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The Student Council cuts the grants for societies to around 10,000 euros in 2020, only the smallest subject societies continue to receive funding

In Finnish In relation to the budget, the Student Union of the University of Oulu (OYY) decided in its meeting on 10 Dec 2019 to cut the grants for subject and interest societies in 2020. The Board of OYY presented two proposals to the Student Council: in the first proposal the grants for societies would […]

In English

TEKSTI Anni Hyypiö

In Finnish

In relation to the budget, the Student Union of the University of Oulu (OYY) decided in its meeting on 10 Dec 2019 to cut the grants for subject and interest societies in 2020.

The Board of OYY presented two proposals to the Student Council: in the first proposal the grants for societies would be 25,000 euros and in the other 17,750 euros in 2020. After voting, the meeting adopted the counterproposal by Lääketietellisen vaaliliiton edustajistoryhmä (“Medical Electoral Alliance”, LED) with grants of 10,600 euros for 2020.

In addition to the amount, also the recipients were limited: according to the proposal, only interdisciplinary societies that are open to all OYY’s members should receive funding. This includes the interest societies but not the subject societies. The subject societies that have less than hundred members are an exception. These small societies will be funded with 1,400 euros and the remaining 9,200 euros will be directed to the interest societies.

This year OYY has granted grants to societies with 17,736 euros, of which 10,070 euros were to subject societies and 7,665 euros to interest societies.

“In practice, OYY’s all income consists of membership fees. When every student in the university has to pay the fee, there should be sufficient grounds for using the money. At the moment this kind of funding isn’t beneficial to everyone, and large societies and certain faculties are relegated to the sidelines. Part of the reason is in the process and part in the interest to apply for funding – but the end result is skewed nevertheless,” Eelis Palokangas, member of LED, justifies their proposal.

Palokangas sees the grants as an unnecessary transfer payment from one student to another. He thinks that there are other ways for the subject societies to raise money: they can, for example, raise the membership fee or work harder on fund-raising.

“In the faculties that receive most of the grants (Faculties of Education, Humanities and Science), the grants are approximately 2 euros per student. We think that finding a substitute for that small amount isn’t impossible, especially for bigger subject societies. The smaller ones will certainly be affected. The societies that have less than hundred members would be guaranteed the same support as they have received this year,” Palokangas says.

Is the reason behind LED’s proposal that for example Oulun Lääketieteellinen Kilta (“The Medical Guild of Oulu”) has had too big turnover to apply for grant?

The criteria for the activity grants states that if the income and expenses are over 100,000 euros in total, the society will not primarily receive the grant. The criteria also states that this kind of society can, however, receive the grant if they give reasons for the need of financial assistance in their application.

“When you think about it, we have over 1,000 students in the Faculty of Medicine, and only a small percentage of the paid membership fees comes back to the Terveystieteiden kilta (“Health Science Guild”), it is seen as an unfair system. When we thought about this proposal, we came to the conclusion that the system is redundant,” Palokangas says.

Before the meeting, other council groups Interdisciplinary Election Circle (PoVa), the Green list and Tieteelliset (“Science students”) published a common position, where they declared to support the Board’s proposal to grant activity grants to the subject and interest societies in the future as well.

The position states that “viable student associations benefit the whole university community. For example, guilds organise student culture, events, services, and other things that help the students integrate into the university community. Together, OYY and the student guilds can promote students’ interest in a more effective way at the university and in the society.”

According to the undersigned groups, the counterproposal was presented to the Student Council in a rush and there hasn’t been enough time to appropriately consider its implications.

The discussion about the activity grants was lively in the Student Council meeting. The voting was tight.

The proposal 1 (25,000 euros) was defeated by 26 to 11 and the proposal 2 (17,750 euros) by one vote 19–18.

In the voting, LED themselves and Opiskelevat Kokoomusnuoret (“Coalition Party Students”) sided unanimously with LED’s proposal. Unanimously against the proposal were PoVa, the Green list, Tieteelliset and Keskustaopiskelijoiden ja sitoutumattomien vaaliliitto (“The Centre Party Students and the Independents”). Members of Tekniikan ja Talouden vaalirengas (“The Election Circle of Technology and Economy Students”, TeTa) were divided: some sided with LED’s proposal while others were against it.

After the Board’s proposals had been rejected, there was a vote on LED’s proposal (10,600 euros), where the votes were 20–17 in favor of the proposal.

