At first, there was the shock of fitting six people with their massive back bags to a small, 2.5m*2m closet. Then, we spent the next 16 hours looking at each other in which time we adapted to the situation and started hiding our bags wherever our imagination let us.

The evening program included an informal school, which included personal presentations from and for all the travelers about some of the areas of their expertise.  I told them my horror stories (just kidding) about writing a PhD, that is, what kind of surprises and obstacles I was confronted with and how I survived them. Jaakko was talking about different forms of companies and how they differ from each other, whereas Mika shared his knowledge on cooperatives.

Alina’s presentation of the history of Romania functioned as the most inspiring and thought provoking start for our evening’s discussion. As everyone was so into the conversation, we even missed our last chance to go out to stretch our legs in the fresh air: a 20 minute stop somewhere in Germany, I guess. This is also a reason why we are still waiting for Julia’s Afrodance exercises while waiting on the platform 😀

Sleeping on the train was actually a pleasant experience. Not only because we had the possibility to sleep up until almost 11 a.m., but also because of the almost hypnotizing sounds of the rails. After interviewing some members of our group, I found out that I was not the only one who enjoyed it. Who could have seen this coming when entering our tiny three-layered travel shoebox for the first time 🙂

One night on a ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm and a day in a train through Sweden took us to Copenhagen. Dinner in a cosy hamburger café, then to a train again. Amsterdam, here we come!

Morning coffee while speeding through the Dutch countryside.

We all are going to Amsterdam with an idea of some kind – a dream. We want  to put our knowledge and skills into action that contributes to solving problems we see in contemporary and future world, whether they are cultural clashes, throwawayism, or hiding information behind dry jargon and unappealing presentation. After spending several years studying Polish language and culture and Eastern European Studies at the University of Helsinki, I have realised I have got to know many people with amazing amount of knowledge on these countries, their cultures and languages. What I would like to do is to build an active network which would organise a variety of activities that would increase awareness of Eastern European cultures and studies in Finland.

Together with the inspiring co-travellers I have already got fresh views that perhaps never would have come to my mind without letting other people to think about my idea. Could we tailor a personal mini guide for travellers going to explore Polish mountains, Sarajevo, or L’viv? Sure. Could we do background work for journalists, officials, or companies working on Eastern European issues? Why not. Our knowledge of the local languages and cultures could help them to access the information that is not available in other languages. Our contacts and knowledge of the societies can help find interviewees to share their experiences from a local point of view. These are just few of the thoughts the workshops and discussions on the road have evoked.

But this journey is not only about getting a list of tasks we could do. First and foremost it is a journey to transfer vague ponderings into clear ideas what my dream is about and how to give it a form that creates value to others and meaningful work to us. Tomorrow we are going to have a workshop given by experts in service design, the Design Thinkers, in Amsterdam. Let’s see what kind of shapes and colours my idea gets there!

Rohkea, luova ja aina valmiina seikkailuun!

Junatyöpajassa Tukholman ja Kööpenhaminan välissä kirkastimme yritysideoitamme pienissä ryhmissä.

Haluan perustaa orpokodin, luoda jotain omaa, tehdä uudenlaista asiantuntijatyötä…
Näitä ja monia muita haaveita ilmestyi ideakartalle, kun pohdimme ensimmäisessä työpajassa Silja Europan irrotessa Turun rannasta, millaisia ammattilaisia haluaisimme olla isona ja mikä meitä motivoi kehittämään omaa yritysideaamme.

Minä pohdin seuraavaa:

1. Vaihtoehto käpätykselle: Journalismi muuttuu vinhaa vauhtia. Kun hyväksyy, että muutos on pysyvää, voi alkaa luoda tulevaisuutta. Minä ja kaksi kollegaani haluamme tehdä töitä porukassa ja hyödyntää journalistista osaamistamme  perinteisen median lisäksi muilla tekstintuotantoareenoilla. Maailma on täynnä tietoa, joka voisi olla muotoiltu vetävämmin vaikka tarinoiksi ja infografiikoiksi.
2. Inspiroivat tyypit: Yhtiökumppani kannattaa valita niin, että niiden kanssa haluaa työskennellä väsyneenä, nälkäisenä ja pattitilanteessa. Minua on ajanut eteenpäin suuri palo työskennellä juuri yhtiökumppaneideni kanssa. Ideani lähtevät poikkeukselliseen lentoon heidän kanssaan – vapaapäivinäkin.
3. Matkasta nautinto: Jos urheilija ei näe tervettä päivää, yrittäjä tuskin näkee ongelmatonta hetkeä. Yritän opetella nauttimaan matkasta. Siitä, kun palapelin palaset löytävät pyörittelyn jälkeen toisensa. Yritys ei koskaan tule valmiiksi.

When I grow up I will be…?
Brave, creative and always ready for an adventure!
In the first workshop we talked about what what kind of work we want to do in the future.

Three factors motivate me especially:

1. An option for complaining: My two collegues and I want to create something new with our journalistic skills instead of complaining about the rapid change in the traditional media scene. We are interested in using the tools of feature journalism a new way in research and reporting context.
2. Inspiring collegues: I have been greatly inspired by my collegues. I am motivated to work with them even when I am tired, hungry and we are in a dead end.
3. Make a pleasure out of a journey: Pitching a business idea is full of tricky suprises. I try to learn to enjoy solving them.

Maria Ruuska, a sosiologist & journalist

Click on the image for Tieteestä Toimintaa Flickr!

 

It’s more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly – Isocrates

My journey to Amsterdam and Copenhagen did not start today; it started back in 2000, in Romania when I was teenager who had an odd desire of learning Finnish and dreamed of meeting her favourite bands.

My decision to join this project and to dare think about being an entrepreneur are the direct result of my long journey to Finland, an experience which has taught me a great deal about the effects of believing strongly in something. At the same time, the idea and desire to invest my energy into a start-up came from a series of events in Romania which showed that, for some, reaching a destination means cutting the journey short at any cost.

The Romanian summer of 2012 has been rocked by a series of political scandals but possibly the most telling has been centered around the PM’s plagiarized PhD. thesis. Other members of his cabinet could not escape similar accusations: copying scientific articles and inventing degrees they never rightfully obtained. But these errors were not as telling as the fact that, while in any civilized country, the respective politicians would have kissed their career good-bye, in Romania, the act of plagiarism was explained as a legitimate stepping stone to success. Plagiarism is rife in Romania and I have had the misfortune of experiencing it first hand. The main issue now is how to encourage young people to understand the moral bankruptcy that cheating represents and how it undermines almost every single institution in a society.

My idea is now plain a simple: to come up with a project that would deal with academic practices and moral standards. At this point, I don’t know what will come of this; I just want it to be a promise to myself that I try to do my best whether or I fail or not ; because I don’t like cutting trips short.