Inspiring study trip to Stockholm!

The great thing about starting new studies in a new school is that you get to start with people you have never met before and you can sit in classes you have never sat in before. One of these courses is Arcada 360. The course is meant for first year students to get insight to Arcada as a school, and get to know the students and staff.

One, and perhaps the most memorable part of Arcada 360 course is the famous “Stockholm Trip”. Generally speaking, when we think of school boat trips we may think of drinking, dancing and having fun until sun comes up but this trip was so much more than that. Maybe those who take their studies very seriously and have other ways of spending their free time (and money) had to consider for a while whether they want to go to this trip or not since the scholarship provided by the school only covered part of the trip.

From a personal point of view, I think the trip was a great investment from school’s part. To get to know your fellow students is valuable in itself because you will be with them for the next 3-4 years sitting in the same classroom, working together on projects, etc. The other thing is that the world we know today has become very small. It won’t take more than few hours to fly from Helsinki to Budapest, Hungary and just in 8 or so hours you can be on the other side of the Atlantic requesting entry to the U.S. What I mean to say here, is that we might think of it as a small thing to make connections and friendships with people around the world like Vietnam, Italy, France, Spain, Russia or Kenia but it should never be underestimated. Some of these people may be working for you, with you or you may be working for them.

Long term possibilities are one thing but right now we can already benefit from the ideas, thinking and cultural richness these students bring from all around the world. Some came through ERASMUS program and others some other way but they all have something to share. This is also what I noticed during our trip to Stockholm and this is what made the trip so special.

Official program was well prepared and executed on and off the boat. Program included presentations, group discussions and one-on-one discussions. During these different parts we got to know each other, comment, share ideas, thoughts and also share about ourselves. It was also nice to hear staff present themselves and have them join the company visits while in Stockholm. Program helped to keep the group together even during dining, which of course made the event more meaningful and important.

In closing I would just like to say that after working in the U.S. and Hungary I give high value for these kind of things and company visits. Visiting a company will not of course give you the whole picture of the company as you are there only for a moment and you don’t have to come back the next day but it will surely add something to your list of experiences. It is amazing what you can pick up from these trips if you are motivated and interested. Those who just went for the fun of it probably were not disappointed but for those who went for the ‘real’ purpose and were committed got out something useful for the future.

Thank you Arcada for the investment.
/Visa-Tarkko Leinonen, student of International Business