 56 58

61 62

Country profile: Mongolia A nice day in Ulanbaatar A taxi experience in Ulanbaatar Tervetuloa Kiinaan!

Culinary Surprises Country profile: China Magnetic Shanghai Excursion: Outotec in Shanghai Excursion: Napa Shanghai World Expo 2010

Photo: Timo Idänheimo

Aalto on Tracks PublicAtion Chief editor Atso Takala

writers Atso Takala, Mikko Ikola, Alexander Stubb, Hannu Seristö, Tapio Melgin, Claus Stigler, Ylva Norrgrann, Iida Myllymäki, Petri Saarikko, Kalevi Ekman, Anne Herbert, Sakari Cajanus, Mira Kyllönen, Asta Länsimies, Johanna Järvinen, Olli Laine, Kirsi Lounesto, Aaro Väkeväinen, Alexander Hornung, Ville Purontaus, Riikka Liedes, Juha Ryynänen, Juho Kokkola, Juuso Koskinen

Photographers and illustrators Timo Idänheimo, Jyri Tuulos, Juuso Koskinen, Kalevi Ekman, Pekka Mustonen, Markus Kauppinen, Inna Pirkanniemi, Mira Kyllönen, Erkka Mutanen, Sakari Cajanus, Aaro Väkeväinen, Petri Saarikko, Anne Herbert, Inna Pirkanniemi, Claus Stigler, Mira Kyllönen, Tuure Laurinolli, Kirsi Lounesto, Liisa Tervinen, Hannamiina Tanninen, Tapio Melgin, Antti Virolainen, Joona Kurikka, Juho Kokkola, Juuso Koskinen

Layout Atso Takala

Special thanks Special thanks to all our sponsors, collaborators, companies, patrons, and everyone who helped in to make the trip possible!

Text: Atso Takala Photos: Juuso Koskinen, Kalevi Ekman

Making it happen

There and back again Greetings readers!

The Aalto on Tracks project has happily come to an end and you are holding in your hands the Aalto on Tracks publication - the story of 82 Aalto community members’ trip from Helsinki to Shanghai - by train.

For myself, Aalto on Tracks was very special in many ways. I made lots of new friends, experienced the leisure of travelling by train (highly recommended!) and learned interesting things about all the diferent places we travelled through on the way.

Like all large projects, Aalto on Tracks required a lot of organizing, and all the great experiences and learnings during the trip would not have been possible without all the heavy work done by everyone involved. And the best part of Aalto on Tracks was that every participant on the trip was also involved in organizing!

Since everyone was involved, we had the possibility to enjoy various kinds of activities during the trip. We had workshops, presentations, beer tastings, talks, parties - just to mention few. You can find the planned program in this publication and in addition to the planned program, many unofficial activities were created - and celebrated - from scratch and on the go.

When we finally made it to Shanghai and the Wolrd Expo, it was like a totally new trip had began. The journey by train from Helsinki to Shanghai was an unforgetable experience by itself, and a new experience had started when we set out to explore Shanghai and China. Asia is in many ways very different compared to Finland, but when talking and spending time with local students in Shanghai, it was nice to notice that, in the end, important things are actually very similar.

This publication is an assortment of experiences from an amazing trip. Written and illustrtated by participants of the project (both students and personnel) and reflecting their experiences this publication shows

Your editor with a new Design Emotions -workshop result on his head how an enormous project can be done with a little faith and good team work. With this publication I hope you can get an idea of what Aalto on Tracks is all about. And maybe you can do something like Aalto on Tracks yourself? Just put your mind to it and anything is possible!

Looking forward to see what’s next in Aalto!

Atso Takala Chief Editor More on Aalto on Tracks: aaltoontracks.com

Text: Mikko Ikola Photos: Jyri Tuulos

Making it happen

how it all Started After a couple of months, our team grew a lot. Instead of 5 there suddenly were more like 15 people.

It started to feel more like a corporation. We had official aagendas in our weekly meetings, cool websites for the project and lots of people involved.

I wasn’t anymore able to follow everything, as there wereas people responsible for getting sponsors, handling visas, organizing exams and around 10 different groups for planning the program on the train to mention some. In the end, every participant became an organizer of the trip.

Lots of work and suddenly it was 14th May, and the Tolstoy train departed from Helsinki. And the rest is history.

The whole project was a huge learning experience for me, and hopefully for every participant as well.

It was great to see people working with stuff they were interested about, learning by doing and especially getting to know each other. Aalto on Tracks has developed to such a great community.

I am very thankful that the project got full support from the society in every field, including university, industry and all partners we had. Hope we can demonstrate that everything is possible within Aalto if you just take the initiative!

Getting ready for the ride at the Farewell Party at Amarillo

“What is the most inexpensive way to get as many students as possible to the Shanghai World Expo?”, Mikko Sjöberg and Lauri Neuvonen were thinking after meeting people from Aalto University working with the Expo. “With a train of course!” they realized.

That is how it all started. Myself, I heard about the idea in the Student Union office at the end of 2009.

It was mind blowing! That is something that just has to be done! I was serious, as I didn’t have any special plans for the next year.

In the first place, the idea was just crazy. I started to talk to people and the idea developed step by step.

First it was just the train, and after talking to few people I thought what could be the better place to learn from each other - to make the trip a learning experience and give the possibility for everybody to organize the program on board.

After talking to Tuuli Sotamaa the first time I also realized that there is lot of Aalto and Finland related program planned in the World Expo during May 2010.

Pieces started to snap together.

It was a pretty unique time frame to combine everything in a one trip, also because the teaching period finished just before the trip.

The first time I spoke about the

project to a bigger crowd was the Aaltoes meeting in the beginning of 2010.

A one minute pitch and people were really inspired. People really wanted to help with the arrangements, and that’s how many of the organizers happened to be from Aaltoes.

At first, there were only few of us. It felt like to being in a startup.

We did this and that, and hacked little pieces together. We really didn’t even have any official agendas for the meetings. Our only communication channel was a closed Facebook group.

Making it happen

Text: Alexander Stubb Photo: Pekka Mustonen

Greetings from Mr. alexander stubb China is the country that the others watch most closely. Be it competition for the second place in the world economy, growth of the defence budget, or the tallest basketball player in the NBA, China’s size hits the headlines daily.

China is also subject to plenty of expectations. Its economic weight has contributed to its significance as a player in international politics. The “hot potatoes” under discussion include sanctions against Iran and the common climate policy.

This spring, the Shanghai World EXPO 2010 gathers thousands of visitors from around the globe to the megacity on the east coast of the country. The event provides China a window of opportunity to present itself as a strong, developing and diverse country.

I have promised to be the patron of the Aalto on Tracks project. An excellent project, more of these, please! The train will take young “future hopefuls” to visit a country which is full of opportunities also for the Finns.

Expertise in China will be a much sought-after asset in the future.

Alexander Stubb Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland When we met Mr. Stubb after the trip he recommended that we take the next trip by bike.

Text: Hannu SeristĂś Photo: Markus Kauppinen

Making it happen

The Finnish society needs people who have better understanding of Asia. Particularly the ever increasing role of China in the world economy, culture and politics requires that we Finns do much more in terms of learning the Chinese culture, ways of living and the business environment. The progress in China is so rapid that many of us have a very much outdated image of what China really is and what sort of opportunities there are. This is important for the sake of enhancing understanding and interaction between the two nations. Taking an economy point of view, companies need young professionals who are better equipped to work in China, settling quickly in to the Chinese environment without often painful and costly errors and adjustment problems.

One of the great tasks of Aalto University is to internationalize strongly. The degree of internationalization can be measured in many ways, but in terms of the ratio of foreign students and faculty we have significant room for improvement. In terms of internationalization the question arises, where to. We have loads of evidence to believe that Asia and particularly China is a key area where Aalto University needs to be very active. In addition to the factors referred to above, Chinese universities will undoubtedly play a significant role in the world of science of the future - and they already do. Therefore we need to support and develop activities that make it more

appealing and easier for our students and researchers to work with Chinese counterparts.

The Aalto on Tracks venture was an excellent example of the kind of passion that characterizes an ideal link between Aalto University and China.

Our students showed initiative and courage in crossing borders in many senses: doing something that requires leaving the comfort zone, getting substantial financing by themselves from various sources, combining different disciplines in the program, arranging all-new learning activities on-board, and of course, crossing several geographic borders on the long trip from Helsinki to Shanghai, reaching Chinese fellow students. The border-crossing activities continued in Shanghai where Aalto University and Tongji University opened their joint Aalto-Tongji Design Factory, which extends the great working platform concept of Aalto’s Design Factory in Espoo into China.

Great ventures like Aalto on Tracks do not happen without brave and determined individuals. The work of many students in making AoT true is remarkable; this sort of spirit is exactly what Aalto needs and values. For his leading role in the AoT venture, Mikko Ikola was awarded the student activity of the year prize in the opening ceremony of Aalto on September 1st, 2010.

All those involved, very well done!

Hannnu giving us a few last minute encoraging words at the Farewell Party.

Crossing borders

Hannu SeristĂś Vice President, Aalto University

Where TDJFODF and BSU meet UFDIOPMPHZ and CVTJOFTT XXX BBMUP Ø

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Text: Mikko Ikola, Atso Takala Photos: Timo Idänheimo

Making it happen

How to rent a private train to china “One day, a random student from Aalto University visited us and asked about trips to Siberia. During this conversation he also mentioned a train trip to China, which wais going to be organized

by Aalto students,” Markku Lindroos from Traveller Oy remembers the start of preparations for Aalto on Tracks.

“And so I decided to contact Aalto University to know more”, he continues.

Through a few more steps the message got through to Aalto on Tracks organizers and we started to discuss about the possibilities to deliver almost 100 people from Helsinki to Shanghai.

Thanks to the random student, whoever and wherever you are! Without Traveller, Aalto on Tracks probably would never have happened!

Renting a private train “At first, I thought this was impossible”, Markku said after the first conversation about renting a private train.

He suggested separate cars connected to a normal train, but it wasn’t an option due to a tight schedule, it wasn’t an option anymore. A private train was the only option left, and it was the first time for Traveller to rent a whole train as well.

Traveller had been working with Russian Railways (RZD) for many years, but they had mainly reserved only a few tickets at a time. It took many phone calls to many different departments of RZD to get the train rolling.

Even a contact from VR was needed to lobby RZD to hurry with the arrangements. Renting the train also needed the ability to speak Russian, of course.

Nadja from Traveller was in charge of

communications to RZD, and she told us that negotiations with RZD were completely different from those we have in Finland. There were frequently new conditions and new charges presented, and promises about schedules never kept. We never got proper pictures of the train or detailed specifications.

There was a constant fear in the air of whether the trip was going to succeed or not. Just two weeks before departure things started to get organized. Traveller got through the middlemen and got the right contact from RZD who was really in charge of renting the private train. After this, everything went perfectly. The train personnel were very polite and the food in the restaurant car was delicious.

Memories from the past Markku has been running Traveller Oy since 1993.

Many things have changed since then.

Markku recalls that 15 years ago traveling on the TransSiberian railway was completely different than from nowadays. Markku has been traveling the Trans-Siberian already about 15 times. “Stamps and receipts were very important.

Some times you had to

beg for a certain stamp to make sure you weren’t thrown out at the next stop.

You could have beenbe thrown away fromout of the train randomly, as well”, Markku explains. Country borders especially were very unpredictable places. A bribe for an officer could help you out, though.

“The train is a way of traveling.

There is no hurry. The destination will show up, eventually”, Markku defines the differences compared to travelling by airplane. “You don’t need a shower every day. Once a week is enough in the train. There is time to relax and enjoy the views of the countryside, not just the big cities”, he continues. “Traveling by train gets you off away from daily routines and worries.”