The Student Council members Aino-Kaisa Manninen (Green list), Roosa Heinonen (PoVa), Bruno Gioia Sandler (PoVa), Timi Kärki (PoVa), Salla Karhunen (PoVa) and Jarkko Impola (PoVa) expressed a dissenting opinion.

The amount of grants to societies is decided annually in relation to the budget. The amount has varied along the years: for example, in 2016, the societies received 23,497 euros in total, in 2017 14,874 euros and in 2018 16,969 euros. Starting from 2018, OYY has granted all grants as activity grants and not separately as project grants or special grants.

Translation: Essi Ranta

Julkaistu 13.12.20191.2.2023

Anni Hyypiö

Oulun ylioppilaslehden entinen päätoimittaja. Twitter: @AnniHyypio

Lue lisää:

Hi, 5 ways to spice up your Christmas

Whether you celebrate Christmas, a different holiday, or not at all, the December holiday season is imminent. This is a great time to reflect on the year that has passed and to get together with your family and friends. However, as the times change, so do traditions. For many, the classical tree decorating and gift wrapping may not be as appealing as it used to be. As you look for new ways to celebrate, may you find inspiration in the following 5 ways to spice up your December holidays.

In English

TEKSTI Marcelo Goldmann

Ignore the holidays and just chill out

This may be the least exciting prospect from the list, but not any less important. If you have had a rough year, it is sometimes good to take advantage of the holidays to take care of yourself. Treat yourself to the foods you like the most, visit a spa, go for long walks, watch all those series you’ve been meaning to but hadn’t had the time. The important thing is to take it easy and do what feels right. After all, you’re doing it for you.

Casserole gathering

If you are a foreigner and know foreigners that will be in Finland away from their families during the holidays, you can get together and make typical food of your countries. That way you not only combat the loneliness of the holidays in a foreign country, but also get to try new food. I myself have participated in these gatherings and I can wholly recommend them. It is exciting to have people from other cultures try some typical food from your own country and experience their reactions. It doesn’t have to be a three-course meal; a simple taste of home will suffice. When I joined such a gathering, I made simple quesadillas and a “hot” (mild) sauce and I received no complaints. It also doesn’t necessarily have to be typical food from your home, but just something that you like and want to share.

Photo booth

Halloween is long gone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dress up for the holidays. One addition to your gathering could be a makeshift “photo booth”, which is nothing more than a space where you and your friends can take fun pictures with each other to commemorate the occasion. You can make an activity out of making props or costumes with cardboard, colours, wooden sticks, and yarn. This will let your inner children shine. You can have a contest where the most creative props win some prizes.

Whamageddon

This challenge has already become a tradition in student circles. The idea is that you have to survive until the midnight of 24th of December without hearing the ultimate Christmas classic Last Christmas by Wham!. Naturally, there is no formal verification of who has been Whammed. You will have to rely on the code of honor. If you want to up the ante, you can try to trick each other into clicking a Youtube video with the song, but I wouldn’t recommend putting your friendship to the test like this.

Escape the holidays and go traveling

If celebrating the holidays is definitely not your thing and you want to escape the holiday cheer, you could travel to a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas. You could for example have a shopping and skiing holiday in China, go hiking in Mongolia, or visit monuments in Egypt.

Julkaistu 12.12.20191.2.2023

Marcelo Goldmann

A Doctor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Oulu. "Life is like a rubber duckie, you gotta keep it afloat to see its splendor." Instagram: @marcelogman

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Hi, 5 reasons why exercising is good for your student life

For many people, exercise is an intrinsic part of their lives. But if you are like the author, then you have found exercise to be little more than a chore at some point or another. While it is true that exercise takes time that could be used for other hobbies, there are many legitimately good reasons why exercising frequently is not only good for your long-term quality of life, but also for your student life. Hopefully these next 5 reasons will motivate you to go to the gym, go jogging, or do some sports.

In English

TEKSTI Marcelo Goldmann

It makes you feel good during the dark months

Kaamos or Polar Night is the period of darkness when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon. In the very north of Finland, such as the city of Nuorgam, this occurs for about two months between December and January. As you go further south, this decreases to just 4 days in Sodankylä. In Oulu, you will not experience true kaamos, but you can expect daylight as short as 3 and a half hours around December. This can affect people’s minds negatively, increasing feelings of sadness or anxiety. One way to combat this is through exercise. It is known that exercise increases the release of “feel-good” chemicals in your body (such as endorphins), while at the same time decreases the release of stress chemicals (such as cortisol).

