torstai 29. tammikuuta 2015
sunnuntai 19. lokakuuta 2014
Service Desing Conference 2014 Trip Diary
What do I want to learn? Expectations?
Who would I like to meet/plan to meet?
How to prepare? Questions?
Expectations before SDGC14
I heard the term "service design (SD)" for the first time when Marika told us that we could apply to take part in the SDGC14 with Designing Services students. Since I was not on the Designing Services course, I had to do some googling to get some kind of an idea what SD was.
"The purpose of service design methodologies is to design according to the needs of customers or participants, so that the service is user-friendly, competitive and relevant to the customers. The backbone of this process is to understand the behavior of the customers, their needs and motivations." Wikipedia 2014
I also followed what the students on the Designing Services course were posting on their Facebook group. For example I read about customer journey maps from Petri's post: http://servicedesignbypetri.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/customer-profiles-customer-journey-maps/
My expectations for the conference were:
- to get "hands-on knowledge" about service design
- to get to know to companies working with SD
- to get connections (possibly for internship or thesis)
- meeting new people
I was also looking forward to meeting people who, as Sirpa said, are so excited about something that they volunteer working hours for it just because they love it so much! I thought, "This has to be dope".
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| My expectations-post-it from Arla workshop Sun 5th Oct |
Trip DiarySat Oct 4th
I took a bus with Ada from Porvoo to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport around 4p.m. Our Finnair flight set off at 20:05 and arrived to Arlanda one hour later (20:05 Swedish time).
We took Flygbussarna bus from Arlanda to Stockholm city center. The tickets were really easy and fast to buy from the ticket machines and we could do that while waiting for our luggage! Handy! The bus driver spoke only a little English and he could have been a bit nicer to us..
After arriving to Stockholm's
T-Centralen, we headed to Burger King and ate like kings. I lead us to
the wrong direction for a while when we were trying to find our way to
the hostel but luckily we managed to find back to the right track pretty
easily. We stayed in Best Hostel City's 12 bed mixed dorm. My review of the hostel can be found from TripAdvisor. Sun Oct 5th
We had a short workshop at the Scandic Grand Central hotel at 2p.m. We talked about the conference and what SD is with Sirpa Lassila (HAAGA-HELIA teacher) and Ulla Jones (Consumer Engagement Manager at Arla Oy). We also were asked to write down our expectations for the conference.
After the workshop 8 of us decided to go for a lunch together and managed to find our way to Soft Kök & Bar. The food was good but the service was terrible! Review also on TripAdvisor: "Average food, terrible service!". After the lunch Ada and I went back to our hostel. I had to go to bed since I had started to feel a bit ill during the day. In the evening we went to buy Access Cards for the subway. There was no one in the ticket selling desk at T-Centralen and they didn't tell that on SL website.. Luckily we could buy the cards from SevenEleven. I fell in love with their carrot muffins! :P
Mon Oct 6thWe woke up at 7, had a quick breakfast at the hostel and jumped to the subway which would take us to Telefonplan. From the subway station we walked a couple hundred meters to a building where one of the Hyper Island learning hubs is located. We spent the morning hours with the "Questions and Answers" workshop. "Customers create the new services, service designer just facilitate".
At noon we took a subway back to city center and had a lunch at Pong Asian Restaurant. We took also a quick tour around the old town and bought some souvenirs.
The afternoon we worked in groups. Our task was to plan socially engaging services to Vallastaden,
Linköping. We had started the assignment already at home by observing
the services around us and we continued working with some of the
examples we brought with us. Finally we presented our ideas and got feed
back about them.I was a bit annoyed by the fact that the email which included our Vallastaden assignment, did not say that there was an assignment attached to it.Quite many of us (also some of the Dutch students) started working on the assignment a bit too late and did not understand the assignment properly.
Tue Oct 7th
First actual conference day! We were positively surprised that there was a guide, Mert, standing
in the rain and showing the right way to München Bryggeriet. I got my
name badge, strong coffee and next thing I was looking for was the info
about WiFi access. I hoped the password would've been in the
badge or somewhere else visible but I did not see it anywhere (later I
noticed that it was printed on some of the posters on the wall but since
there was so many people, I couldn't see it earlier). The hosts told
the password to the whole audience, apparently quite many of us had been
asking for the info.. As you can see from the picture, I was not
feeling that well. The flu was really kicking in and it was pretty difficult for me to follow with full attention.
However, I was really happy to hear Mark Levy telling the AirBNB story and it got me interested of the company as a future work place (or internship place, why not). Stan Phelps told about the Purple Goldfish,
"the additional gift", and I realized that I had used this "philosophy"
in my personal work throughout the years. No wonder I got so good
feedback from the customers! :)I had enrolled to a PhD workshop, since it was the only one available, and heard in the morning that I was not even able to take part in it since I was not doing my PhD. I was annoyed: why they did not say this in the SDGC website? Instead of trying to get into a workshop I decided to listen to the talks on the main stage.
Some sentences to remember from Tuesday:
"There are enough white tea cups."
"Fall in love with the problem!"
"Be a cereal entrepreneur."
"Remember the 9 inch marketing."