Oy Traveller Ab Kasarmikatu 26 00130 Helsinki P. 09-60002 www.traveller.fi

Trans Siperian junamatkat ja Aasia

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5:30 P.M. OFFICE BUILDING, SHANGHAI

Working towards more eco-efficient future for Mei and 6.8 billion other people.

Like many of us, Mei is concerned about her carbon footprint and the energy consumption of her workplace. As a pioneer of eco-efficient solutions, KONE has dedicated substantial effort to reducing the total lifetime energy consumption of elevators and escalators. By using KONE eco-efficient solutions, Mei and her colleagues are helping to ensure a more sustainable future – for all of us. www.kone.com KONE MiniSpace™ energy consumption compared to previous technologies DC Gearless Geared (Ward Leonard) AC

40000 35000

35000 29000

30000 kWh/year

DC Gearless KONE (Static converter) MiniSpace™

25000

22270

20000 15000 10000

5981

5000 0

kWh/year

kWh/year

kWh/year

kWh/year

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Making it happen

Text: Tapio Melgin Photos: Timo Idänheimo, Inna Pirkannimi

Aalto on tracks Pre 24h

Is it possible to get visas for Russia, Mongolia and China in 24 hours?

Prologue It was maybe on January when I first heard about Aalto on Tracks. Even though the idea of travelling trough Siberia and Mongolia to China excited me, I had decided to find a summer job starting from the first weeks of May and not to leave on that trip.

However, on Wednesday evening the 12th May I received a phone call.

Again I was left at second choice in an interview and it was my last hope for getting a job. I knew that the AoT train would leave the next day and that it would be impossible to get the visas because of the holiday.

Next evening I checked the AoT website for the first comments from the trip. What I noticed was that I had the departure day wrong in my calendar. The train would not leave earlier than the next evening at 18.23.

After a phone call to Lauri, a friend of mine from the AoT crew, I was con-

vinced. I would leave with the other 81 participants to Shanghai. That’s when I started my 21 hours preparations for the train trip.

Thursday 13th May 21.30, Karjaa The chief organizer Mikko Ikola confirmed that it might be possible to get one extra person on the train. However, it would be quite unlikely to get all the three visas in one day. I checked the websites of the embassies: The Russian embassy does not grant visas during the same day, and all three embassies would close at 11.30AM. The Mongolian embassy would be closed on Fridays. I would at least try.

Friday 14th 00.00, Helsinki Preparing applications for visas, finding a 24/7 automatic photo machine.

(At the Central Railway Station there is one).

06.30, Helsinki After a couple of hours of sleep, I departed to Turku. I had heard from my father that the Russian embassy in Turku might be more flexible with the visas.

09.00-10.45, Turku The discussion about visa handling time with the Russian officer took me a while, but an impossible (I didn’t have any travel documents to show) matter turned to 10 days, then to 3 days, then to the same afternoon and finally whenever I could make the transaction in at the nearest Nordea bank. Russia is a great country.

10.45-12.15, Turku-Helsinki My father went to the Chinese embassy in Kulosaari to do what he could to get my visa, because I wouldn’t be there before the closing time, at 11.30. When he confirmed that I had an appointment arranged at 14.00 (China is a great country), I turned to Kirkkonummi.

12.15, Kirkkonummi After couple of trials, I reached the ambassador of Mongolia on his embassy number. He was sorry, but nothing could be done. The Embassy was closed. I told him about the trip for 10 minutes until he asked me where I was. I was 10 kilometers from their embassy. In 5 minutes he called me back to say that I had once more had good luck today. The officer who grants visas was in a supermarket nearby. I would get the visa before 13.00.

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Mongolia is a great country.

14.06, Kulosaari, Helsinki I was a bit late because of a traffic jam, but I got the last visa without any trouble from China’s embassy in Kulosaari. I made the last call to Mikko, who confirmed I would have a place in Tolstoy.

15.00-17.40, Home, Helsinki After getting home I was quite tired and hungry, but I still had to buy some stuff, pack, and call some people to say that I would be ‘out of the office’ for about 3 weeks (I had had no time to buy tickets back to Finland).

18.00, Helsinki Finally I was at the railway station, ready to leave. During the day I had met a lot of kind people helping me to leave with the train. I think a part of that was also the story of Aalto on Tracks. Freaky idea, but we did it.

21.30, Epilogue, Russia After crossing the Russian border I noticed that my Russian visa expired in 3 days although we would spend 5 days traveling through Siberia. Evidently the Russian officer in Turku had done all she could, but a 5 days transit visa was out of her scope. But I have to say that Russia was not that expensive...

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Making it happen

Text: Mikko Ikola Photos: Timo Idänheimo, Juuso Koskinen, Mira Kyllönen, Erkka Mutanen

Aalto on tracks program

Eetu Oranki. Our beloved mascot on tracks.

how much can be done

in two weeks ?

Our journey was divided into two parts - Tracks and Shanghai. We had many groups to prepare the workshops before the journey. Cases, games, TEDx, film crew, music, publication and sports groups to mention some of them. To get a hint how much can be done in two weeks, here is a collective list of the official program we had on the train and in Shanghai.

In addition to the official program, there were lot of sports sessions, spontaneous workshops, and other things organized on the train.

on tracks eReader, Ville Purontaus We had four different eReader devices on board. The workshop was part of a research project at Aalto. We had usertesting and business model workshops about using eReaders.

Social media for Banking, Juha Ryynänen Juha Ryynänen organized a workshop about social media in the banking sector for Samlink bank.

Enhancement of employer image, Juha Ryynänen What makes a company look good to a student who is about to move into work life? A workshop from Outotec company.

Project management case, Heikki Sjöman Group work and discussion on the train about project management in China versus the Western world. An excursion in Shanghai hosted by the World Expo organizers.

Online services and social media in City of Espoo, Hannamiina Tanninen An idea workshop for the City of Espoo. Lots of new ideas were generated for Espoo to develop in the fields of service concepts, social media and recruitment.

Design Emotions, Kalevi Ekman A product design workshop, which made you think products from completely new perspectives. How about a shoe cleaning device, which is environmentally friendly and designed for women?

Exploring Customer Experience, Kalevi Ekman What makes a mobile phone good?

Smile & Shine, Lauri Hynynen Smile & Shine is a company leasing shoe polishing machines. We had a workshop for new business possibilities and new out-of-the-box ideas for the machine design.

TEDx, Olli Laine Technology, Entertainment and Design. Five amazing speakers in the conference car. For a deeper look see the separate article in this publication.

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in shanghai Greetings to the Aalto-Tongji Design Factory people, 24th June Telling the best stories and showing the most amazing photos to the ATDF people and Tuula Teeri.

Aalto-Tongji Design Factory opening ceremony, 25th ATDF was full of Aalto and Tongji people and different partners from Shanghai. A huge party after the official ceremony!

Nokia Siemens Network, 26th A company visit to the NSN factory in Shanghai, hosted by factory manager, Jose A. Menendez. We had a presentation about the NSN business and a tour of the factory. Did you know that the avearage salary of a factory employee is around 250 euros a month?

McKinsey, 26th

A visit to the McKinsey office in Shanghai.

KONE, 27th A visit to KONE’s factory in China.

Finland Day gala, 27th “Wherever we go, AoT steals the show” Liisa T. while Negative band started to play at the gala event. Aalto on Tracks short film was shown on the Europe stage in the afternoon.

Napa, 28th, Claus Stigler Company visit to Napa in Shanghai.

Outotec, 28th, Juha Ryynänen A visit to Outotec in Shanghai.

Expo organizers event, 28th, Heikki Sjöman Continuation of the Project management case from the train - An excursion hosted by the World Expo organizers.

Dumpling Restaurant Bike Tour, 29th An epic bike trip organized by Nokia

Siemens Networks’ representative Mikko Lavanti. Sports first and then dumplings in Mikko’s residential compound!

Easy access to pavilions, 30th Easy access cards to most of the pavilions of the World Expo - after a day of walking we had a proper sauna in the Finland pavilion VIP premises!

Fashion exhibition, 30th There is no reason to visit China without buying a tailor made suit or evening dress. We had a proper catwalk in the corridor of our hotel.

Last day, 30th Almost everyone returned to Finland on 30th May or a day later. Oula, Simo, Kirsi, Juha and some other people continued traveling around Asia.

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Texts: Claus Stigler, Ylva Norrgrann Photos: Sakari Cajanus, Timo Idänheimo

Life on the Train

Organizing our daily 23 hour timetable at the conference car

Short days The time goes differently here in the train. And it is passing by incredibly fast.

One very obvious reason is that the days here really simply have 23 hours. The train is moving that steadily to the East that we are passing one time zone every day.

To be able to follow common steps at least in our microcosm private train, we decided to add one hour to our clocks always during the dinner.

Having these shifts means the time between 20:30 and 21:30 simply does not exist. Therefore it is rather useless to reserve a shower time at 20:40 - what I did on the first day! Still, already these time shifts are somehow an experience themselves, when choosing different countries or cities with a comparable time on the train on the mobile phone.

Starting with Helsinki (GMT+3) I took Moscow, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and finally Shanghai (+8).

Knowing jet lag already from other journeys, where there is suddenly about half a day missing, I wonder what this “train lag” will be like in Shanghai, when after more than a week the days

consist again of 24 hours instead of 23.

But being here is spending time in a different epoch anyway. There are dark red carpets on the floor, golden curtains at the windows and the restaurant car somehow appearing medieval.

Last but not least the atmosphere and the uncountable events in the train are resulting in very short days: Just coming from a case workshop the following joga session is already announced. Of course it is already time for lunch again after that!

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Country profile: Russia Country: Russian Federation Capital: Moscow Official language: Russian Monetary unit: Ruble (RUB) Population (2009): 141,852,000 Area: 17,075,400 Random facts The land and its environments are varied, including the Ural Mountains and ranges in eastern Siberia. Tundra covers extensive portions in the north, and in the south there are forests, steppes, and fertile areas.

Novgorod was the only Russian principality to escape the domination of the Mongols in the 13th century. The Russian revolution 1917 overthrew the tsar regime.

Exploitation of abundant natural resources during the Soviet Union led to serious long-term environmental degradation. Russia’s primary exports include oil, metals, machinery, chemicals and forestry products.

In 1992 the government decreed radical reforms to convert the centrally planned economy into a market economy. Russia was admitted to the G8 in 1997. In 2001 the government legalized the sale of urban housing and industrial real estate.

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LIfe on the train

Texts: Antti Virolainen, Iida Myllymäki, Petri Saarikko Photos: Aaro Väkeväinen, Erkka Mutanen, Timo Idänheimo, Petri Saarikko

Exchanging favors And ideas Kassi-wall

Packing your backpack for a trip is always balancing between how much you want to carry and how many items you want to have available. Regardless of how well you prepare, traveling often leads to situations where the needed tool is just the one you left at home.

However, on a train full of traveling students, it is quite probable that someone has the item you are looking for. That is why we put up the Kassiwall at the corner of the shower car. It was the place to write your needs on post-its and stick them on the wall. It was also possible to list your lendable items there and offer and request favors.

The post-its started to gather quickly and by the end of the journey the flipchart paper was almost full of offers and requests. There were offers to borrow a Game Boy, exchange shoulder massage, use a hammock, practise German language skills and so on. On the request side people were asking for an alarm clock, photography lessons, party clothes exchange and also to write this article about the wall

ATwink

Aalto-Campus workshop

for the publication.

The most common reason to write on the wall was the case of lost or found items. Luckily we didn’t change the train too often, because quite many people were forgetfully leaving their property here and there. Fortunately the wall and fellow travelers helped and at least many Reinoshoes and one teekkari-cap found their way back to the right owners. Also some critical travel tools like a make-up pen sharpener and a calculator as well as tutoring help for a school course were found with the help of the wall.