It improves your self-esteem

It is no secret that exercise can improve our outward appearance. However, looks aren’t everything. Although self-esteem has an undeniable visual component, the author believes that a more important component is our overall physical strength. No matter which exercise you choose, your strength and stamina will increase through repeated training. This progress will undoubtedly make you feel like you’re turning into a better version of yourself. It is important that you don’t compare yourself to others in this matter. We all progress at different rates, and sometimes the progress can be slow. But the progress is real and will improve your self-image, not only outwardly, but also inwardly.

It may help you with your grades

Physical exercise may be benefiting more than just your body. Our brains and bodies are not isolated machines, they communicate with each other and relate to each other. Studies have shown that students that participated in fitness activities achieved higher grades that those who didn’t. This doesn’t mean that you can slack off on studying. However, exercise can reduce your stress and increase your focus, which will surely help you study better. Additionally, exercise can lead to better sleep. As a consequence your studying will be more effective, as good sleep is linked to better retention of information in your memory.

It promotes better social interactions

University is not only about studying. Making good and meaningful connections are a significant part of a healthy university life. Additionally, the networks you create become more valuable when you enter your professional life, as they can provide support and advice. One way to strengthen friendships and relationships is by participating in training or sports together. By training with a partner, not only will you be sources of motivation for each other, but also have the chance to bond. Research suggests that team sports can lead to better interactions by the social nature of the activity, while individual training can also improve sociability as a consequence of improved mental health.

It strengthens your immune system

Nobody likes being sick. In the best case scenario, it’s a week of pain and misery. In worse scenarios you end up staying home and missing out on lectures and social events. However, besides dressing warm and having good hygiene, exercise can help you fend off those pesky colds and flus. When you include moderate exercise in your regular routine, your immune system is stronger. Some other reasons may be the increase in body temperature which fights bacteria, the flushing out of bacteria from the lungs and airways, and the decrease in stress hormones. However, if you’re already fighting a cold, perhaps it’s better to first deal with that before starting or continuing your training routine.

Julkaistu 4.12.20191.2.2023

Marcelo Goldmann

A Doctor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Oulu. "Life is like a rubber duckie, you gotta keep it afloat to see its splendor." Instagram: @marcelogman

Lue lisää:

“The difficulty comes when you get a crazy long word” – Even though it will take time, these students know that learning Finnish is possible

Whether you are a Finnish citizen yourself or just a student in the Nordic coldness, you are probably familiar with two of the most common reactions from foreigners: “Oh Finland, is the schooling system really so amazing?” and “Oh Finland, is the language really so difficult?” We discuss with lecturer Anne Koskela and three students from the University of Oulu, whether Finnish truly is as challenging as it is often portrayed.

In English

TEKSTI Filip Polák

KUVAT Anni Hyypiö

In Finnish

Amaya Garcia Márquez is currently in Oulu for an exchange period from Spain. She says she came to have a new Finnish experience. She has already lived in Finland for approximately 10 months altogether and holds a B2 language certificate. In 2015, in her last year of high school, she was offered a scholarship and asked to put in order countries she would like to go for an exchange to by preference. She listed Finland as her number one, leaving the second place to South Africa.

“It was a feeling of connection, even though I did not know much about Finland. I arrived on the 21st of August [in 2015] without speaking a single word and school started on the 23rd of August completely in Finnish.”

Offering a view from a different learning level, a student who has recently made the first step and started studying the language is Alexander Csepregi. He is from a geographically distant yet linguistically rather close Hungary and currently coaches basketball and studies at our university.

As he says, he is new to the country and to the language, currently being able to use simple phrases and introduce himself in Finnish. He mentions that Hungarians see Finns as their distant brothers living in the cold, yet he doesn’t consider the language similar sounding.

“A friend of mine from Hungary bought a house way up north and he has met some Sami people and heard them speak. He told me he felt like he was listening to Hungarian, except he could not understand, which was apparently a strange experience. On the other hand, he agreed with me that Finnish doesn’t sound like Hungarian to us at all.”

Waldo Seppä offers yet another distinct perspective on the topic of Finnish learning. Introducing himself as “German speaking South African with a Finnish father” might suggest why that is. Waldo Seppä mentions that his level of fluency truly depends on the period of his life we are discussing about, since his life in Finland and moving in and out of the country

“In South Africa I’m always the ‘Finn’, and in Finland I’m always the ‘South African’. My relationship with Finnish has always been up and down. Apparently, my dad even used to speak to me in Finnish when I was very young, yet I don’t remember this.”