"There will be fewer alcohol related problems if alcohol is sold only without profit."
"How are you doing?"
"People are NOT rational."
"Make the next 100 days count."
At
one of the coffee breaks, I was coughing so much I got water in my eyes
and felt like a beaten dog. At the same time one of the speakers, Kigge
Mai Hvid, passed me by. She turned back, touched my shoulder and asked
"Is everything okay?". It was a small thing to do but it really made me
smile! :)We had the opportunity to take part in an evening programme at a local bar but I was feeling too ill to go out. We ate dinner with my friend, who is doing her internship in Stockholm, and went to bed early.
Wed Oct 8th
In the morning there were short "well being workshops" to choose from: a juice bar, Nordic walk, yoga, meditation and functional fitness. I chose to go to the meditation because I was still having the flu and being guided by a Tibetan Buddhist monk, Tenzin Shenyen, sounded extremely interesting. After the meditation session I felt relaxed, and to my surprise, motivated instead of tired.
I spent the whole Wednesday listening to the talks on the main stage. Stefan Krook's talk was the one which made me think my life from a "survival perspective": I will drive myself into a pit of suffering unless I do something I am good at and something I enjoy doing.
Sentences to remember from Wednesday:
"Creating a better reality takes courage."
"Do something you're good at."
"Making is thinking."
"Know what you want."
"Humans function by habit, not by decision."
"People normalize their disease to cope."
"Patients don't know what they don't know."
I was extremely tired and hungry after the conference so we decided to find a place to eat somewhere nearby. We found this small Italian restaurant right next to Mariatorget's subway station and I have to say I have never experienced better customer service! TripAdvisor review of FECA Pizza Al Taglio & Pasta Bar.
In the evening I and Ada met her friend at a cafe called Espresso House Konserthus and afterwards packed our stuff ready for the morning. We donated our breakfast tickets to this one girl from the US since we were going to take the Flygbussarna bus to Arlanda Airport before the hostel's breakfast was to be served.
Thu Oct 9th
We woke up early, grabbed our stuff and walked to T-Centralen for our airport bus. We were at Arlanda a bit too early, the terminal was so small that there was not that much to do or see so we decided to just have a breakfast and then take a nap.
The prices in the small cafe Lavazza Espression were so high that they made me angry: a sandwich was 8€! I decided to have just a latte and survive alive to Helsinki with my willpower. When we were making the order and paying, one of the sellers dropped a huge basket of coffee cups on the floor. It was interesting to follow their reactions, I expected to hear some swearing and muttering but no, they were both absolute professionals! Through the whole episode both of them were smiling, laughing and serving us very well. I burst into laugh when Rasmus, the one serving us, gave us our coffees and said "May I present you, two fuck-ups!". And truly, the figures on the milk foam did not look like hearts at all.. I was laughing so hard and Ada gave the boys her remaining kronor as a tip. :)Flight back to Helsinki was the worst flight in my life. I had had a slight pain in my ears because of the flu and during the flight the pain just got worse. I couldn't hear anything, it felt like my ears and my head were going to explode. Tears started to run from my eyes when we started the landing and when the pain just grew and grew, I started to hyperventilate, panic and cry out loud. I was sure my ears were bleeding when we finally landed in Helsinki.
I was exhausted, hungry and feverish so I decided to go straight to bed when we got back to Porvoo. I fell asleep immediately when I finally reached my bed...
My Customer Journey Map: Best Hostel City
First period & Intensive week
First period is now behind and on Monday starts the intensive week. The intensive week is meant for study trips, extra courses and project work. We are not this time taking any study trip to abroad and I'm just glad about it: we wouldn't have had the time to plan it nor I the money to do it...
Some of us TOBBA13 students took part in the Service Design Global Conference in Stockholm between 7.-8. of October. We got this amazing opportunity because HAAGA-HELIA was involved in planning the conference. We have this 3rd level "Designing Services" course running on our campus and since there was not enough students to fill all the places, we got the chance to apply to the conference, too. Below is a picture of me and my friends posing in front of the fair center München Bryggeriet. Behind us you can the SDN (Service Design Network) logo.
For some weeks I felt a bit lost with our semester project. We had to change the Project Manager and everything seemed to be somewhat blur. Then came the Stockholm trip, I got a flu and BOOM! Suddenly we were in a terrible hurry! Now I am even more grateful that we don't have a semester trip because at least I have to work the whole intensive week for the project. I also have a couple of assignments to finish during next week. I know I have go to my home town for a couple of days (otherwise mum and grandma will be very angry) but that's not going to happen before Friday since I am having a meeting with our teacher on Friday morning.
I feel like we have too many courses running at the same time. Every course has its own assignments, exams, presentations, group work and materials to read. Many courses running at the same time means fewer hours per subject in our week schedule. Languages are the only subjects which have more than 1 meeting per week. I wish we could have more time for the assignments during the lessons, especially with languages, so that we wouldn't have so many exercises to do at home. Usually I am home around 5 or 6 p.m. meaning I have about 4-5 h time to make food, eat, do some physical exercise, get a shower and do my homework. Usually the time is not enough and I am ready to go to bed at 10 p.m. with unfinished home work. Eating, exercising and sleeping are to me, and should be for everyone, more important than any of the home work!