With or without the wall, the spirit of helping and sharing was high on the train. Let’s keep that in mind and help each other also at our home campus and, maybe most importantly, between the Aalto campuses. Even a tiny help can be very valuable when it’s needed and giving and getting that can be a great way to make new friends (or make the old ones happy).

The origin of the Kassi-wall is the online Kassi at http://kassi.sizl.org/ serving all the Aalto community. Join the culture of sharing by listing your stuff there, and help your fellow students when they need it. It makes our journey a lot more enjoyable one.

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www.upm.com

We had good intimate conversations in groups during the Aalto-campus workshop on the train. We started with thinking about other universities and how are they organized. We benchmarked several foreign universities such as Lund in Sweden and NHH in Norway. In both the university and its students are in close interaction.

All three Aalto campuses are very different with their own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. We all agreed that the best campus would be a combination of the three existing ones. However, we were not able to come up with a suggestion about the future campus. Â

The Atwink location sensitive drawing experiment also participated in Aalto on Tracks.

Everyone could contribute and write down their sensations into a collective sketchbook throughout the trip. The experiment produced altogether 4X pages of drawings, notes and instant photographs that were recorded both in physical and digital format.

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Text: Kalevi Ekman Photo: Timo Idänheimo

Life on the train

eetu on tracks According to the train personnel, we have 1, 2 or 3 hours to Novosibirsk, depending who you ask. That’s the end station for me.

I cannot recall precisely how and where the AoT idea was first time introduced to me. However, it was obvious that it’s nearly illegal to miss such an opportunity as a teacher, even though it wasn’t possible for me to come along for the whole track because of other commitments at Aalto-Tongji Design Factory in Shanghai.

Everything is possible in Aalto! If you didn’t know that, at least now it’s visible for the whole world. This Aalto University moving campus on tracks is

full of energy. The crazy idea has turned into a real-life case of experimental cocreation. The dream came true through numerous practical arrangements, intensive project management, good communication, - and people who had passion. And guess what: this is how it goes on here!

The best of AoT for me has been the Aalto spirit – commitment for creating something valuable together. You see friendly, smiling faces around you, people who are motivated to give their best in workshops, discussions, studying and making change. I conducted two beautiful workshops on yesterday and this morning, and as an Aalto staff

member I’m so proud of these guys!

The days have been an enlightening learning experience for the students and especially for the staff members like me.

It is really sad to leave the train now. The train hostess just came hugging me, saying “No, no you don’t go!”

But don’t cry, c’es’t la vie, the train will soon disappear into the Siberian horizon towards Irkutsk. With its passengers it has all you need: love, design, engineering and business.

The end is near.

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Text: Anne Herbert Photo: Anne Herbert

Life on the train

‘Internationalization’ at Aalto University:

what do we want it to mean?

Sorry this is in English only. Sorry that one needs to apologize.

Isn’t this a sorry way to start any communication? But countless times I have heard or read on campus: “Sorry this is in Finnish only.” What does this say about internationalization at Aalto University (AU)?

On the train I did not hear many ‘sorry’s’, especially not about language.

I think it was the most inclusive week I have experienced in nine years working at our university. The week was filled with many different activities.

There were efforts to ensure there was something for everyone on the train.

One of the reasons for that was that all the participants had been welcomed to contribute to the design and content of the program.

Everyone on the train was ready for an ‘international’ experience. Internationalization is learning ways to understand and take actions with new perspectives. We visited three very different countries on our itinerary: Rus-

sia, Mongolia and China. But is internationalization about listing a certain number of countries? Does the international character necessarily improve proportionally with a greater number of countries visited?

About ten of the 82 participants on the train from AU were not Finns (depends what and how you count ‘Finnish’). Then there were the 20 Russians staffing the train. In Mongolia we had considerable interaction with Mongolians and in China we had considerable interaction with Mongolians and even more Chinese people. Participants discussed how different the ‘international’ situation is in the current Aalto Schools. At the School of Art and Design, in almost all classes a very high proportion of students are from other countries. In the School of Economics and the School of Science and Technology a much lower proportion of students are from other countries, and they are found is in the English-medium programs. But is internationalization about numbers of people from other countries or other cultures that we interact with?

Participants were well aware that there foreign staff are few at AU. We noted that presently it is very difficult for foreigners to even find out about the employment opportunities, let alone succeed in the selection processes. Many other social barriers to foreign staff participating fully at AU were observed. Yet we accepted that internationalization of AU means hav-

ing many more foreign staff working with us. More foreign staff implies we will use more English.

To what extent is internationalization about the language of work and study? It was said that in some Englishmedium study programs at AU there are hardly any Finns. Generally participants agreed that AU needed more and higher quality English language programs. In addition to the language used, participants advocated that teaching and learning methods need to be developed a lot more. While English is currently the accepted international lingua franca, some participants noted the importance of knowing additionally other foreign languages in addition.

So is internationalization about curriculum content? The program on the train included case studies of companies operating internationally, we had a reading group discussing short stories authored by Russians, Mongolians and Chinese, then language and culture lessons. In Shanghai we went to the World Expo – pretty ‘international’.

Many participants thought AU could provide more international content.

In our discussions on the train the participants considered that internationalization included all these things mentioned above. Some participants advocated that there would be compulsory periods of study abroad for AU students. Others insisted that while more exchange opportunities

an identi

tity?

Do you speak design?

23

can you draw profit?

IDBM One to Watch:

World’s Best Design Programs Business Week, Oct 2009

can you engineer an identity?

can you segment fashion?

The International Design Business Management program (IDBM) is a joint teaching and research platform of the Aalto University School of Economics, the School of Art and Design and the School of Science and Technology.

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are desirable, international exchange should not be obligatory considering that some persons face real practical limitations. The possibility was raised that exchange could be made very desirable; that Aalto University would be an international university if people sought out and had plenty opportunities for international interactions and experiences.

Awareness and understanding, respect and appreciation of others seems a fundamental reason to pursue internationalization, though that is not perhaps very clear in the current AU rhetoric. And that brings me back to ‘sorry’ and apologies. Apologies about language are not very comfortable in many ways. But they signal an awarenessawareness about what others might expect. Awareness and understanding, respect and apprecia-

tion of others develop through multiple contacts and joint activities over time. If we are not all mixing with each other and learning about how to be effective together, There is lesser value in bringing more foreigners to study and work at Aalto University, or going abroad on exchanges has lesser value, if we are not all mixing with each other and learning about how to be effective together. Participants on the train acknowledged that we need to identify and develop more ways of meeting and collaborating at AU. Currently some foreigners, like some Finns too, can be very isolated.

The dimensions and degrees of internationalization vary widely among different parts of AU. Significantly, a single solution for all is doomed to fail in the face of the current variety. The concept of internationalization can be

A major part of the program is an industry project. The industry project is a real-life assignment from a sponsorcompany that a team of four to six students solves during one academic year. The assignments range from developing brand and product strategies to scouting out future trends.

In addition to receiving multidisciplinary project experience, the students have chance to share the world with passionate visionaries, get hands-on industry experience with international companies, become part of the IDBM community and have fun!

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defined in many ways and participants on the train had different understandings of what it is or should be. We need to discuss this more, learn from each other, reflecting on our own experiences, as much as benchmarking with other universities.

Are these important issues for our university? They are because they affect the way we are in the world and the kind of world we are creating for ourselves and future generations. There are many interwoven issues to consider with regard to ‘internationalization’ if we want the Aalto community to be one that is fully inclusive of all: Finns and also people who did not grow up in Finland or do not speak Finnish fluently. Universities are places for serious consideration and debate of questions about how to be in the world and the kind of world we are creating.

24

Sports on the train Between the highly theoretical and university-like case studies we wanted to use not only our brains but also our bodies. As we were on the train without spacious areas like football grounds we had to choose different possibilities for physical exercising. Many different items were therefore taken on the train by the sports team. Some of those providing possibilitiesty for playing at any time, were Diabolos, juggling balls and the exercise bike and others which were even used as group events.

Like this, groups were activated every day including for example Tai Chi, aerobics, gymnastics and yoga. Because of the limited space these activities were mostly an addition to all the getting-toknow-each-other-games from the first days. We used the conference car for Tai Chi with around 25 people - and also 40 chairs, which were still there and could not be removed as there was no space in other cars either. So we had enough possibilities to punch other trackers with White Cranes and different dangerous techniques. Moreover, some were teaching handstands and break-dance moves and a trust game was arranged where one of us was standing in a small circle of others and was swayed by the surrounding people Additionally, we had aerobics and yoga on the train.

The more serious kinds of exercises were covered by circuit training on the aisle next to the cabins. Right before our arrival at Novosibirsk a “Strongest (wo)man on the train� contest turned out to be really challenging. Finger wrestling was one of the toughest competitions...

For calming down again a relaxation hour was arranged. When there was a bit more space available, like on the railway stations during the stops or on the Tongji University campus in Shanghai, we also played rugby and frisbee or skipped over the big jumping rope. In the air!

Like this, we were mostly fit for the bicycle tour in Shanghai arranged by Nokia Siemens Networks.

25

Life on the train

Text: Claus Stigler, Sakari Cajanus Photos: Inna Pirkanniemi, Timo Id채nheimo

26

27

Text: Claus Stigler Photos: Claus Stigler

Life on the train

cycling on tracks Being on a train for seven full days requires some possibilities for exercise and it was the duty of the AoT sports team to provide those. One of the items carried along the whole way was an exercise bike, tough enough to survive Russia but small enough to survive the incomprehensible gaze of the Tolstoy conductors when boarding the train in Helsinki.

As this happened all in a bit of a hurry, they finally agreed on the bike as it could be used for charging our electrical devices ...

On the exercise bike, the first kilometer already started shortly after the departure, while many more followed during the journey. During the last night on our train, at around 3 am, in the middle of Gobi desert, the

odomileometer reached 285 km and therewith the track distance between Helsinki railway station and the Russian border at Vainikkala - powered by Ville and some probably isotonic drinks!

Although it was nice to have the bike on the train, there was a problem in keeping it with us. With several bus and train changes from Erlian to Shanghai planned - and with a few additional ones later on - the idea of having the bike always there was not very favorable. Moreover, carrying bikes to China somehow seems like carrying coal to Newcastle.

Even better, problems sometimes solve themselves: Around five minutes before we

Past the first kilometer landmark!

reached our train destination Dzamin Ude, the last Mongolian railway station close to the Mongolian-Chinese border, the lovely Lyudmila, who was the waitress in the restaurant car, asked the team, whether it is possible to keep the bike for the return trip on the train. As the personnel were taking the whole train back to Moscow without any passengers they thought they could fight potential boredom by biking. Thanks a lot!

Like this, the bike went not only the 7830 km from Helsinki to Dzamin Ude, but with another 6722 km back again to Moscow.

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Text: Mira Kyllönen Photos: Mira Kyllönen

Life on the train

A TRAIN AS A flexible SPACE

facew all

SLEEPING CAR 1

kitche n

SLEEPING CAR 2

RESTAURANT CAR

Our train. ( 1:400 ) CONFERENCE CAR

MACHINE CAR

EAST SIDE The Aalto on Tracks participants form a highly innovative group of people, whereas, in general, a train is a functional and compact series of spaces. When the Aalto on Tracks group occupies a train, their creativeness is greatly shown in the way of utilizing the limited space.

Before the trip the information about the private train was fairly vague, but the Tolstoy train from Helsinki to Moscow gave the participants a first hint about effectiveness in train design. In each cabin, four persons packed themselves with their luggage into only few square meters. Fortunately, most of the participants would stay in cabins for two on the private train across Siberia. In addition to the sleeping cars, there would be a restaurant car, a conference car and showers provided.