For us to better understand what the Finnish language classroom looks like from the other side of the teacher’s table, we turned to university lecturer Anne Koskela for a few questions. She isn’t a new name to neither Finns nor students from abroad, since she teaches the Finnish language both as a native and as a second language.

After graduating from the University of Oulu, Anne Koskela gained her first experience with teaching Finnish as a second language to adult refugees. Afterwards, she taught foreigners in general, in a course preparing them for a professional life in Finland. Later, she found her way into teaching at the university as well and is still on that path.

Is Finnish really that difficult? Yes and no

“Of course, we, the Finnish teachers, don’t want to say Finnish is hard,” Anne Koskela says.

According to her, seeing Finnish as different rather than difficult is a better approach. The language is indeed not part of the Indo-European group, which is unusual for Europe. While she mentions that learners from Hungary may have a slight advantage with understanding the language structures, the favor is still rather small and the speakers may still struggle in other aspects. Additionally, coming from a language differentiating short and long sounds may help as well.

However, where Anne Koskela sees the biggest advantage is having a learning experience.

“I think it is also a question of learning strategies and learning itself. If you already have experience with language learning and have studied other foreign languages before, it makes it easier to learn Finnish as well.”

“The difference between spoken and written language plays a big role in what makes it difficult.”

Alexander Csepregi confirms the previous ideas by mentioning that the Finnish language logic is not strange to him as a Hungarian, and he indeed finds the separate sounds similar, which he considers an advantage. Being an agglutinative language, also Hungarian is capable of building unusually long words via affixes. He mentions that occasionally he translates his Finnish materials to Hungarian rather than English, since it makes more sense.

However, with vocabulary his background brings him only a minimal advantage. Additionally, Alexander Csepregi finds another aspect of Finnish troublesome.

“The difference between spoken and written language plays a big role in what makes it difficult. Sometimes my colleagues, other basketball teachers, text each other, and not even Google translate recognizes the sentences they write.”

Similarly, Waldo Seppä looked at both sides of the coin of his learning process.

On one hand, he appreciates the straightforwardness of Finnish. He compares it to English and French, where a learner has to memorize the use of prepositions in various cases, while in Finnish one can quickly start logically building the words together. However, that also brings challenges.

“The difficulty comes when you get a crazy long word, and you are just… clueless. What is also hard is when you start getting into very complex grammar. But that part, the advanced grammar, is what makes Finnish so difficult, and people tend to focus on that.”

While he mentions that he doesn’t see this advanced grammar as crucial for getting fluent, he understandingly concludes that he can see why people would call Finnish a hard language.

According to Anne Koskela, it’s better to see Finnish as different rather than difficult — According to lecturer Anne Koskela, it’s better to see Finnish as different rather than difficult.

Courses as a platform to speak

Amaya Garcia Márquez surprises many people with her level of fluency after a short time in Finland, however, she can definitely remember and see the strenuous side of the language as well. She speaks English, French, Finnish, and Spanish and mentions that Finnish is very distant from the other three. Especially in the beginning she found the learning as demotivating.

“I had moments when I felt frustrated with myself for not being able to learn Finnish, and I thought I would never speak it. That was the hardest part, the mental side, the frustration,” she says.

Amaya Garcia Márquez points out she has learned most of what she currently knows by using the language. However, when her peers during her high school exchange year had Finnish classes, she had sessions with a Finnish teacher. Besides getting learning recommendations, she considers the biggest advantage being the fact that the teacher would never switch to English and continued talking to her in her target language. In time, she picked up more and more vocabulary that she started trying to put into sentences. She mentions that she never studied grammar per se, and therefore usually recognizes instinctively whether a sentence sounds correct or not.

“That was the hardest part, the mental side, the frustration.”

On her road from a beginner to being mistaken for a person from Turku, Amaya Garcia Márquez was driven by her motivation.

“I wanted to learn. I wanted to belong to the place. All my friends would talk Finnish during lunch, and even though they talked to me in English, I wanted to have the feeling of understanding the world around me.”

Waldo Seppä, who has attended several Finnish courses in the past, currently attends the “Opettajaksi Suomeen” course at our university. However, what he considers the main advantage is the opportunity to speak and practice, since he often found himself gravitating towards the English speaking circles while in Finland.