Guess I'm just trying to say that I am really tired.
Some of us TOBBA13 students took part in the Service Design Global Conference in Stockholm between 7.-8. of October. We got this amazing opportunity because HAAGA-HELIA was involved in planning the conference. We have this 3rd level "Designing Services" course running on our campus and since there was not enough students to fill all the places, we got the chance to apply to the conference, too. Below is a picture of me and my friends posing in front of the fair center München Bryggeriet. Behind us you can the SDN (Service Design Network) logo.
For some weeks I felt a bit lost with our semester project. We had to change the Project Manager and everything seemed to be somewhat blur. Then came the Stockholm trip, I got a flu and BOOM! Suddenly we were in a terrible hurry! Now I am even more grateful that we don't have a semester trip because at least I have to work the whole intensive week for the project. I also have a couple of assignments to finish during next week. I know I have go to my home town for a couple of days (otherwise mum and grandma will be very angry) but that's not going to happen before Friday since I am having a meeting with our teacher on Friday morning.
I feel like we have too many courses running at the same time. Every course has its own assignments, exams, presentations, group work and materials to read. Many courses running at the same time means fewer hours per subject in our week schedule. Languages are the only subjects which have more than 1 meeting per week. I wish we could have more time for the assignments during the lessons, especially with languages, so that we wouldn't have so many exercises to do at home. Usually I am home around 5 or 6 p.m. meaning I have about 4-5 h time to make food, eat, do some physical exercise, get a shower and do my homework. Usually the time is not enough and I am ready to go to bed at 10 p.m. with unfinished home work. Eating, exercising and sleeping are to me, and should be for everyone, more important than any of the home work!
Guess I'm just trying to say that I am really tired.
maanantai 8. syyskuuta 2014
Long time no ocean
Oh gosh it's been ages since I last wrote something here.. Guess it tells something about my feelings towards our Spring project for St. Peter Line (?). I wasn't really that motivated during the 2nd semester, not at least when it came to the project. I was extremely excited about our language studies and I did well on my German lessons. Somehow I just felt like I didn't get personally so much of the St. Peter Line project and I couldn't go to Saint Petersburg because I didn't have the money.
Our 3rd semester started on 25th of August so a couple of weeks have already passed since then. Our class was divided into two according to our specialisation: Event Management and Corporate Travel Management. I chose the CTM and so far I feel like I did the right thing. Our group seems to be very motivated and I like the fact that now the group is a bit smaller. We got quite many exchange students to our group too so now our international class is even more international! :)
We have different projects according to our specialisations. Out project seems very interesting and I am really looking forward to it. Now it seems like we are "getting down to business". We are meeting our commissioner next week's Tuesday and then we will know more about the project details. :)
Our 3rd semester started on 25th of August so a couple of weeks have already passed since then. Our class was divided into two according to our specialisation: Event Management and Corporate Travel Management. I chose the CTM and so far I feel like I did the right thing. Our group seems to be very motivated and I like the fact that now the group is a bit smaller. We got quite many exchange students to our group too so now our international class is even more international! :)
We have different projects according to our specialisations. Out project seems very interesting and I am really looking forward to it. Now it seems like we are "getting down to business". We are meeting our commissioner next week's Tuesday and then we will know more about the project details. :)
lauantai 8. maaliskuuta 2014
Goodbye Matka, hello St. Peter Line!
Woah. It's March already! Where did all the time go?
Matka Travel Fair is far behind and a new project has begun. The Matka Project went well and the actual fair was an awesome experience. I had the chance to meet lots of people and create important connections.
Every project has its challenges. Luckily we faced only small difficulties, for example with the fair tickets and with the technology at the stand. And yes, also some people caused me some loss of hair with their absence, but still I would say they were small challenges and we solveved them quickly.
My class mates gave me very good feedback in all of our peer assessments. There were approximately 79 assessments of me and only a couple of them had a grade 4/5 or 4,5/5 instead of 5/5. One assesment had even 6/5! I am very grateful and to be honest, I have never got as good feedback in my life. Feels awesome to get very positive feedback of the hardwork I did during the project. :)
Now we are working with a research project. We are planning and implementing an image and a customer satisfaction research for St. Peter Line ferry company. Project can be found from Facebook and Twitter @TOBBA13HH but this time we are concentrating on video promoting on YouTube in our TOBBA13HH channel! Check out our first TOBBA13 Movement video!
Our class has been divided into teams: Transformers (writing), Aron's Angels (Travel Agency), Nerd Squat (IT Support), Wise (Research), PRO (PR). I am a member of the PRO team and mainly responsible of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube updates.
I am a bit disappointed to the project, or how it has begun. We have been at campus since January and not until this week have we actually DONE something for the project. The start has been very slow and I know we are going to be in a terrible hurry very soon because of it.