After a morning in Moscow on Saturday 15 May 2010, accommodation and the

comm u music nication +

exerc ise

whole living area for the next five days was introduced to the travelers on track five at the railway station in Moscow. Participants were not encouraged to move further than five meters from the train, not even during the stops. Hence the use of the train would get really intensive during the following days.

Train 978 from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar did not seem that beautiful from the outside. The form was typical and not very modern. The façade was green and blue but probably the colors had seen brighter days. Honestly the overall impression was a bit grey. Nevertheless the exterior features did not reveal anything about the inside.

Overall, the train had 9 cars, including the machine car which was changed several times during the trip. All the cars were the same size, but some were meant for different purposes. The public spaces

bike

notice board timeta + ble

were situated in the middle of the train and the more private areas at the ends. As the train was heading to the East, the sleeping areas at the ends got identified as the East side and the West side.

Corridors It was possible to walk through the whole train. The corridors were on the south side of the cars, except on the open restaurant and conference cars. In those public cars, one could see through windows on both sides of the car at the same time. As the corridors were part of the rare public spaces in the train, they quickly got some additional use besides circulation within the train. The corridors were mainly places to meet others and were used for chatting, hanging out or just viewing the continuously changing landscape.

All the plug points for electrical appli-

ENGINEERING FOR LIFE

29 ances were situated in the corridors which car had toilets and next to the exit foyer was sometimes turned the space into an obsta- room for the car staff and a samovar. Two cle course due to crossing electric wires. In of the sleeping cars followed right after the addition to the general walking and mov- engine and the remaining three were at the ing caused by wire evasion, the corridors other end of the train. Excluding the last were intentionally used for activities by the car, the cabins were for two. The last car had sports team e.g. for morning sports. cabins for four and cabins for train staff.

Corridors normally have wide plain The cabins were not big, which was walls. In our train these surfaces were ef- already foreseeable from the Tolstoy -train. fectively used. The second car corridor at the east end changed into a Facewall, which was a manual “Facebook” realized with photos, The best possible setting was created pieces of paper and post-it-notes. for any wanted action. Whether the The kitchen wall in the middle of flexible party was the space or its the train served as a notice board users – it worked. with the daily schedule. In the shower car one could ask for or offer favors on the Kassi wall or chat on a manual irc ( = paper on the wall and pen). Altogether walking along The entrance was in the middle of the cabin the private train corridor was always an wall, facing a window that was almost as experience, which got spiced up with the wide as the whole cabin. The A 65 centibumpy ride and stuff happening inside the meter wide bed laid along each side. Becabins along the way - not forgetting the tween the beds, under the window, was a staff members’ surprising behavior, which fixed table. Little floor area remained in the included (blown) kisses. middle, in front of the sliding door of the A separated narrow space, with ex- cabin. Cabin storage space for luggage was its on both sides of the train, was situated arranged on top of the car corridor. The size at the end of every car. These public foyers of the cabin was about 180x190 centimealso had their part in our spatial imagina- ters. For comparison a normal double bed is tion. Some were used for smoking. One 160x210 centimeters. However, the size was had an exercise bike in it as a mutual sports not a problem. Even a participant over 190 challenge for participants. The exit area be- centimeters tall was able to sleep in his bed tween the restaurant and the conference and 65 centimeters seemed to be enough cars always had its windows open and was for two guys to sleep together. It was also popular for taking photos of the passing proven that at least 35 persons can fit into view. A few empty foyers were suitable for one cabin at the same time. some private night talks… aAnd especially Everybody seemed content living in attractive was the one at the back of the these warmly decorated double rooms. The train where one could stare at the hypnotiz- cabin walls were brown imitation wood. ing tracks.

Light curtains and floral bedcovers gave a slight feeling of past decades. The same decoration style extended from the cabins Sleeping Cars to the corridors. A rougher style was to be A sleeping car included 10 cabins sensed in the toilets and between the cars. and a corridor on the side. Both ends of the

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lugga ge Asection and plan of one of our cabins ( 1:100 )

30

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Besides sleeping and storage, the cabins were used for almost anything one can come up with. Something was happening in every car at any given time. Basically, if the cabin’s sliding door was open everybody was welcome in. Smaller workshops were arranged in the cabins.

One cabin was perfect for a maximum of eight to ten people to discuss together as proven during the morkkis talks. Oona’s home was used as an exam cabin, where all the exams in the train were arranged. One empty cabin at the east end was a special communication and music area. Most of the unofficial program took place in the cabins, like the afternoon drinks for Swedish speaking people, and several “beer cases”. If one cabin got too crowded, the action extended to the hallway or to the next cabin.

Restaurant and Conference Cars The central area of the train comprised of the restaurant car and the conference car. These large spaces were elegantly decorated. The restaurant car had a dark green decoration and the conference car a golden one, both with wooden and golden details. The cars were mainly used for serving and eating food, which was done several times a day. At other times these spaces served mainly for the official program.

Surprisingly, the conference car was also used as a dining car so it was not available for free use during meal times. Thus, most of the smaller workshops had to discover some other settings for their work.

However, the conference and the restaurant cars were probably the most multi-functional spaces in the train. The diverse use of the conference car can be de-

NCE CAR

kass iwa

31 irc

ll +

SHOWER CAR

SLEEPING CAR 3

5 SLEEPING CAR

SLEEPING CAR 4

(cabins for 4)

view

scribed with using the second day of the trip as an example. A breakfast served to the tables starts the day. At this point the arrangement of the furniture is normal, tables next to the windows and seats for four around a table. General info is given to everyone during breakfast in the conference car, like every morning. The day continues with workshops and small presentations, with projection onto a screen that was set up on the first day for a movie night. After lunch, the whole group crammed itself into this one car to follow TEDx presentations. Everyone is seated towards the screen in rows between the tables that are fixed to the walls. In practice three people sit on two chairs. Someone lifts up the tables when TEDx is finished and the space changes from a lecture hall into a yoga hall. Late at night, a daily vodka case begins and the conference car turns into a live music lounge with people gathered into a circle to sing and enjoy themselves. Finally, after the “trackers” had disappeared, the waiters rearranged the chairs so that they could sleep in the car!

Shower Car One whole car was dedicated to participants’ hygiene. The car between the restaurant cars and the West side included seven spacious shower rooms.

One shower room must have been as big as one cabin, but without a window. Despite the available vast empty rooms in the middle of the vivid train, as far as is known, the showers and other sanitary facilities in the train were used only for their original purpose.

A special mention must be given to the creative sports team that always found a suitable place for their activities despite the conditions. Altogether nothing related to the provided spaces limited the activities in the train. The best possible setting was created for any wanted action. Whether the flexible party was the space or its users – it worked.

WEST SIDE

exam s

, 4,5

3,2 2,4

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Life on the train

Text: Asta Länsimies, Johanna Järvinen Photos: Tuure Laurinolli

longest sitsit ever Everyone was told to wear red...

In case you didn’t know, sitsit is a traditional academic student feast including a three course meal, group singing and toasting. Because most of us are party-loving students, plans about having a sitsit on the train were initiated already before the trip. The only difficulty was that we couldn’t know much about the facilities of the train until we got on it in Moscow. So we decided to do some shopping in Moscow, and decided a simple theme for the sitsit once we were on the train: everyone was told to wear red.

For starters we had pickles, sour cream and honey in one cabin. Everybody got a little taste of Russia before the real sitsit. The atmosphere in the “facewall” corridor was amazing as most of us stuffed into one car. It might be that we enjoyed the before party a little too much and were a little late for our dinner, but of course our mostloved waiter Oleg understood us.

Later, as the sitsit got started, this “red theme” evolved into a “train, Russia and communism” themed party, with the help of our songbook and the socialist way of the waiters’ serving the vodka that only some had ordered. Since there were two cars having a separate sitsit, it was possible to change between two parties, moving on in different places. Once again, it was the people with different backgrounds that made the sitsit so great.

I think everyone learned a new song, game or a joke with this multi-cultural

and interdisciplinary group. The staff was once again wonderful, though a bit too quick to serve the courses. Most of the people could actually eat their main course while it was still warm.

After a lot of singing, drinking and eating, the sitsit had to end. At this point, people continued the evening with various activities. Many of us might even remember a stop in Mariinsk, where the participants tried to buy the stations shop empty of beer.

Track marks were also found on a shirt.

Some of us continued until dawn, admiring the lovely, snowy Siberian outback from the window. All in all, sitsit in the middle of Siberia was a great success.

33

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Klikkaa perinnemaisema kuntoon: vr.ďŹ Osta junalippusi netistä. Lahjoitamme 10 senttiä jokaisesta nettiostosta Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitolle perinnemaisemien kunnostukseen.

36

Text: Olli Laine Photos: Tuure Laurinolli, Timo Idänheimo

Life on the train

Tedx on tracks ”Have you guys thought of organizing a TEDx on the train?”, I asked the Aalto on Tracks -organizing team and without hesitation the vision in my head was clear - TEDx on Tracks had to be done. Mikko, our head organizer, replied quickly: ”Sounds like a great initiative”. The first TEDx ever on a moving train was going to be organized. Now all we needed was everything else from plan to execution.

Our schedule was tight. The first emails were sent on March 23rd, only a few months before the beginning of our journey. As my first concrete action to get the job done I sent an application to the TED organization. Finally, on April 2nd, I got the reply: ”You are officially a TEDx licensee!”

Getting the official license finally shook off the last remnants of doubt: arranging TEDx on the train was really possible. We advertised TEDx on our webpage and marketed the concept to the participants on the trip and ideas of possible speakers and topics started pouring in. We also contacted Alex Nieminen, the TEDxHelsinki head organizer, who supplied us with valuable hands-on experience and expertise.

Thank you Alex!

Without delay we arranged

meetings with our TEDx team to design the course of our event. Speakers and topics were decided. Facebook and Twitter accounts were set up. Responsibility was shared and gradually our event found its shape. TEDx on Tracks was becoming a reality - even though we only had a few weeks until the beginning of our trip. Even more amazing was the people our TEDx project had gathered around us who deserve a million thanks! Thank you José Valarezo, Jukka Liukkonen, Juhani Polkko, Ylva Norrgrann, Petter Junni, Markus Grönholm, José David Padilla Arias, Satu Raudasoja, Santeri Everi, Timo Idänheimo, Heikki Lindroos, Anna Berg and Ina Mutikainen!

The train starts its engines and the preparations back home are done. There’s no turning back - luckily our team is on board. We go through the program once more and prep our speakers. Regardless of the constraints of the train we build our stage in the conference car.

As the train passes by villages in Siberia the show begins. Our host, Juhani Polkko, introduces the topics and the performers Markus Heimonen, Jukka Liukkonen, Senja Svahn, Heikki Hirvonen and Markus Grönholm impress us one after the other with their

amazing skills and knowledge. Aalto University truly has talent! The thundering applause filling the car after the last speaker lifts a certain tension from my shoulders. I’m left with just one clear thought - more of these!

The Speakers Markus Heimonen Travelling without moving – perceiving nature Jukka Liukkonen Editing, resampling, redoing future human body Senja Svahn Innovation networks – How to actively facilitate innovations Heikki Hirvonen Organizational Philosophy – Key factor to maintain success Markus Grönholm Terahertz Imagin – Mankind’s new eyeballs Juhani Polkko Host

37

TEDx in Brief TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading.” The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.

At TEDx events, unique talks given by live speakers combine with TEDTalks videos to spark deep conversation and connections. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.

38

Text:

Kirsi Lounesto

Case: The future of internet banking Futuristic festival in the train – future of Internet banking Samlink had challenged us to think about net-banking in 2015 as one of the workshops on the train. We had a group of 15 people discussing.

Many development ideas came to mind in our vivid discussion. Ideas varied from smart to crazy ones e.g.. we had ideas of micropayment systems, chat-services in the internet bank, a customized front page in the internet bank and an internal stock exchange in Facebook for start-up companies.

