Iiris’s work at Erasmus+ FRAME project

My name is Iiris Ylinen and I am a bachelor student of forestry at the University of Helsinki. During the summer, I work at Viikki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI), where I am doing my internship. Within the Erasmus+ FRAME project, I have been working on different tasks. I have been checking and filling out time sheets for the project, as well as reading and summarizing feedback surveys for capacity building trainings. Since I am pursuing a career in research, it was interesting to see how university staff work in practice. What surprised me was how multidisciplinary the project is. The project deals with forestry and climate change, but the focus is surprisingly heavy on social sciences.

Reading and summarizing the various project reports proved quite difficult at first. The texts usually contain many acronyms that require prior knowledge. I have been working for a little over two months now and find that reading the reports no longer gives me as much trouble. I have also noticed that my English, which is not my first language, has improved. I have learned skills such as time management and effective communication. Working on the project has given me industry-specific knowledge that will be very useful to me in the future.

HEI ICI CLIDEV project organized “Academic Writing and Conference Presentation” training at Vietnam National University of Forestry, Hanoi

Pic: Training participants!

The Vietnam National University of Forestry (VNUF) in Hanoi hosted a 5-day intensive training of trainers (ToT) course on “Academic Writing and Conference Presentation in English” from 28 August to 1 September 2022, taught by Roy Siddall from the University of Helsinki Language Centre. This training was organised as part of the project “Strengthening Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development in Vietnam (CLIDEV)”, which is funded by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and coordinated by the Viikki Tropical Resources Institute, Dept. of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki.  The 18 participants were from VNUF and the other three Vietnamese partners in the project: Thai Nguyen University Of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF), the Institute of Resources and Environment – Hue University, and Tay Nguyen University (TNU).

The dual role of many of the participants as researchers and teachers in their home institutions was also strongly reflected in the course, which aimed not only to strengthen the communication skills of the participants but also to provide materials and activities for use in their teaching and supervision of students. Continue reading “HEI ICI CLIDEV project organized “Academic Writing and Conference Presentation” training at Vietnam National University of Forestry, Hanoi”