Co-operation inspires both students and teachers

Springtime has arrived! Two sure signs of spring at Arcada are that many of our students are in the middle of their work practice periods, and that many now hustle to finish up their last courses before graduation. At that point they should be fully prepared to take the step into working life. The newly-graduated alumni have had the chance to get a glimpse of working life already during their studies – not only through their work practice periods, but also through courses and projects where Arcada co-operates with companies and organizations.

This reminds me of a conversation I recently had with a teacher at Arcada. My colleague talked about the teachers’ view on co-operation with working life.

“Students get a feel for working within their fields in different organizations, insights into different ways of working and are motivated by getting real commissions.”

For the students it’s partly about growing and developing their working life competences.  They learn new things through “learning-by-doing”, get a deeper insight into their field of work and learn to both give and receive feedback. The students are in the middle of their studies, they are open to new ways of thinking and they offer new fresh ideas and points of view. It’s also rewarding for the commissioning companies and organizations to get an insight into how young people think today.

Another aspect is that commissions also are much more interesting and motivating for students, than to only work with theory and hypothetical challenges. The thought of their ideas, proposals or comments having an actual impact is very inspiring for the students. Commissions taken on in teams or pairs spurs creativity and motivates to think in new ways. An entrepreneurial way of working, and working in teams towards a common goal, give students the opportunity to see commissions from different angels. It is quite rare that one and the same brief leads to exactly the same ideas.

It’s inspiring for teachers to see students get motivated, be inspired and develop in co-operation with external partners. Thanks to these commissions students sometimes decide to start their own companies, sometimes it just opens their eyes to different ways of working and encourages them to intrapreneurship and creativity.

Teachers and students are very grateful for all these commissions – they are very valuable. If you have a commission for our students – do get in touch!

Sunny greeting from Arcada!
/ Alumni Co-ordinator Mia