Experiencing finnish education

The other day I had the chance to go to Töölön alakoulu  and know a bit more about finnish well-known education.I teach 3 lessons about Spain to childrens from 10 to 12 years old.

As every child, they had lots of questions to ask and the most amazing thing was how good they behave and how good english they have. In their school they can choose wether they want to have mostly the lessons in finnish or in english. 

It was also really interesting the fact that children always go outside even when it's winter. Talking about it with a Czech and an Austrian students, they told me that in both of their schools they are not allowed to go outside. In Spain we always do it but of course the weather is not comparable. However, I think going outside is a great idea  as everybody needs a bit of fresh air during the day.

After the three lessons I had the chance to eat with the students and also the teacher, what was also surprising for me. What is more, children eat the ammount of food they want to but they are though to be responsible and take just what they can eat. Moreover ther's always a vegetarian choice and what is more a vegetarian day every week.

A familiar school for which teacher are their second mums as they live together in this little family  for a lot of years. That really makes me felt home and I really had a good time while learning a bit more about this amazing country.

Close and far at the same time

386 Km divide St.Petersburg from Helsinki. A boat that only needs a night to go from one world to a complete different one.

Russia.

A country full of gold and poverty at the same time.

The best?

The chance to discover it with people from all over the world. Because we speak another lenguage, see in a different way and behave in a different way but we all have in common much more than we think we have and of course, there's no lenguage needed to smile.

From the paper to real life

Last week we visited Suunto and had the chance to show and receive feedback from a company different from the one that give us the breafing. It was my first time doing it but I really believe its a great idea.

Suunto is a company that I found really inspiring. A company that makes us explore from the highest mountains to the deepest seas.

When presenting an idea to the one who gave the briefing its always more realistic because they actually know about the product itself and have searched about it for many years. However, its more difficult for them to really dream on completely new concepts because they perfectly know the disadvantages every idea has  just. Nevertheless this is not seem to be how innostava suomi behave but its in my opinion a problem every experienced companies have. Innostava suomi dream about a different way of feeling sport events and makes as more easy to dream and fly because they really offer the plane to do so.

Different but really interesting as well is the idea of being heard by companies that know about business but dont come from the same market the company we are working for does. We were really luck to not have any assumptions, any previous research done, just constructive critics and new ideas in their tables.

To end with I would say that what I was trying to say is that every design starts with a dream and it's really important for designers to have the confort to do it. A confort that can be received by both the briefing company or any other open-minded one.

Two months later

It's always a good idea to sit and think about what you have done and what you still have to do. In my case, two months have flown since I'm here and now with a coffee in my right hand and my camera in my left one, it's time to type.

One of the many reasons why I decided to come here was because of the worldwide finnish education and experience in design. After studying design history at school and how cold scandinavian designers made warm home furniture luckily I have had the chance to get submerged in this country and way of life.

It seems yesterday when I came but actually it´s not...

In Plastic Product Development it all began with Innostava Suomi's brief, "improve user experience in sport events, make them move" they say. Their objective as a company is clear and I felt really lucky to feel the competition in my own skin. Our project is focused on orienteering, a finnish traditional sport in which there's a problem we want to solve that is the fact that orienteering at school seem boring for children and there's a lack we want to cover between people who practice it from 12 until 30 years-old.
During the design thinking process we learn, enjoy and discover. One of my favorite discoveries was PLA, a biodegradable plastic which made me completely change my opinion about what plastics are and what can we do with them.

Product liability is a more theoretical course in which I learn how a product affects not only the environment but also our health and the health of all the users that are around the product. In our case, both polystyrene and paper disposable coffee cups.

The other course I am studying is Operations Management . At first sight it can be imagined that it has nothing to do with design but it actually does as long as even if we have the best product ever, if it's not affordable all the work we have done is for nothing.

Continuing with sustainability, the second period has started with a twice visit to Arabia campus every week to listen and discuss about Sustainability product and service design. All we design has an effect and it´s our choice to decide in which way we want to transform the world. We transform our planet but the planet is also the same for the ones that will come and this is an important thing to keep in mind in every product and in every aspect of our daily lifes.

This world we life in everything seem to be invented, we have to innovate but innovation is not about sitting in a chair and thinking in our own, innovation is living where we live, seeing what we see and creating the place we want to see.

This is a part of what is now in my mind but it´s not only about information and lectures, it's about learning inside and outside classes. Learning from the slides, learning from the teachers, learning from the classmates and learning from myself.

Learning needs attitude because no one learns without wanting to learn. First of all attitude is something that is shared, you smile if they small at you and you work if they work close to you. Creativity is in own mind, in our behavior and in the places we are and I feel so lucky to spend my days in the best place to create: Aalto Design Factory.

Design is all around in this city, but design is much more than an object, it´s a way of creating life.


Finland is my home now, a country with traditions that came from the past and will be here every next tomorrow. A place that inspires and where you feel safe. Finnish trust people, and this among a lot of other things is what gives both students and teachers the freedom they have and that is one of the secrets that makes Finland has the best education of the world.

"Weren't you suppose to go there for university? I only see pictures of you travelling" tell my friends.
My answer? "No, I´m learning a lot as well". I have learned that we learn by making mistakes, but that some mistakes cost a lot of money. I have improved my sketching abilities sketching:

I also learn about nature, about it's beauty and power. I confirm what I though, that products are more than products and the importance of knowing how to say what you say. 

Sustainability is something I am really interested in, my classmates call me “Ecosara” because every project I do has it's own eco-friendly background. I know I still need years to study about it but it´s probable that it will be my path when choosing my specialization and I really think this blog is a really good way of walking my first steps.

In this two months I had time to travel and at the same time know how to do it alone, how to deal when something is not good around you and demonstrate myself that I am capable of living independently.

Last but not less, expressing myself in this blog have made me rethink everything I learned, re-read everything I write and re-enjoy everything I have done.

Looking back

Everything started in 1980 when after the war industry was Finland's choice to recove. For this recovery they take not only industry into account but also universities. The though that making both industry and academy together would be the key to success is 24 years later confirmed.

The three schools that form Aalto beggin to work together in different student projects  this days and they still do it today. Little by little Design Factory became  what it is nowadays: a perfect place for bringing together companies and university in projects where both learn.

Even with nothing guaranteed, companies invest from 15.000€ to 50.000€ in this projects nowadays and real succesful companies were born between this walls,

Design factory is a place where all assumptions are left outside, a place that will never be finnished, a place that grows, a place that inspire.

Everything there begins with the question: WHY NOT...?

Considering the future

Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
–Patagonia's Mission Statement

Patagonia is a company with an aim, with a dream,with a mission. They believe in what they do and they know that this is possible thanks to their people. Because at the end, it's all about relationships. And what can be better guarantee than a relationship with your jackets for a lifetime?

"Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete of the world"

-Nike

With a really strong way of working, every nike worker is committed to it´s 11 statements. The eight one is "do the right thing" because they believe in diversity, focussing in what bring us together in stead of what the things that makes us different.

"It's not only innovate, it's innovate for a better world, it's protect the planet."-Nike design eight statement.