It is possible that in the future we could have a chat room with our personal banking assistant with a video connection. In addition internet banking will become easier and more flexible to fulfill different needs.

One of the future challenges for banks is how to have an access to the currently huge flows of virtual currencies for example in Habbo hotel.

In some countries it is even possible sometimes to pay with virtual currencies. Virtualization might happen also within the bank branch level where there could be a virtual conference space for serving special needs.

YHDESSÄ SAAVUTAMME ENEMMÄN Samlink on luotettava finanssialan IT-palvelujen ja tukipalvelujen toimittaja.

Samlinkin osaamisen ytimenä ovat tietotekniikan ja pankkitoiminnan syvällinen asiantuntemus. Joustavat palvelu- ja tuoteratkaisut sekä uusien teknologioiden hyödyntäminen mahdollistavat asiakkaidemme kilpailukykyä tukevien palvelukokonaisuuksien toimittamisen.

Samlinkin asiakaskunta muodostuu pankeista, luottolaitoksista ja sijoituspalveluyrityksistä. Asiakkaidemme kautta järjestelmämme palvelevat yli miljoonaa pankkipalvelujen käyttäjää lähes 500 konttorissa. Internet-pankkipalvelujamme käyttää yli 500 000 asiakasta.

Samlinkin liikevaihto vuonna 2009 oli 70,4 miljoonaa euroa.

Palveluksessamme työskentelee 340 henkilöä.

www.samlink.fi

39

Text: Kirsi Lounesto Photo: Kirsi Lounesto

Life on the train

Some like it reliable and modern - Samlink Samlink’s client portfolio includes banks, credit institutions and investment service companies. The core strength of Samlink is its extensive expertise in information technology and banking. Flexible service and product solutions coupled with the benefits of the newest technology enable Samlink to provide their clients with competitive and comprehensive service packages. Two young workers discussed their work at Samlink. Anne-Mari Seppola and Anna-Mari Löfman are working at Samlink headquarters in Espoo.

Tell us shortly about your working history in Samlink!

Anne-Mari: We both came to Samlink in the trainee program two years ago as junior project managers 2008.

Anna-Mari: After 9 months we were given more responsibility and became project managers. Our work currently consists of planning and managing projects, including budgeting. Our work is not much about technical details; it is more about guiding projects and organizing the teams’ work. Neither of us had worked before in banking or in a pure IT-company.

What was the main reason you applied to Samlink? Could you kindly explain a bit more about the recruitment process?

Anne-Mari: We both applied when the position opened since it seemed really interesting. In addition this position matched my profile. I have graduated from TKK with statistical signal pro-

cessing as my major. After graduation I worked couple of years at Ericsson.

Anna-Mari: I have a similar kind of background. I graduated from Lappeenranta University of Technology majoring in industrial engineering. In addition I have worked for few years at Hewlett & Packard. The interview process included standard interviews with the managers of Samlink and an assessment day. This day tested our ability e.g. to organize work tasks and project management skills which are crucial in our daily work.

What have you learned in Samlink and how have you been guided?

Anne-Mari: At first we were working beside senior project managers so that we learned how to work from them.

Therefore we all had our individual mentors. Since our organization is not so hierarchical, we were given responsibility from day one.

Anna-Mari: It is also fun to learn something new every day. For example we have a test facility where we can test how it is to work as a bank teller. It gives lots of insights for project development.

A lot of effort has been put into our development.

What is most challenging and rewarding in your current work?

A-M & A-M: Sometimes it is really hard to be on the same page with all the legal requirements

which are changing pretty fast nowadays. It is also hard to manage many projects at the same time. Sometimes it also feels that I don’t have enough substance in order to solve the problem.

The rewarding part is that due to the various kinds of projects there is a possibility to learn a lot. This also gives variety to the daily work. Since we didn’t have previous knowledge about the financial sector we have been given a chance to learn about this interesting sector.

Tell me three reasons why Samlink is an excellent employer.

Anne-Mari: For me the most important things are the possibility to learn and develop, the financial stability of the company and job security.

Anna-Mari: I would add to these, that it’s an amazing group to work with, not too big a company, and I have the possibility to affect my way of work e.g. flexible hours.

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Lake Baikal “It was quite epic to watch the Baikal Sea emerge between the mountains at about 5 A.M. in the morning, standing in woman’s clothes still after yesterday’s cross-dressing party. Beside me there was a guy, just woken-up, standing in his underpants and drinking water from a 5 liter container, and on the other side a guy trying to clean the corridor window with vodka to get better photos through it. Lord of the Rings music playing in the background.” - Anonymous passenger

Text: Hannamiina Tanninen Photos: Liisa Tervinen

41

Life on the train

42

Text: Aaro Väkeväinen Photo: Inna Pirkanniemi

YOGA and spontaneous DANCE -workshop Tuesday evening started by dressing up in the clothes of the opposite sex and of course doing the fancy make-ups for “girls” and “boys”. After dinner and the Aalto-debate we had a late night yoga lesson in our conference car. It was the second yoga lesson of our trip. It was very interesting when the guys were wearing dresses and nice skirts and leggings. The hottest guys were even topless. Our yoga teacher was the fantastic Niina Gromow who taught us some basic yoga.

We started by doing some taichi warm up and then we moved on to do some stretching, “trees”, “crocodiles” and “pyr-

amids” and “greeting the sun” -moves.

The balancing in the moving train is not the easiest thing in the world but we did quite well. There were over ten enthusiastic people in there and in the end we got some extra participants for the “laughing yoga”. That meant to go down on the floor and put our head upon each other’s stomachs and then just laugh out loud.

After the yoga there was a spontaneous dance work shop. We just started to do some break dance and acrobatic moves introduced by Aaro Väkeväinen, Antti Virolainen and Lari Laurikkala. Then José Valarezo

Meet Team Signbook!

We are Tomi Härkönen, Kimmo Koski, Petteri Lehtonen and Johannes Maliranta, Information Technology students from the Turku University of Applied Sciences. We participated in Imagine Cup 2010 Finnish semifinals with the Signbook application. The challenge it solves originates from the sign language interpreter students at Diak: they needed an application that eases and boosts the studying of sign language. You can follow the development in FB. As Imagine Cup 2010 semifinalists in Finland your next step is Imagine Cup finals in Poland. Congratulations!

It’s a great opportunity for students to get visibility for their innovations. We took part in this competition, because we believe that succeeding in it gives career opportunities in the future. We recommend Imagine Cup for all student teams who have great ideas that can be brought to life with technology.

Where did you get software for your work?

Our university has the MSDN Academic Alliance (MSDNAA). There’s also DreamSpark for students: It’s all about giving students Microsoft professional tools at no charge.

In case you start your own business from Signbook, would you join BizSpark?

BizSpark is a great option for a software startup and it’s very likely that we will join BizSpark in the future.

MORE INFO: Imagine Cup, http://imaginecup.com/ • MSDNAA, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/ • DreamSpark, https://www.dreamspark.com/ • BizSpark, http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ • WebsiteSpark, http://www.microsoft.com/web/websitespark/ • Microsoft Student Partner, https://student-partners.com/

43

came in and we started to do salsa. We switched to tango, waltz and even cha cha cha together with Lari and Niina.

Our DJ Antti played good music and we did the basic high school prom stuff as well. I think every participant had a really good and surrealistic night doing these things somewhere in the middle of Siberia in our lovely Trans Siberia Train. And I have to say that Lari, Niina and also our head organizer Mikko Ikola were totally on fire. Changing the time is the most complicated thing in this train so far but I think we stopped our dance workshop at 2 AM in the night. After that the train and the parties just kept going.

Opening the vessel

Text: Alexander Hornung Photo: Tuure Laurinolli

Life on the train

Bavarian Beer -Workshop Among other workshops, we also had a more informal workshop about German and Bavarian beer. The workshop took place on the Monday, 17th of May. After the stop in Novosibirsk the interested people gathered in the conference car.

Starting with the question “What is beer?” the participants got involved from the very beginning. As almost everybody knew at least something about beer we had a common basis for the coming hour. The historical background and the origin of beer led to the legislation around beer like

the “Bavarian Purity Law” from 1516.

That defined the ingredients for beer in Germany as water, hops and malt. A short movie “Rohstoffe und Qualität” gave a deeper insight about the production methods.

Current figures were shown and a country comparison of the yearly beer consumption per head (e.g. Finland 91 liters, Germany 116, Czech Republik 159) gave room for discussion.

Aalto on Tracks was ending in China so we also had a look at their production of 25 billion liters in 2008. With respect to the long history of beer in Germany and the huge number of breweries the participants figured out that beer is a kind of “holy” thing in Bavaria. The attitude towards beer was shown with various examples. For instance there is the concept of “Gemütlichkeit” and BMWs “afterwork beer”.

Of course also the impacts of ethanol on the human body were characterized. Finally the theoretical part was over and, as is tradition in Munich, the mayor had to open the vessel. Mikko Ikola took over the responsibility for that and was completing his mission with the words “O’Zapft is!”. In the following beer tasting session the imported Löwenbräu got the participants’ approval.

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Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Ylva Norrgrann Photos: Timo Idänheimo

Welcome to Mongolia Country: Mongolia Capital: Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator) Official language: Khalkha Mongolian Monetary unit: Tugrik (TUG) Population (2009): 2,704,000 Area: 1,564,116

Random facts: Mongolia is the world’s largest landlocked country. Mongolia has an average elevation of about 1,580 m above sea level. Mongolia has towering mountains, wild forests, vast lakes and tempestuous rivers in the west and north, grasslands of the Asian steppe in the east and the Mongolian Gobi in the south. Mongolia’s rich mineral resources include coal, iron ore, and copper.

In the early 13th century the legendary Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes and conquered Central Asia. Since its independence from China in 1921, Mongolia was closely tied to the Soviet Union. Half of the population still lives a nomadic existence keeping horses, camels, cattle, sheep, goats and Tibetan yaks.

The Mongolian alphabet was replaced with the Cyrillic alphabet in the 1940’s.

The door of a yurt always faces south.

45

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Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Iida Myllymäki Photos: Timo Idänheimo

A nice day in ulanbaatar

The previous evening before the sunset what we saw was trees, but after sleeping we woke up to see a completely different view. There was almost nothing; some houses here and there and a couple of lonely animals. Obviously we had arrived in the real Mongolia.

Our friendly guides were waiting for us at the train station from where they took us to a hotel nearby to have breakfast. Even though the food on the train is great, it was really nice to have something different for breakfast.

After the breakfast we headed to the Unknown Russian Soldier monument where our guides, who spoke fluent English, told us about the country, its history and the culture. It was very nice to hear some real things about Mongolia. The guides told us what it is really like to live in Mongolia (the positive

and the negative sides).

Our group split in two, and one went to a public library, and the one I was in continued to a national park. It was about an hour drive. We stopped at a small supermarket on the way. Some of us needed the toilet and Meg (our guide) showed us a little ‘house’. We thought it would be a small, dirty toilet, but the ‘house’ was locked and there was nothing but a wall to cover us. That was kind of an interesting experience.

But the view was nice.

We had another stop at a big pile of rocks. It was some kind of a monument.

If you went around it three times and threw a rock on it (or added something) every time you completed a round it was supposed to bring good luck to your journey. I’m not sure whether it had anything to do with luck, but we

got to the national park safely. The road was absolutely terrible and the driver was driving too fast. I was actually a bit afraid.

At the national park we climbed up a hill to see a temple. It was very hot and sunny. The views were awesome!

To get to the temple we had to cross a very unstable bridge. Luckily nobody fell. We did not enter the temple, because our guide did not want to pay for entrance. So we just stayed outside looking.

Our last stop was at a local family’s home (yes, they lived in yurt houses).