“Courses really provide an opportunity, where you are really speaking Finnish, and you have a person that is always there to help you. Also, after my first two years in Finland, I found myself being professional at answering questions about where I am from and introducing myself. In a Finnish course you always get the chance to speak about different topics as well.”

“However, knowing friends that have learnt Finnish, I know it is possible and extremely fulfilling.”

Seppä is not the only one who sees the Finnish courses as a positive experience. Alexander Csepregi happily concludes he recently finished the “Survival Finnish” course offered at our university. He is currently taking “Beginner’s Finnish” and mentions it is mostly in official Finnish, and sometimes the puhekieli versions of words are mentioned. The spoken language is, in fact, what he considers the biggest learning challenge. What he appreciates about the courses is the foundations they offer him.

Alexander Csepregi says his plan is to keep taking courses until he fails a final exam from one of them. While he is currently not sure how far that will get him, being in first year of his English bachelor’s program in Oulu, he dreams of high goals.

“It would be incredible to learn it [Finnish] fluently. I have Finnish friends, and if I would just show up and speak it, their jaws would drop. I would love to impress them like that,” Alexander Csepregi says, and adds that “if you want to learn a language just to add it to your resume, pick a different one. However, knowing friends that have learnt Finnish, I know it is possible and extremely fulfilling.”

Anne Koskela has a unique insight into learning the language, as both native and foreign. She mentions that the two categories of learning are not completely different. In the beginning, the foreign learners obviously focus on snowballing vocabulary, with time they start to practice topics similar to the ones offered in the Finnish language courses for natives studying for their master’s programs.

“In the conversation course, there are speaking exercises in different situations, for example, in working life. In other courses, we also write academic writing with the students. Both of those we practice with Finnish students as well.”

With Finnish being depicted as a difficult language, hearing that the Finnish students practice similar things in the compulsory communication courses may be motivating for foreigners who are learning Finnish.

Getting over the fear

Waldo Seppä, being further down the road of cracking the code of the Finnish language, has an additional advice as well.

“I can not stress this enough: learn vocabulary. Start talking like a three-year-old. You think you sound stupid, but that is how you learn. The more words you know, the more you can follow the conversation around you, and if you don’t know a word, write it down. Finally, don’t be afraid to speak. You’re going to make mistakes a lot and you know that is okay,” he explains and gives an example: “if someone is trying to learn your native language, and they speak it to you, you don’t care if they sound odd. People need to get over the fear of making mistakes. A three-year-old often makes mistakes too, but they will learn the language faster because they don’t care. Just practice.”

“Just go ahead and try. Even though in some moments you will feel down because you don’t understand, and a single word has 6 different meanings, and you feel like you can never learn the language. But you do not need a complete proficiency to speak and understand. Just go for it, it is not impossible, and it connects you with the culture, and people here feel happy and proud when you speak the language,” Amaya Garcia Márquez says.

All interviewed students agree on the fact that getting to speak the language is a massive advantage of each course.

Anne Koskela also agrees with the point and encourages the students to not be afraid of mistakes, and to not be afraid of speaking to Finns. Additionally, she shares a message for the natives as well.

Similarly to getting to speak in the courses, the natives can help their peers improve their skills simply by speaking with them.

“It is important from our side, that we do not switch immediately to English when we see they are just learning. Sometimes we want to be polite and switch to English, and maybe even because we want to practice our English skills with foreigners. I understand it is easier to operate in English in some situations, but it could be a decision that you could talk together for 5 or 10 minutes during lunch break in Finnish.”

Julkaistu 29.11.20191.2.2023

Filip Polák

A Slovak from a tiny village near the Hungarian borders who studies in the Intercultural Teacher Education programme here in Oulu. He is working on improving his Finnish, hoping to one day obtain a C2 certificate. In his free time he likes to put his thoughts down on paper or screen.

Lue lisää:

Linnanmaa campus is getting older and costs are increasing, university rethinking the premises: “No team orders for Oulu UAS”

The Board of Directors of the University of Oulu will decide next week if it begins a property strategy analysis. The review has three options: maintaining the current building stock, partial demolition and reconstruction at the current campuses, and new construction near the city centre of Oulu. The analysis evaluates the financial, functional, and societal impacts of the different options. Especially the third option has raised discussion: would the University really move from Linnanmaa?

In English

TEKSTI Anni Hyypiö

KUVAT Marko Heikkinen

In Finnish

The Board of Directors of the University of Oulu will decide next week if it begins a property strategy analysis.

The aim of the analysis is to find “financially sustainable, long-term university property solutions that support the university’s operations.”