On the other hand I am pleased with the fact that now I have had enough time to concentrate on my other courses; I am especially excited about the language studies. I decided to start German from the beginning although I studied it on my 8th and 9th grade. We've had two tests by now and I got 5/5 from the first one, the other I haven't got back yet. I know I didn't remember some things but I had a good feeling about the test afterwards. :)
Unfortunately I am not able to do my internship abroad this summer due to my financial situation. I have applied to several jobs from Porvoo (summer jobs and part-time jobs starting from now) and I really hope to get one soon. I will try to find the internship place for the summer 2015 and apply for the exchange programme for spring 2016. Of course this situation annoys me but all I can do is to keep applying those jobs, work hard and hope the best...
Matka Travel Fair is far behind and a new project has begun. The Matka Project went well and the actual fair was an awesome experience. I had the chance to meet lots of people and create important connections.
Every project has its challenges. Luckily we faced only small difficulties, for example with the fair tickets and with the technology at the stand. And yes, also some people caused me some loss of hair with their absence, but still I would say they were small challenges and we solveved them quickly.
My class mates gave me very good feedback in all of our peer assessments. There were approximately 79 assessments of me and only a couple of them had a grade 4/5 or 4,5/5 instead of 5/5. One assesment had even 6/5! I am very grateful and to be honest, I have never got as good feedback in my life. Feels awesome to get very positive feedback of the hardwork I did during the project. :)
Now we are working with a research project. We are planning and implementing an image and a customer satisfaction research for St. Peter Line ferry company. Project can be found from Facebook and Twitter @TOBBA13HH but this time we are concentrating on video promoting on YouTube in our TOBBA13HH channel! Check out our first TOBBA13 Movement video!
Our class has been divided into teams: Transformers (writing), Aron's Angels (Travel Agency), Nerd Squat (IT Support), Wise (Research), PRO (PR). I am a member of the PRO team and mainly responsible of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube updates.
I am a bit disappointed to the project, or how it has begun. We have been at campus since January and not until this week have we actually DONE something for the project. The start has been very slow and I know we are going to be in a terrible hurry very soon because of it.
On the other hand I am pleased with the fact that now I have had enough time to concentrate on my other courses; I am especially excited about the language studies. I decided to start German from the beginning although I studied it on my 8th and 9th grade. We've had two tests by now and I got 5/5 from the first one, the other I haven't got back yet. I know I didn't remember some things but I had a good feeling about the test afterwards. :)
Unfortunately I am not able to do my internship abroad this summer due to my financial situation. I have applied to several jobs from Porvoo (summer jobs and part-time jobs starting from now) and I really hope to get one soon. I will try to find the internship place for the summer 2015 and apply for the exchange programme for spring 2016. Of course this situation annoys me but all I can do is to keep applying those jobs, work hard and hope the best...
tiistai 7. tammikuuta 2014
Back to business
Holidays are still going on but I decided to return to Porvoo a bit earlier. I have a couple of things to do for the project and I still need to find proper clothes! I also know that I need some time on my own just to gather my thoughts together and get ready for the next week's hectic schedule.
Quite many people asked me during the Autumn wether I'm stressed, nervous or even scared about the fair and most of all about the big responsibility I have. I was evey time a bit surprised about the question and answered "No, why would I? I'm trying to do my best and I trust on my team mates. I can also see that everything is going pretty smoothly so why get scared?".
Guess my experience in working under pressure makes me more comfortable about stress than many others. I was stressed just like everyone else but it never took over me. I've experienced some sort of nervoussness during the last couple of days because I had the feeling I had forgotten somehing. Hope that feeling goes away as soon as I'm "on the track" again!
During the second period I was more stressed about mathematics and Swedish than the project. To my surprise I passed the Swedish course with the grade 3 but (as I already feared) didn't pass the second part of the math course. To be honest I don't like the teaching style of that subject and the fact that I've always had some problems with math doesn't help me when facing unmotivating teaching. Luckily students' feedback is taken seriously in our campus and I hope I find the motivation to practice for the re-exam..
Quite many people asked me during the Autumn wether I'm stressed, nervous or even scared about the fair and most of all about the big responsibility I have. I was evey time a bit surprised about the question and answered "No, why would I? I'm trying to do my best and I trust on my team mates. I can also see that everything is going pretty smoothly so why get scared?".
Guess my experience in working under pressure makes me more comfortable about stress than many others. I was stressed just like everyone else but it never took over me. I've experienced some sort of nervoussness during the last couple of days because I had the feeling I had forgotten somehing. Hope that feeling goes away as soon as I'm "on the track" again!
During the second period I was more stressed about mathematics and Swedish than the project. To my surprise I passed the Swedish course with the grade 3 but (as I already feared) didn't pass the second part of the math course. To be honest I don't like the teaching style of that subject and the fact that I've always had some problems with math doesn't help me when facing unmotivating teaching. Luckily students' feedback is taken seriously in our campus and I hope I find the motivation to practice for the re-exam..
sunnuntai 15. joulukuuta 2013
End of the 1st semester
My first semester in Porvoo Campus is soon over. Feels weird! It was like yesterday when I started my studies.. Can't believe how fast time is passing by.