They had prepared a delicious lunch for us. We ate outside and some of us rode camels and horses. The rest of the group joined us and we all ate together. We were told not to drink anything cold after eating the lamb otherwise

47 your stomach would have gone crazy.

I actually did not dare to eat it at all because of that.

Many of the participants had brought a lot of food with them thinking that the food on the train would be awful.

But since it was delicious, we had a lot of spare food we did not need. So, we gave the food to Meg, who then promised to give it to poor families. Before leaving Ulaanbaatar we took (again) some group pictures with our guides.

This was one of the best days during the trip! It was very nice to experience something complete new, something I would probably not have experienced without AoT.

NOK-SIE-10-013_AZFinn_230x115_ca_v1.pdf

27.08.2010

12:08:32 Uhr

1 Over 600 customers in more than 150 countries choose us.

Ovum ranks us as world-leader in 40G.

Our solutions can increase energy efficiency by up to 70%.

www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com Copyright 2010 Nokia Siemens Networks. All rights reserved.

We have more than 200 managed services contracts serving over 220 million subscribers.

We put a new base station on air every 3 minutes – more than anyone else.

48

Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Ville Purontaus Photo: Timo Idänheimo

ulanbaator: a taxi experience We had an alternative day with 6 of us in Ulaanbaatar. Others left early in the morning on a guided tour in the country side. We decided to go to see the city. Must admit that day we spent in Ulaanbaatar was really interesting and different.

At the beginning of the day we met a local at the Ulaanbaatar train station who spoke Finnish! Yeah, we all were a bit confused what was happening! It was all good though.

www.isover-students.com

We shared some thoughts about our trip and what had happened so far.

The local told us about his experiences in Finland. He had done some co-operation with the University of Helsinki and that’s why he knew Finnish and some basic things about Finland.

When we were leaving from the train station to the city the local promised to arrange us a taxi and promised that for us it would be free of charge.

He would take care of the costs. That was some Mongolian hospitality in-

deed!

So we left to see the city with 6 people packed in one pretty randomlooking taxi. We found our way to the Soviet Union war memorial, located on a top of a hill. The view was just amazing from the top of the statue. You could see the whole city easily.

After this we continued to the city. Trip stopped pretty quickly though. Local traffic police stopped us probably because of the extra carriage (5 people in the back seat). Driver was fined and trip continued. We managed to drive about 10 minutes when we got fined again, probably for the same reason. Police in Ulaanbaatar seem to have sharp eyes. The officers didn’t say anything to us, maybe because 6 Finns sitting in one Hyundai was something pretty unusual in Ulaanbaatar.

After this, the driver took only back alleys and lanes where traffic police have fewer possibilities to see the number of people in the car.

When we were on our way to the “International Intellectual Museum” we were stopped once more! The driver probably showed the officer the fines he had already gotten, and the officer gave some mercy.

After this we told our driver to drive us into the city center and told him that we don’t need his services anymore, because we wanted to wander around in the city for the rest of the time.

49

Portrait of Chinggis Kahn on a hillside near the city center

We thought that payment was taken care of (like the local had told us) but the driver didn’t think the same way. He wanted money from us. Okay; so we tried to find a solution. We were sure that the driver would ask for the money from the local so we really didn’t want to give any extra. Our decision after discussion was to give 10 euros and just leave!

The driver was bit surprised with a 10 euro note in his hand but didn’t come after us though. In the end, everything went fine.

All in all, Ulaanbaatar left a fascinating image of itself. Nature is rugged and buildings differ from exquisite buildings to shacks. It’s a town that really needs be revisited to really understand what it is really all about. This time we only saw a scratch but it really left a great impression!

tieto.fi

Onko ympäröivän maailman yksinkertaistaminen riittävän iso haaste sinulle?

Tieto on palveluyhtiö, joka tarjoaa tietotekniikka-, tuotekehitys- ja konsultointipalveluja.

Noin 16 000 asiantuntijaamme tekevät meistä yhden johtavista tietotekniikan palveluyrityksistä Pohjoismaissa ja tietyillä segmenteillä globaalin markkinajohtajan.

Olemme erikoistuneet alueisiin, joilla asiakkaiden liiketoiminnan ja tarpeiden tuntemuksemme on syvintä. Vahva asiakaskeskeisyys ja pohjoismainen asiantuntemus erottavat meidät kilpailijoistamme.

50

Text: Riikka Liedes Photos: Inna Pirkanniemi, Tuure Laurinnolli, Juuso Koskinen, Hannamiina Tanninen

Tervetuloa Kiinaan erilaisen kulttuurin kohtaamista Sitä miettii usein, että nykymaailmassa voi mikään yllättää. Onhan jokainen nähnyt dokumenttinsa ja lukenut wikipedia-artikkelinsa niin historiasta, kielistä kuin kulttuureistakin. Kananjalat keitossa, reikävessat, tinkaaminen ja liikenne eivät olekaan asioina yllättäviä. Silti kun ensimmäistä kertaa kohtaa tilanteen, jossa myyjä kertoo tinkaamisen vievän hänen perheensä kadulle tai joutuu pelkäämään henkensä puolesta taksin kyydissä turvavyöttömänä, menee helposti sanattomaksi ja suhtautumistaan joutuu punnitsemaan.

Yksityisen junaosuuden loputtua lähdimme ylittämään Kiinan ja Mongolian välistä rajaa. Mongolian rajan yli pääsimme säädön ja jonotuksen jälkeen. Miten voikaan olla vaikeampi päästä ulos maasta kuin siihen sisään? Ehkäpä koska, tällä kertaa tuntui konkreettisesti, miten ruoho oli vihreämpää aidan toisella puolella.

Kiinan puolelle tullessamme muutos

oli havaittavissa välittömästi: jonot ja huutavat ihmismassat olivat kadonneet (kuka ties mihin?) ja ympäröivät nurmikot todellakin olivat vihreitä ja hyvin hoidettuja. Erlianin raja-asema koostui suurista ilmastoiduista halleista, joissa ei ollut säästelty kiveä ja lasia.

Toisin kuin Mongolian puolella, pystyi tullivirkailijan kanssa kommunikoimaan englanniksi ja useiden kysymysten ja säädön jälkeen pääsimme kameroiden salamavalojen välkkeessä Kiinaan! Aluksi tuntui, että hallit olivat paratiisi ja Kiina on kuin onkin taivaan lahja maailmalle! Kuitenkin karu totuus kolautti nopeasti. Maa onkin aivan ihana - omalla tavallaan. Ei ehtinyt kymmentäkään minuuttia kulua, kun jo törmäsi kulttuurien ja kielimuurin haasteisiin. Raja oli ylitetty ja raskas rinkka laskettu viileän aulan penkille, seuraavaksi oli päästävä vessaan. Mutta yksinkertainen toimitus ei ollutkaan niin helppo. Vessat oli lukittu (tietenkin?). Huuteluiden ja virkailijoiden etsimisen jälkeen koppalak k ip äinen setä tuli avaamaan miesten vessan ja piiloutui sinne.

Käsimerkein ja vihaisin kii n a n k i e l i s te n sanojen mukaan naisten oli turha yrittää

sisään. Ei sitten, juostaan lisää virkailijoiden perässä. Siivoojatyttöset olivat sukkelia jaloistaan ja karkailivat taukotiloihin.

Kunnes vihdoin tarpeeksi isolla porukalla saatiin heidät hakemaan avaimet päälliköltään. Voi olla, että hätäisimmän turhautumisitkullakin oli nopeuttava vaikutus. Vessa kolautti uuden kuvamme kiillotetusta Kiinasta takaisin Mongolian fiiliksiin, kun haju oli suorastaa pyörryttävä. Kuitenkin saniteettitila täytti tarkoituksensa. Kiinalaisessa kulttuurissa länsimaiselle ihmiselle lienee vaikeinta, että sitä ei vaan pysty ymmärtämään. Erilaisiin tapoihin on helppo sopeutua, kun tajuaa syyt niiden takana. Kuitenkaan Kiinassa ei mikään ole tuttua. On vaikea löytää kausaliteettia, kun ei tiedä maan historiaa, ei tunne uskontoa eikä edes täysin käsitä millä tavalla kieli muodostuu.

Kerrotaan, että kiinalaiset eivät sano ei missään tilanteessa. Tämä oli kai syy, jonka takia meidät tuotiin Mongolian ja Kiinan rajan ylityksen jälkeen hymyillen linja-autoasemalle istumaan vaikka oli sanottu, että ruokaa olisi tiedossa. Nälkäisenä ja epätietoisena vietimme siinä tovin jos toisenkin pohtien, mitähän tapahtuu. Vihdoin meidät saatettiin kadun toiselle puolelle ravin-

51

Experiencing Mongolia and China

tolaan. Kellekään ei koskaan selvinnyt miksi meitä odotetuttiin.

Viimeistään Pekingissä alkoivat monet palat aiemmista kokemuksista loksahdella paikalleen, kun Kielletyssä kaupungissa pyydettiin kahdeksanteen kuvaan poseeraamaan kiinalaislapsen kanssa. Sitä ei ollut osannut vielä kiinnittää huomiota tullivirkailijoiden, raja-aseman ulkopuolisten kiinalaisturistien tai matkan pysähdyksien satunnaisten kiinalaisten kuvaamisintoon.

Lieneekö syy Kiinan sensurointikulttuuri, entisaikojen sulkeutuneisuus vai jokin muu, mutta länsimainen ihminen on vieläkin Kiinan maaseudun ihmisille jotain hyvin eksoottista. Niinpä AoT -porukkamme taitaa koristaa aika monen perhealbumia tällä hetkellä.

Selkeimpiä eroja suomalaiseen maailmanmenoon ovat ehdottomasti liikenne ja jonotuskulttuuri. Jo Etelä-Euroopassa autolla kulkemisesta tulee luovaa taidetta, mutta Kiinassa meno on omaa luokkaansa. Kaistat, liikennevalot ja tien leveys ovat vain suuntaa-antavia seikkoja. Koimme bussimatkallamme Erlianista Pekinkiin useita jännittäviä tilanteita. Eri päivinä ja kelloaikoina voi ihan hyvin ajaa samaa kaistaa eri suuntiin. Liikennevalot lähinnä ohjeistivat varomaan punaisen aikana hieman enemmän jalankulkijoita. Teiden penkat ja viereiset nurmikot ovat aivan käyttökelpoista ajomaastoa. Tietullit ovat kiinni silloin kun tykkäävät, eikä siinä ruuhka-aikoja oteta huomioon. Edessä päin olevan liikenneruuhkan voi helposti välttää peruuttamalla tilanteesta.

Vaikkapa bussilla.

Kiinassa jonossa oleva aukko tarkoittaa vapaata paikkaa. Sehän tuli huomattu monen monta kertaa kun unohtui juttelemaan toverille ja

eteen jäi pieni lovi, joka nopsasti täyttyi kiinalaisilla. Välillä ei tarvinnut edes jäädä rakosta, kun eteen oli puskenut pieni mustatukkainen mummeli. Naurattihan se enemmän kuin harmitti, mutta mietityttämään se jäi. Voisi kuvitella, että tällainen kulttuuri ei tee hyvää verenpaineelle. Kaiken työhön ja elämään liittyvän stressin lisäksi ei haluaisi tuottaa itselleen enempää paineita enää kauppajonossakin. Sydänhän siinä pamahtaa, jos pulssi käy koko ajan sadassa, kun kyynärpäät ojossa pitää puolustaa omaa paikkaansa järjestelmässä. Tosin tuskin se tapoihin tottuneelle niin raskasta on.

