I was awarded an Erasmus+ Staff Mobility grant to travel to Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences and attend a 2 days training sessions with the International Relations Department.
Haaga-Helia is a strongly business orientated university of applied sciences in Finland. Through education, research and development, they prepare professionals for business and services, focusing on co-operation, entrepreneurship, innovation and internationality. During these 2 days I had the change to visit two campuses, in Helsinki and Porvoo.
Both campuses are located in the centre of the city and within walking distance of most monuments and public transport. Porvoo campus is situated 50 minutes driving from Helsinki, but with great public transport access and easy to get to. I was warmly welcomed by Laura, who organised my training programme in Haaga-Helia and introduce me to all her colleagues in the international department.
I was particularly interested to understand the length of partnerships BU currently has with Haaga-Helia and explore the possibility to strengthen collaborations and institutional relationships for the benefit of both institutions. Here some of the highlights of the programme.
Day one in Helsinki Campus
Campus Tour
Discussion about International Haaga-Helia
Discussion about internationalisation and partnership Introduction to Haaga-Helia’s marketing
International Student Recruitment
Day two in Porvoo Campus
Campus tour & Porvoo campus as a learning environment
Development of the campus and the degree programmes & international network
Benchmarking International Education
Porvoo Sightseeing
Haaga-Helia provides an annual International Staff week, which I was not able to attend. Here the details: http://www.haaga-helia.fi/en/international/international-relations/haaga-helia-international-staff-week-2018-communication
In terms of cultural experience, I had the chance to explore Helsinki on the last day and visit some museums, under 35 degrees! It was really great to try the finish food and visit the Barbie worldwide exhibition in Helsinki.
Carmen Martins