I've been thinking about my moves for the future. We had our International Opportunities info couple of days ago where Porvoo Campus' International Coordinator Mari Austin told us about exchange opportunities in HAAGA-HELIA and what is needed for it. I was thrilled to hear that HH will most likely have a new partner university in England: Manchester Metropolitan University! I will apply to the exchange programme so that I would be in England for the Spring semester 2015 or the whole of my 3rd year (2015-2016). Fingers crossed!
I am planning to do my first intership period next summer. I am going to be in contact with travel agencies in Manchester very soon. I just need to get my CV back with comments from our teacher.. I would like to do either 2 or 3 months work placement. The overal compolsory work placement time is 5 months. I'm also interested in Australia and New Zealand but unfortunately byt budget is not enough for those awesome places..
Although the Matka project has gone well I can't get this nasty feeling out of my chest. I and many others from my group have faced difficulties with communication and reliability with some members of our teams. It is sad but unfortunately reality in every community that not everyone is equally motivated. My challenge as the Project Manager has been motivating the people, keeping all the pieces together and keeping the people being open about their problems and challenges with the project. I just hope that we manage to finish all our tasks before our Christmas holiday starts..
I've been thinking about my moves for the future. We had our International Opportunities info couple of days ago where Porvoo Campus' International Coordinator Mari Austin told us about exchange opportunities in HAAGA-HELIA and what is needed for it. I was thrilled to hear that HH will most likely have a new partner university in England: Manchester Metropolitan University! I will apply to the exchange programme so that I would be in England for the Spring semester 2015 or the whole of my 3rd year (2015-2016). Fingers crossed!
I am planning to do my first intership period next summer. I am going to be in contact with travel agencies in Manchester very soon. I just need to get my CV back with comments from our teacher.. I would like to do either 2 or 3 months work placement. The overal compolsory work placement time is 5 months. I'm also interested in Australia and New Zealand but unfortunately byt budget is not enough for those awesome places..
Although the Matka project has gone well I can't get this nasty feeling out of my chest. I and many others from my group have faced difficulties with communication and reliability with some members of our teams. It is sad but unfortunately reality in every community that not everyone is equally motivated. My challenge as the Project Manager has been motivating the people, keeping all the pieces together and keeping the people being open about their problems and challenges with the project. I just hope that we manage to finish all our tasks before our Christmas holiday starts..
tiistai 26. marraskuuta 2013
What have we been doing?
Porvoo and Haaga tourism students are working together at the stand and Porvoo students are in charge of the project. I'm really glad that the students from Haaga Campus are working with us at the stand since there are not that many people in our own group (so help is needed!) and I think it's nice to know the students from other HAAGA-HELIA's Campuses, especially those who are studying the same field as we are. I'm looking forward to meet Haaga tourism students again and I wish we could arrange some kind of a "get-together event" before Christmas Holiday since this meeting was so tight and full of information (dunno if we have time for that though :( ).
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| Ahsan Nazmul, Mariliis Markna and Sara Sinervo at Haaga Campus 26.11.2013. |
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| Activities Team giving an info session. Ahsan Nazmul, Aron kovacs, Tatiana Martynova and Nina Vainio 25.11.2013 |
Alumni Team is working on with the invitations and food orders to the Alumni Event and BTF Team has started to collect all the important information to our Fair Folder as well as teach the rest of our group all the basic information we need to know about HAAGA-HELIA. Decoration Team has designed the stand's layout and features in cooperation with FairPartner.
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| Decoration Team drawing the stand's layout. Elizaveta Ragozina, Sara Sinervo and Tuyet Huynh. 8.11.2013 |
We're not having lotteries and competitions only at the actual stand but also before the fair! We gave away two tickets to Matka 2014 Nordic Travel Fair in our first Facebook lottery already on Nov 18th. People were asked to like a certain picture on our project's Facebook page and the tickets were raffled among the "likers". We are going to publish another lottery or a competition on our FB page soon..
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| Maija Turunen and Matthew Roblin executing our first FB lottery on 18.11.2013 |
torstai 21. marraskuuta 2013
Busy, busy, busy!
I knew studying in HAAGA-HELIA was going to be hectic but this tightness of the schedules has surprised me! I haven't had the chance to write about my studies for ages..
We made a studytrip to Tallinn, Estonia, between 20th and 22nd of October. Our Matka Project's Logistics team planned and organised the whole trip by themselves. They contacted the ferry and bus companies, planned and created activities and company visits and took care of all the little details during the trip. In Tallinn we visited Estravel, Carlson-Wagonlit Travel, Hotell Metropol (in which way also stayed during the trip), Sokos Hotel Viru and Kalev chocolate factory. The trip was a success and I personally learnt some new stuff about travel agencies and the travel business in Tallinn. Of course I also learned to know my classmates a bit better!
Here are some pictures from the trip!
Our Matka 2014 Project is going well. We are just a bit ahead of schedule and everything seems to go pretty smoothly (for now..). We need to get everything ready before we start our Christmas holiday on December 20th. As a Project Manager I have enjoyed this project very much. I have learnt so much about our Tobba13 group and I've also got some new perspectives on project management. I hope I'll have some more time later to tell what exactly have we been doing during these weeks..