Kun muutama päivä oli totuteltu tähän erilaiseen jonotuskulttuuriin tunkemalla kaupoissa, metroissa, porteilla ja ihan vain kadulla, tehtiin testi maailmannäyttelyssä. Siellä, jos missä, oli jonoja ja hyvin yllättävää oli, miten nätisti jaksoivat expovieraat odotella useita tunteja paviljonkien ulkopuolella. Tosin etuilemattomuuden ehkäpä selittivät ahtaat aidatut jonotusalueet, joissa ei sooloilun varaa ollut. Todettiin sitten porukan kanssa, että mitähän muut tuumaavat, jos otetaan rennompi jonotusasenne. Päästettiin matkaa edelliseen jonottajaan jopa metri tai ehkäpä kaksi! Siinä ei edes Tsing tao ehtinyt sanoa, kun oli väli jo täyttynyt takaa vilahtavilla ihmisillä. Seuraavaksi katseltiin sitten reaktiot, kun otettiin toisiamme käsistä sekä jonokarsinan seinämistä kiinni, jolloin ohittaminen oli mahdotonta ilman väkivaltaa tai käsien alta luikahtamista. Kukaan muista vieraista ei kuitenkaan turvautunut tähän keinoon vaan käsiemme taakse pakkautui tiuha muuri kaihoavasti tyhjää tilaa katselevia ihmisiä. Käsien irrotessa luikahtivat he välittömästi tilaan.

Kun katsoo karttaa ja tilastoja, tietää että Kiina on suuri niin maantieteellisesti kuin asukasmääräänsä puolesta. Tuskin turhaan heillä on voimassa yhden lapsen politiikka.

Kuitenkin tulee shokkina, miten paljon ihan katukuvassakin on ihmisiä. Miten kulkemalla minne vaan kaupungin kymmenien kilometrien neliömetrien sisällä, löytyy jonoja. Tämä vaikuttaa varmasti osaltaan suuresti kiinalaiseen yksilökäsitykseen. Tuntui turhauttavalta, miten massoissa tuntui vellovan oma-aloitteisuuden puute. Toisaalta erottuakseen muista miljoonista ja menestyäkseen, täytyy olla jonossa ennen muita ja olla ahkerana perustamassa omaa puotiaan.

Suomessa kakkaaminen on tabu. Vessat ovat pääosin siistejä. Vessapaperia riittää. Ja yleensä jopa puuseet ovat kukkaistuoksuisia ja tuunattu loistoonsa. Kiinassa on reikä lattiassa.

WC-koppien seinät eivät ole pakollisia. Jos ovet ovat, niitä ei tarvitse pitää kiinni tai ainakaan lukossa. On ihan ok huutaa pinnistäessään. Eritteissä muutenkaan ei ole mitään pahaa!

Syljeskely ravintoloissa on vain toivottavaa ja huonon olon yllättäessä voi näppärästi oksentaa saniteettitilan lavuaariin.

52

Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Ylva Norrgrann Photos: Tuure Laurinnolli, Juuso Koskinen, Tapio Melgin, Antti Virolainen

culinary surprises Probably most of the trackers tasted something quite special during their stay in China, may it be chicken feet, fish heads or pork brains. Ordering from a menu you really do not understand implies a lot of surprises – some nice and some not so nice. But what is travelling for if not trying new stuff and getting new experiences!

Restaurants in Shanghai range from the exclusive ones with clear menus, in both Chinese and English, to hole-in-the-wall eateries where you just point at what you like them to prepare. Around the corner from our hotel there was one of the latter category that was often frequented by trackers.

We playfully called it “sikatikkurila” or “rats-on-sticks” as it served a variety of meats and vegetables grilled on sticks.

But the restaurants with menus only in Chinese were the trickiest ones. You still have an idea of what you’re ordering if the menu has pictures, but that is not always the case. And you might get virtually anything, as there’s a saying that the only thing with four legs the Chinese don’t eat is the table! But most of the times you would get a nice

surprise and enjoy your tasty meal. And if you got something that looked unpleasant, it still usually tasted at least ok. Probably the vegetarians got more than their fair share of the not so nice surprises as in China “vegetarian food” usually contains some sort of meat.

Only poor people don’t eat meat, so the Chinese wonder why wealthy tourists would say no to meat?

Dumplings and hot pots The food in China is of course of a wide range as the country is so vast.

The good thing with Shanghai being so attractive amongst Chinese is that now all the flavors from different parts of the country converge and you can find almost any traditional dish in the city. Cooking styles range from fast and hot searing in a wok to the slow melding of flavors in a simmering hot pot. Food from the northern parts of China is typically a hot dish of meat, noodles or dumplings while food from the south is more refined with dim sum and spring rolls as examples. In a kitchen of western Chinese style you would

probably find hot and spicy foods influenced by the Middle East through the Silk Road, and in a kitchen preparing eastern style food you would most likely get fish, crabs or shrimp, of course due to having the sea close by. What is common to all regions is eating slowly, many courses and enjoying the company too. Eating is a common excuse to meet friends and one of the primary ways to reinforce connections and relationships. The food is mostly shared in the centre of the table and on a rotating glass disk if the group is large.

The glass disk is constantly turned so that all dishes are easily available to the people around the table. It is usual in China for dessert to be served while the main dishes are as there is no real separation of the main meal and dessert.

Accustomed to the separation, it sure does look strange when someone dips a chocolate brownie in forest mushroom soup. But the Shanghainese in question was very happy with the taste and what more could you ask!?

Enjoying food, enjoying life Food in China has a central place in people’s lives and it is not only nutrition but also tradition, folklore and ritual. This is for example reflected in the way to greet politely; one literally says

53

Country Profile: china “Have you eaten?” And of course tea is vital in the everyday life. We trackers noticed many taxi drivers had their tea, mostly green it seemed, in between the seats readily available at all times.

Making tea is a delicate art and the tea ceremony a show of grace. Chinese people also have a strong tradition of drinking alcohol. Most of the drinking is done while eating out with family, friends or business associates. Pi jiu, or beer, is a very common social drink. According to trackers observations Chinese men drink up three glasses of pi jiu in a row while the others are cheering and Carlsberg ads at metro stations told that this is what you have to do if you come late. Pi jiu also inspires drinking games, many of which have complicated rules. The non-complicated trackers were also inspired by pi jiu…

Gan bei!

Country: People’s Republic of China Capital: Beijing Official language: Mandarin Chinese Monetary unit: Renminbi (Y) Population (2009): 1,331,433,000 Area: 9,572,900 Random facts: The world’s most populous country. “The roof of the world” at 5000 meters provides headwaters for many of Asia’s main rivers. Has more than 4,000 years of recorded history. The revolution led to the formation of a communist government in 1949 in Shanghai. The country has since the late 1970s moved away from a Soviet-type economic system.

Agriculture has been de-collectivized, the non-agricultural private sector has grown rapidly, and government priorities have shifted toward light and high-technology, rather than heavy, industries.

China is the world’s largest producer of rice and is among the principal sources of wheat, corn, tobacco, soybeans, peanuts and cotton. China’s mineral resources are probably among the richest in the world but are only partially developed.

Even though China is deregulating its economy, the government continues to regulate energy prices.

On board the trip: Anna af Hällström, Tapani Alasaarela, Oula Antere, Anna Berg, Lauri Cajanus, Matthew Casserly, Kalevi Ekman, Santeri Everi, Niina Gromov, Markus Grönholm, Colum Grove-White, Teemu Halme, Markus Heimonen, Anne Herbert, Oona Hilkamo, Heikki Hirvonen, Alexander Hornung, 54 Lauri Hynynen, Saara Hyrkkö, Timo Idänheimo, Mikko Ikola, Liisa Itkonen, Johanna Järvinen, Petter Junni, Antti Kangasrääsiö, Erika Kaunisaho, Markus Kauppinen, Juho Kokkola, Hanna Korhonen, Lasse Korpela, Juuso Koskinen, Joona Kurikka, Mira Kyllönen, Niko Lahtinen, Olli Laine, Asta Länsimies, Lari Laurikkala, Tuure Laurinolli, Sergio Lembo, Riikka Liedes, Heikki Lindroos, Jukka Liukkonen, Kirsi Lounesto, Tapio Melgin, Riku Merikoski, Erkka Mutanen,

Ina Mutikainen, Iida Myllymäki, Biju Nair, Ylva Norrgrann, Joonas Ollila, Taru Öster, Krista Paasonen, José David Padilla Arias, Dimitri Paile, Paula Päivike, Inna Pirkanniemi, Hilla Pohjalainen, Juhani Polkko, Heikki Pulkkinen, Ville Purontaus, Satu Raudasoja, Juha Ryynänen, Petri Saarikko, Timo Salli, Timo 55 Salo. Pekka Salonen, Heini Salovuori, Heikki Sjöman, Claus Stigler, Simo Suoheimo, Senja Svahn, Ville Taajamaa, Atso Takala, Hannamiina Tanninen, Liisa Tervinen, Miikka Tölö, Aaro Väkeväinen, Jose Valarezo, Antti Virolainen, Julia Wiikeri. Photo: Timo Idänheimo.

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Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Ylva Norrgrann Photos: Tapio Melgin

Magnetic Shanghai Shanghai is a magnetic city with lots of market activity and a pulsating vibe. The constantly developing city is already significant internationally but has to resolve several challenging problems to become the logistical and financial centre it strives to become.

Eastern China is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Of the 250 million inhabitants in the area over 19 million live in Shanghai, which makes it the city with most inhabitants in China. And the official population of 19 million does not include the millions of migrant workers that are present in Shanghai, so the real population is notably higher. The flow of people streaming into Shanghai to earn their living working at some of the numerous factories is huge. Migrants live in poor conditions because their wages are often a fraction

of the local norms and they are often doing so called 3-D (dangerous, dirty and difficult) work. Shanghai has great appeal for Chinese and foreigners. The Yangtze River delta has been the motor of the Chinese economy and the magnet of foreign investment. The location is logistically excellent and has two of the biggest ports in the world: the Shanghai and Ningbo ports. The delta area produces one fourth of the Chinese GDP and attracts over a third of the foreign investments even though the size of the area is equivalent to just over 2% of China. This has caused costs to rise but also shifts to new types of economic activity. The latest statistics show the biggest economic growth in 17 years. Reasons for this include the modest numbers last year but also manufacturing activities are increasing.

The Shanghai area holds a lot of

manufacturing industries but is becoming more and more service and R&D centered. Foreign investors no longer seek Shanghai for low manufacturing costs but choose to locate in the city due to its great location for logistics and big markets. The city administration strives to strengthen service and financial sectors and it is the objective of China’s central government to become an international logistics and financial centre. Already the port of Shanghai is the biggest in the world measured by freight weight and the Shanghai stock exchange lands at sixth place on list of most valuable stock exchanges. Shanghai also promotes research and development activities and the R&D expenditures at the moment exceed 3% of the GDP. Several multinational companies strengthen the role of Shanghai as an international R&D centre.

57 With a daily direct flight, Helsinki is the European city reached fastest from Shanghai. With Espoo-Shanghai friendship city relations, Finland has good Shanghai connections both physically and emotionally. And actually Shanghai has the biggest concentration of Finnish actors, both private companies and public actors, outside of Finland. New opportunities for Finnish actors emerge for example in the fields of environmental and energy saving technology as well as health care. The Finnish consulate in Shanghai and the offices of Finpro and Tekes support companies and help them cope with the challenges of doing business in Shanghai and China. Also other actors like VTT and Greater Helsinki Promotion have set foot in Shanghai and the co-operation between Finnish and Chinese universities is flourishing. Relations have been built especially with the Fudan, Jiaotong and Tongji universities.

AoT was in Shanghai just in time for the Aalto Tongji Design Factory opening on the 25th of May and very much enjoyed

making new acquaintances with local Tongji students.

