Lappia’s students Vee Wunderink and Viljami Seppälä participated together with Anu Rautiala, a sustainability expert from Lappia, in the Bridging Inclusion, Digitalisation and Sustainability (BIDS) project study course held in Truro, Canada, from May 21 to May 30, 2024. The sustainability study course, led by Nova Scotia Community College, brought together students and experts from vocational institutions in the Netherlands, Portugal, Denmark, Finland, and Canada.
Networking and new ideas
The study course covered topics such as sustainability, climate change, circular economy, advocacy, ecological forest management in the province of Nova Scotia, and the impact of the built environment on the carbon footprint. Besides getting to know Canadian culture, Seppälä was particularly impressed by the environmental impacts of building materials.
– Different countries use different building materials with varying environmental impacts. During the course, we learned to calculate and compare the carbon footprints of different building materials.
For Wunderink, who is aiming for studies in electromechanics, the course provided a new perspective on recycling from a professional standpoint.
– The course made me think of what can be recycled or reused. For example, recycling copper used as an electrical conductor is extremely important.
For Rautiala, the trip across the ocean brought new acquaintances, with whom future meetings related to sustainability have already been planned. According to her, the mandatory sustainability studies in Finnish vocational schools sparked a great deal of interest among the Canadians. She plans to utilize the insights gained from the study course in updating Lappia’s sustainability program.
– I gained new ideas from Canada on scheduling and planning sustainability measures. Lappia’s sustainability program includes nearly 70 actions, which we will break down into smaller units moving forward.
Bringing students together
According to Marja-Liisa Tyystälä, Lappia’s international coordinator, the project brings together students and experts who are eager to network, internationalize, and develop.
– International projects are very important for Lappia, as we have gained many new ideas for our activities and expanded our networks. It is delightful that our staff and students are interested in participating.
The goal of the BIDS project is to strengthen collaboration among project participants in developing internationalization strategies and to support staff and student mobility between Europe and Canada in vocational education. The upcoming study courses of the project will be held in Netherlands and in Finland.