We made a studytrip to Tallinn, Estonia, between 20th and 22nd of October. Our Matka Project's Logistics team planned and organised the whole trip by themselves. They contacted the ferry and bus companies, planned and created activities and company visits and took care of all the little details during the trip. In Tallinn we visited Estravel, Carlson-Wagonlit Travel, Hotell Metropol (in which way also stayed during the trip), Sokos Hotel Viru and Kalev chocolate factory. The trip was a success and I personally learnt some new stuff about travel agencies and the travel business in Tallinn. Of course I also learned to know my classmates a bit better!
Here are some pictures from the trip!
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| Juuli Vähäuski enjoys the sea breeze on the way to Tallinn! 20.10.2013 |
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| Company visit to Carlson Wagonlit Travel. Shoaib Ullah, Sonja Kosunen. 21.10.2013 |
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| Steve Cheng, Samuli Vahteristo and Maija Turunen in front of Carlson Wagonlit Travel office. 21.10.2013 |
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| Me and my classmates enjoying a dinner together in Hotell Metropol, Tallinn. 20.10.2013 |
sunnuntai 13. lokakuuta 2013
The Project Manager?
We were introduced to our first semester project during the first week and quickly after that we were asked to apply for the Project Manager's position. Some of us felt a bit confused about the applying and the fact that we were supposed to do it so quickly, "I just came here, I don't know what the Project Manager is supposed to do and what this project is going to be!". Some thought it was compolsory, some thought it was only for those who wanted it.
At first I wasn't so sure weather I wanted to be the Project Manager or not. It seemed like a huge responsibility and I wasn't sure if I wanted to experience that immediately at the beginning of my studies. I have lots of experience in leadership from my association background, but some how I thought maybe I should give this opportunity to someone else this time..
I applied for the position like most of my class mates and to my surprise (or not..?) got an invitation to the interview with 4 other applicants. I was pretty nervous about the interview although I was sure at that point that I seriously wanted the position. There I was in front of 3 teachers and 1 tutor answering their questions about my skills in leading a big group and dealing with social problems inside a team. I had a good feeling after the interview, at least I made them laugh!
Our teachers revealed their selection in front of our class on the following Monday. They said that the selection was very easy: they had all voted for the same person "and the person is, Emma Raivio!". My heart made and extra bounce when I heard my name! I was stunned, maybe even shocked. "Wow! Me, a Project Manager? And I've just started here!". I was flattered but I also knew it meant long days and a huge responsibility..
During that Monday we divided our group into teams. The teams were Marketing, Sponsorship, Decoration, Activies, Logistics, Alumni Event and Business Travel Forum and they all have a Team Leader. I think at this point it would be a good moment to tell what this whole project is about! (We were at that moment still a bit confused so I thought it would be more realistic to hide "the core" from this blog post too until this moment..).
The project is called "Matka 2014 Nordic Travel Fair". We international tourism students are supposed to set up HAAGA-HELIA's stand for the Matka Fair in Helsinki Convention Center. HAAGA-HELIA is taking part on the fair for 12th time and it takes place between 16th and 19th of January 2014. There is going to be a public stand available for everyone and a smaller stand at the Business Travel Forum, which is available only for "business people".
My duty as the Project Manager is to supervise teams' work and take care of the "overall" picture. I'm giving reports to our teachers and delivering their messages to the teams. I have a weekly meeting with the Team Leaders and a Check Point meeting with the whole group every other week (or as often as needed). I'm also a member of the Business Travel Forum team because I'm representing HAAGA-HELIA mainly on that stand and I'm supposet to give a speech at the forum too.
I've enjoyed being the Project Manager and I feel like I've done a good job so far. I've received nothing but positive feed back on my working from our teachers and from my class mates. My stress level hasn't risen very high yet (thanks to our active and efficient teams!) but I know the forth coming weeks are going to be more and more stressful when the "actual" working begins.. Sometimes I've been so consentrated on the project that some of my other courses (like maths and Swedish) have been left behind and that has caused unfinished assignments. I hope I manage to fix my own schedules before the stress level rises higher..
At first I wasn't so sure weather I wanted to be the Project Manager or not. It seemed like a huge responsibility and I wasn't sure if I wanted to experience that immediately at the beginning of my studies. I have lots of experience in leadership from my association background, but some how I thought maybe I should give this opportunity to someone else this time..
I applied for the position like most of my class mates and to my surprise (or not..?) got an invitation to the interview with 4 other applicants. I was pretty nervous about the interview although I was sure at that point that I seriously wanted the position. There I was in front of 3 teachers and 1 tutor answering their questions about my skills in leading a big group and dealing with social problems inside a team. I had a good feeling after the interview, at least I made them laugh!
Our teachers revealed their selection in front of our class on the following Monday. They said that the selection was very easy: they had all voted for the same person "and the person is, Emma Raivio!". My heart made and extra bounce when I heard my name! I was stunned, maybe even shocked. "Wow! Me, a Project Manager? And I've just started here!". I was flattered but I also knew it meant long days and a huge responsibility..