Shanghai has been a success story and the positive development seems to continue. The city naturally has problems and challenges in their endeavor to become a leading international logistics and financial centre. The fast growth has brought a rise in real estate prices, which has led to an unbalanced market structure. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the workers to find reasonably priced housing as developers concentrate on producing lucrative luxury housing. The increase of income disparity and social inequality are big problems. In addition, Shanghai is one of the first cities in all of China to face the aging of the population.

Also the increase in inhabitants means environmental challenges for Shanghai to confront to achieve the vision state.

The administration recognizes these challenges and these are priorities in the development of the city.

Right now Shanghai concentrates on arranging the world expo that shows

the great ability and strength of the city and the whole of China. Expo 2010 is meant to be the biggest and most memorable expo of all time. During the period 1.May to 30.October, over 70 million visitors are expected. The investments due to the huge expo project exceed the investments of the Olympics in Beijing 2009. During AoT we could see this for example in the metro system with shining new stations and even a dedicated metro line! The city looks better than ever before and thus fulfills at least part of the expo slogan “Better city, better lifeâ€?.Â

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Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Juha Ryynänen Photos: Kirsi Lounesto, Joona Kurikka

Excursions: OUTOTEC in Shanghai The 17th floor of a tall high-rise in Shanghai currently accommodates about 40 specialists of mining processes. We had a chance to visit Outotec office in the very center of Shanghai.

Outotec HR manager He Ying made us feel very welcome as soon as we arrived.

We had a deep dive into Chinese culture in topics such as dining, working and China’s One Child policy.

Ying told us about the amazing Chinese business culture and the difficulty in sourcing talent in China. Although there are about 50-100 applicants per day for one popular open position in

Outotec’s Shanghai office, finding fluent English speakers who understand technical processes of mining is rare.

The pace of change is rapid in China. In two years you can expect countless things to have transformed and developed. Workers change their work places very often, but people like working at Outotec for longer periods than in an average company in China.

European companies in general have good reputations as employers in China.

The aging Chinese population will be a future challenge. The one child policy became law in 1978, and

one constraint on having more children is the daycare and school fees.

Having your child in an international kindergarten costs about 20 000 Euros per year in Shanghai!

Many companies in the mining sector in China are owned by the government. Traditionally, government owned companies have had certain mining quotas which need to be filled, and these companies need to reach them no matter how many resources are used in the process. As this has caused environmental problems and the government has imposed more restrictions on mining, demand for en-

59

vironmentally feasible solutions are on the rise. This presents many opportunities for Outotec.

Moreover, division manager Simon Courtenay gave us a comprehensive, yet easily understandable and interesting presentation on mining processes and in handling metals and

other commodities. Outotec has pioneering technologies that help to cut down water, energy and raw material consumption. Outotec began operating in China in 2004 as a holding company, but for Outotec the strategic role of China is changing with the new demands for environmentally sustainable

solutions.

As we left the Outotec office, we saw a large group of Finns coming from the neighboring hotel. It was the Finnish President, Tarja Halonen, with her bodyguards. What a co-incidence!

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Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Juha Ryynänen Photo: Kirsi Lounesto

OUTOTEC – Cutting Edge Technology in a Global Company Outotec is a Finnish company which is a leading global provider of process solutions, technologies and services for the mining and metallurgical industries. Outotec has pioneered technologies that have helped cut down water, energy and raw material consumption around the world.

Human Resources Manager He Ying from Outotec Shanghai office and Service Product Engineer Kai Rönnberg from Outotec Espoo office discussed their work at Outotec.

Tell us shortly about your working history in Outotec!

Ying: I came here a year ago and have been

working as a HR manager.

Kai: I got a chance to do my Master’s thesis for Outotec. My thesis was about new business models for recycling and environmental issues. After finishing my thesis, I have worked as a service product engineer for the past two year. The service business area is about building life-time partnerships with our customers.

What was the main reason you applied to Outotec?

Ying: As an exciting global and growing public company, Outotec immediately grabbed my interest.

Kai: Applying to Outotec was pretty natural for me since I studied materials science in TKK. What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your work?

Ying: The challenging feature is the growth of Outotec. This leads to the need to constantly seek out new talent for the company. Our workers must understand automated processes and have a good understanding about the mining industry, as well as be fluent in English. The reward for me has been working with others as a team to get things done.

Kai: The service business area is a rather new for Outotec and thus there are high expectations and much to learn. One must understand the whole production process, product range and the life cycle of a processing plant. The rewarding part is that we have

grown as a company through our innovations and we have a good drive to get things done and every workday is a new adventure!

Outotec is currently present in all continents. How do you see this in your daily work?

Ying: We use English as the corporate language and have expatriates from many countries like Australia. On a daily basis I am interacting with colleagues from other countries than China.

Kai: My work includes travelling abroad 2-3 times a month. I have colleagues here in Espoo from several countries e.g. Australia, Chile and Sweden. From the practical point of view one has to remember the different time zones when contacting people around the globe.

Mention the three best aspects of working in Outotec!

Ying: Top level technology is used to relevantly regarding environmental issues. Second, the company is not too big but it is global. There’s a lot of cultural diversity and you have the possibility to meet people from all over the world. Third, the organization and management are flexible and active.

Kai: First, the inspiring working environment, second, multicultural people and colleagues from different backgrounds, and third, I can be proud of working at Outotec which is creating sustainable energy and environment saving solutions.

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Experiencing Mongolia and China

Text: Claus Stigler Photo: Claus Stigler

Napa excursion A group of students accepted the invitation to the Chinese branch office of Napa Oy. Napa is a Finnish Naval Architecture company that develops the software NAPA for ship design widely used on shipyards and in design studios and Onboard-NAPA for onboard stability and strength calculations.

While Napa has about 130 employees all over the world, there are currently five people working at the Shanghai office with sales and cus-

tomer support for the Chinese market being their main task.

Due to the small number of students and company representatives, we enjoyed a nice and personal atmosphere during our discussions in the conference room. After some snacks and tea, two short presentations were given. One was on our trip through Russia, Mongolia and China and the other one, by Napa engineers Sun Weijing and Cheng He, on the company and the program itself.

We also discussed the changes between the current and the previous release of the Napa software and then left the office for the second part of our visit - the restaurant part!

The office was closed temporarily, because we were accompanied to a Chinese restaurant by all available staff.

Sincere thanks to all who made this special day possible.

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62

Experiencing Mongolia and China

Shanghai world expo 2010

Finland’s Paviilion Kirnu

Expo 2010 which is formally known as Expo 2010 Shanghai China is held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai (obviously :). Itʼs all about international fairs and expositions from all over the world running from May 1 to October 31 2010. ”Better City – Better Life” is the official theme of the expo signifying Shanghai as a modern 21st century city.

This year’s expo has broken many records such as being both the most expensive and also the largest site in the history of the World Fairs. The area, extending for over five square kilometers, consists of exhibits from more than 190 countries and over 50 international organizations making the expo the largest also in terms of participants. They are expecting more than 70 million visitors in total which means basically all the Finns going there fifteen times!

The site is cramped with pavilions designed by the participating countries.

Each pavilion represents the core values, know-how and characteristic qualities of the respective country.

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How does Finland fit in?

AV P Finland’s input to this expo is Kirnu – P5

r O tou music ge led T a beautiful huge white

P I n eV u e a liv iw siv ah bowl made of small re1.Ta exclu g with es on cycled plastic plates. It -an tastin ” wish was love at first sight, and -tea nding it didn’t disappoint us with -”sell

ba e girls its interior either. We certainly t u n ed -c felt proud and surprisingly pa ign avilio d s e

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triotic for our home country. inla lly d he 2.F autifu und t sauna a who From the inside the pavil-be ter aro ʼs VIP ion as r a at o t w ion demonstrated typical Finnish the flo esen p om r

f -to sh pr design and lifestyle. It included evdom ing the -fre erything from Marimekko towels to ing -blow m K o r g f ited ind Nokia cell phones and Reino slippers to win .Un ally m o 3 l -b Finlandia vodka. One shouldn’t forget the u -vis tside mind whole wall extending video installations u o ually nor the reindeer pelts available for sale.

-visside k in tloo The Finland presentation as a whole left

u y o a al us with a good vibe - no wonder there orw on e 4.N y pers d pur were lots of people queuing. r n -ve ple a ils a

m modi s e d t ood e c i al e r n -n of w The Finland Day and Aalto visu e s o i

dance.

-u ns ud Most of the participating coun- And yes da nadia of a a n a a e tries have a special day during which the – the Chi5.C ndly C g us n e i i t r country organizes special program and nese host-f cina gy o events at the expo site. Finland ”hap- esses melted -faschnol e t pened” to have this day our hearts. It when we were in the was love at first ‘hood. The day was the sight, again.

24th May. A sunny and Aalto Uniwarm Thursday gave us versity was represented by Aalto a lot of experiences culLab in addition to us, Aalto On Tracks. The minating with a beautiful major focus was of course in the opening evening gala to which we of the Aalto Tongji Design Factory, aka ”happened” to have tickdefa.

Aalto Lab participated in the expo ets. The gala had various by organizing a workshop about sustainspectacles deriving from ability and green values.

The results were an acid Moomin characpresented to the public under the blue ter to a fantastic Chinese sky inside of Kirnu.

63

Text: Juho Kokkola, Juuso Koskinen Photos: Juho Kokkola, Juuso Koskinen

Penny for our thoughts?

The circus required ”quite” much work to get it to the state it is today. This means the planning started in 2006, and on the other hand the followup work will be going on throughout the next year to demolish almost every pavilion and transform the area into a cultural and business center. One hell of a job – thatʼs all we can say.

We had a chance to experience a huge spectrum ranging from architectural orgasms to mind-blowing visual adventures but also not so impressing movie clips and failed interior design.

Being at the expo means lots of sweat, walking and people, not to forget endless queuing. But it certainly has a lot to offer since the place is actually the world in a small scale. We certainly enjoyed our time spent at the expo – curious things from all over the world to discover and interesting people to meet. What could be more fun?

See you in Milan, Expo 2015!

expo survival guide ”To queue or not to queue? – That is the question.” Shakespeare didn’t ask this, but we did when we saw hundreds and hundreds of people queuing at the main gate to enter the expo site. We didn’t find the solution, the solution found us: an empty Media/Staff entrance.

When having nothing to lose, one can always give it a shot. Before we even noticed what had happened, we were inside. Maybe suiting up this morning wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

After realizing how much queuing to enter the pavilions would demand, we asked ourselves: could the concept be reused in a new context? Our first stop was obviously Kirnu, which we managed by speaking Finnish at the VIP-entrance. At the gates of Denmark things started to get interesting...

While walking to the Finland gala in the evening it hit us: we had just visited 18 pavilions without standing in line for a second. How was it possible? We just followed a simple pattern adapted to suit each pavilion.

It’s easy to do, just follow these steps: - suit up - straighten your tie / powder your nose - locate the VIP-entrance - walk there and act important - look for a native worker - if you’re fluent, use the respective language - hand over your business card, introduce yourself - ”Hi, we are from Aalto University, Finland and since it’s the Finland day, we were wondering if we could visit your pavilion.”

- smile, thank and walk in These guidelines helped us to get to see awesome pavilions, in total 26 of them. Sometimes you don’t even have to open your mouth e.g. at the Hong Kong pavilion where the guard opened the gates right away. Everything works out, just remember to be confident.

Aalto on Tracks

In brief

Aalto on Tracks was a joyful learning journey from Helsinki to Shanghai World Expo - with a private train.

82 students and personnel from Aalto University had a mission to bring Aalto University and Finland to the world, learn and teach each other on the train, get to know to Chinese people and culture, boost Aalto spirit and make history.

We departed from Helsinki on 14th May 2010 and reached our destination 9 days later. We had a chance to visit Moscow, Ulaanbataar and Beijing before arriving to the magnetic city of Shanghai.

This publication is made by Aalto on Tracks participants - have a look at the stories from the trip of a lifetime.