During that Monday we divided our group into teams. The teams were Marketing, Sponsorship, Decoration, Activies, Logistics, Alumni Event and Business Travel Forum and they all have a Team Leader. I think at this point it would be a good moment to tell what this whole project is about! (We were at that moment still a bit confused so I thought it would be more realistic to hide "the core" from this blog post too until this moment..).
The project is called "Matka 2014 Nordic Travel Fair". We international tourism students are supposed to set up HAAGA-HELIA's stand for the Matka Fair in Helsinki Convention Center. HAAGA-HELIA is taking part on the fair for 12th time and it takes place between 16th and 19th of January 2014. There is going to be a public stand available for everyone and a smaller stand at the Business Travel Forum, which is available only for "business people".
My duty as the Project Manager is to supervise teams' work and take care of the "overall" picture. I'm giving reports to our teachers and delivering their messages to the teams. I have a weekly meeting with the Team Leaders and a Check Point meeting with the whole group every other week (or as often as needed). I'm also a member of the Business Travel Forum team because I'm representing HAAGA-HELIA mainly on that stand and I'm supposet to give a speech at the forum too.
I've enjoyed being the Project Manager and I feel like I've done a good job so far. I've received nothing but positive feed back on my working from our teachers and from my class mates. My stress level hasn't risen very high yet (thanks to our active and efficient teams!) but I know the forth coming weeks are going to be more and more stressful when the "actual" working begins.. Sometimes I've been so consentrated on the project that some of my other courses (like maths and Swedish) have been left behind and that has caused unfinished assignments. I hope I manage to fix my own schedules before the stress level rises higher..
sunnuntai 29. syyskuuta 2013
First days at the Campus
The first two weeks of our studies were like a huge information avalanche coming right on us. There we were, lost and confused TOBBA13 (our group name) freshmen, trying to remember everything that was said and somehow make sense of it..
Our studies started with 3 orientation days. During those days we were introduced to the campus, to our studies and practical issues such as course enrollments, schedules and interactive platforms used in our studies, but most of all, to our group. Our beloved tutors were our guides during those confusing orientation days and they organized fun "get-to-know-each-other-games" for every day. The highlight of the orientation days was our first Campus Goes Wild -party with the tutors and other Porvoo freshmen.
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences has its own Student Union called HELGA and Porvoo Campus has its own local Student Association called HePo ry which is a part of HELGA. HePo ry is responsible of the student trusteeship at Porvoo Campus and it organizes all kinds of activites for students such as Campus Does Sports -sports evenings and Campus Goes Wild -student parties. HELGA's maybe the most visible feature at the Campus are the tutors: they're all dressed up in tutor T-shirts and petrol blue coveralls filled with coverall patches. Among shy and nervous freshmen they didn't seem just the most visible people but also the most loud people in the crowd..
For a lost freshman tutors are like the saving angels. They give you all the information needed on how to become a HAAGA-HELIA student and how to navigate in the information jungle. The whole campus may seem like a jungle although Porvoo Campus is very transparent; all "class room" walls are made of glass! (More info about our Campus' innovative design can be found from the "Encounters" video at the bottom of the page.) Tutors are always there when you need them and at least to my opinion all our tutors are awesome! :)
After the first days at Porvoo Campus I felt like I was at home. Tutors and our teachers weren't just some faceless "authorities" or "information guys", they were humans, personalities and there just for us. The warm welcome to our new working community gave me the feeling that I am in the right place. It also made me motivated towards my studies and towards our group's common success. I felt like a part of a big family, HAAGA-HELIA family. :)
Our studies started with 3 orientation days. During those days we were introduced to the campus, to our studies and practical issues such as course enrollments, schedules and interactive platforms used in our studies, but most of all, to our group. Our beloved tutors were our guides during those confusing orientation days and they organized fun "get-to-know-each-other-games" for every day. The highlight of the orientation days was our first Campus Goes Wild -party with the tutors and other Porvoo freshmen.
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences has its own Student Union called HELGA and Porvoo Campus has its own local Student Association called HePo ry which is a part of HELGA. HePo ry is responsible of the student trusteeship at Porvoo Campus and it organizes all kinds of activites for students such as Campus Does Sports -sports evenings and Campus Goes Wild -student parties. HELGA's maybe the most visible feature at the Campus are the tutors: they're all dressed up in tutor T-shirts and petrol blue coveralls filled with coverall patches. Among shy and nervous freshmen they didn't seem just the most visible people but also the most loud people in the crowd..
For a lost freshman tutors are like the saving angels. They give you all the information needed on how to become a HAAGA-HELIA student and how to navigate in the information jungle. The whole campus may seem like a jungle although Porvoo Campus is very transparent; all "class room" walls are made of glass! (More info about our Campus' innovative design can be found from the "Encounters" video at the bottom of the page.) Tutors are always there when you need them and at least to my opinion all our tutors are awesome! :)
After the first days at Porvoo Campus I felt like I was at home. Tutors and our teachers weren't just some faceless "authorities" or "information guys", they were humans, personalities and there just for us. The warm welcome to our new working community gave me the feeling that I am in the right place. It also made me motivated towards my studies and towards our group's common success. I felt like a part of a big family, HAAGA-HELIA family. :)
lauantai 28. syyskuuta 2013
Getting started
I'm starting this blog a bit late. My studies in Porvoo have already started on 21st of August so I have about 5 weeks to catch up for this blog. No worries! There's never too much of repetition..
So, who am I and how did I end up studying in HAAGA-HELIA?
My name is Emma Raivio, I'm 24 years old, originally from Keuruu, Central Finland and I have no idea what am I going to do with my life. I have tried many different kinds of roads during my life and now it's time to try the road towards a career in the ever growing field of business, tourism.
I started my studies in HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences on August. I'm studying the Degree Programme in Tourism with 35 other students from around the world. Our studying language is English so almost all of the courses are tought in English (except Finnish for Finns abviously and some of the Swedish courses).
I'm a Finn, my mothertongue is Finnish, so why am I studying in English? First of all, I love English! I started my English studies already on 1st grade at the age of 7 (thank's of that early start belongs to my teacher at that time who tought us some basic words although we were'nt supposed to start English earlier than on the 3rd grade) and since that English has been my passion and later on my true skill.
Before applying to HAAGA-HELIA I applied to Tampere and Jyväskylä Universities English translation and English teacher studies in my mind. At that point I knew I want to study something that gives me a career inside the "world of English language" but despite my eagernes towards English I didn't succeed in the entrance examinations. I said to myself "You would've bored yourself to death on those University lectures anyway..".
While spending my gap year working in a restaurant I also rehearsed English and raised my Matriculation Examination grade in English from Magna Cumlaude (3rd best) to Eximia (2nd best). At the same time my friend recommended HAAGA-HELIA's degrees to me and told me about the option to study also in English. I surfed the net and read all about HAAGA-HELIA's degrees and new immediately that I want to study in Porvoo Campus to become the Bachelor in Hospitaly and Wellness Management.
My friend is studying the same degree programme but in Finnish. I applied also to the Finnish degree but I was lucky and got accepted to the English degree. There are different specializiation areas in Finnish and English degrees: in Finnish degree you can choose between Tourism Selling/Customer Service and Research/Development and in English degree between Business Travel and Event Management.
We haven't got any information about the specialization yet but I know we are supposed to make the decision about it next Spring. I feel the Event Management to be more "my field" since I have a strong background in volnteering event managing in local associations. But you never know, after we get the infos my mind may change!
I will be posting stories about my studies every week. Until January they will be mainly about our first semester project "Matka 2014 Nordic Travel Fair" where our group is setting up HAAGA-HELIA's stands. The fair takes place in Helsinki Convention Center on 16th - 19th of January 2014. Next posting will be about my huge responsibility as the Project Manager of that project.. :)
So, who am I and how did I end up studying in HAAGA-HELIA?
My name is Emma Raivio, I'm 24 years old, originally from Keuruu, Central Finland and I have no idea what am I going to do with my life. I have tried many different kinds of roads during my life and now it's time to try the road towards a career in the ever growing field of business, tourism.
I started my studies in HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences on August. I'm studying the Degree Programme in Tourism with 35 other students from around the world. Our studying language is English so almost all of the courses are tought in English (except Finnish for Finns abviously and some of the Swedish courses).
I'm a Finn, my mothertongue is Finnish, so why am I studying in English? First of all, I love English! I started my English studies already on 1st grade at the age of 7 (thank's of that early start belongs to my teacher at that time who tought us some basic words although we were'nt supposed to start English earlier than on the 3rd grade) and since that English has been my passion and later on my true skill.
Before applying to HAAGA-HELIA I applied to Tampere and Jyväskylä Universities English translation and English teacher studies in my mind. At that point I knew I want to study something that gives me a career inside the "world of English language" but despite my eagernes towards English I didn't succeed in the entrance examinations. I said to myself "You would've bored yourself to death on those University lectures anyway..".
While spending my gap year working in a restaurant I also rehearsed English and raised my Matriculation Examination grade in English from Magna Cumlaude (3rd best) to Eximia (2nd best). At the same time my friend recommended HAAGA-HELIA's degrees to me and told me about the option to study also in English. I surfed the net and read all about HAAGA-HELIA's degrees and new immediately that I want to study in Porvoo Campus to become the Bachelor in Hospitaly and Wellness Management.
My friend is studying the same degree programme but in Finnish. I applied also to the Finnish degree but I was lucky and got accepted to the English degree. There are different specializiation areas in Finnish and English degrees: in Finnish degree you can choose between Tourism Selling/Customer Service and Research/Development and in English degree between Business Travel and Event Management.
We haven't got any information about the specialization yet but I know we are supposed to make the decision about it next Spring. I feel the Event Management to be more "my field" since I have a strong background in volnteering event managing in local associations. But you never know, after we get the infos my mind may change!
I will be posting stories about my studies every week. Until January they will be mainly about our first semester project "Matka 2014 Nordic Travel Fair" where our group is setting up HAAGA-HELIA's stands. The fair takes place in Helsinki Convention Center on 16th - 19th of January 2014. Next posting will be about my huge responsibility as the Project Manager of that project.. :)
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