The analysis has three options: maintaining the current building stock, partial demolition and reconstruction of the current buildings on the current campuses, and new construction near the city centre of Oulu. The analysis evaluates financial, functional and societal impacts of all the alternatives.

Especially the third option has raised discussion: would the University really move from Linnanmaa?

The campus is getting older, costs are increasing

The bulletin by the University and an article in the newspaper Kaleva that broke the story state that the primary reason for the proposed analysis is the high cost of rent the University is paying for the properties.

According to the bulletin, property costs are the second largest expense item for the University, after personnel costs.

The announcement also says that based on preliminary findings, “the rent level of the renovated Linnanmaa premises may be higher than the market rent of corresponding premises in the area.” Therefore, new construction might be a more financially viable option. The University also thinks that new construction would improve the energy efficiency of the premises and sustainable use of resources. The University premises at both Linnanmaa and Kontinkangas campuses are owned by University Properties of Finland Ltd (Suomen Yliopistokiinteistöt oy, SYK).

Rector Jouko Niinimäki is proposing starting the evaluation. He says that the individual increments of rental prices by SYK are not the reason for the proposed analysis.

“Rents are always going up, that is not the direct reason for the analysis, but rather the general direction we know the rents will be heading towards. Now we have renovated plenty of spaces, and from experience we can tell how the rental prices are going to behave. So, we have not had any notification from SYK, rather this is a solution that has grown over time”, says Niinimäki in our interview.

The Chief Financial Officer of the University Pekka Riuttanen says that the University pays around 26 million euros annually in rental costs for the premises. Roughly 17 million is from the Linnanmaa campus.

“As a whole, the number of spaces we have has decreased radically over the years. Scaling down the premises has been a way for the University to keep the property costs acceptable. At the moment, we feel like we cannot downscale more, and the costs for the premises will only increase.”

According to Riuttanen, one of the main reasons for the increase in property cost is due to Linnanmaa being an old campus, and there are plenty of areas that need renovation in the future.

“The increase in property costs is money away from research and education. That is something we do not want, quite the opposite: we want to invest into research and education.”

Sanna Sianoja, the CEO of the University Properties of Finland, says that the company takes the feedback from the University of Oulu seriously.

“The principle is that we offer affordable spaces for the University. We want to be involved in developing things forward with the University, and in thinking how we can resolve this situation. It is not in our interest to offer overpriced spaces.”

Is the rent level for the spaces in Linnanmaa higher than the market price for the area, as the bulletin says?

According to Sianoja, there is not a clear answer to the question.

“Of course, I have heard the message and received the feedback. I cannot say without a doubt one way or the other. The largest thing is that if a thing such as this is brought forward, we want to investigate the causes. We want to serve our customer as well as possible.”

SYK owns, builds, and develops building stock for higher education institutes outside the capital region of Finland. The company is co-owned by nine universities outside the Helsinki area along with the State of Finland. The University of Oulu has a 10.41 % share of ownership.

Two years ago, YLE published an article regarding the property costs. Even back then Niinimäki noted that he believed the property costs for the University were “higher than the market rent in the surrounding area.” According to the article, both the Chief Financial Officers of the University of Vaasa and the LUT University also thought that the rents charged by SYK are high.

Has there been feedback about the property costs from other universities?

“It is hard to say. Naturally, we have discussions with the organisations who rent our spaces regarding the rental costs and how they compare to the surrounding areas. Of course, we understand that for the user the space is an expense, and that provokes discussion,” Sianoja says.

Time to pack things again?

The Chair of the Board of the Student Union of the University of Oulu (OYY) Miriam Putula says that the Student Union is observing the situation.

“This [proposal by the rector] is a good starter for conversations, and I hope students are involved in it as well. As a student, I want the solutions to benefit the students. If the prices by SYK are too high and we cannot have enough resources for research and education, something must change. The University cannot spend too much money on the properties.”

Putula says that the Student Union has met with student representatives in charge of educational affairs from the umbrella guilds of the University. According to her, the news about the possible changes has caused some concerns.

“Are we going to have to move again? As everything has been concentrated to Linnanmaa, what would happen to the housing, cycling, and bus lines in the area? Would this proposed move stop all the development in the area?”

Did the proposal by the University come as a surprise for the Student Union?

“There has been speculation for a long time, as there have been discussion on the high level on property costs, and that they affect the basic functions of the faculties. But the proposal for the analysis itself was a surprise. I had to do a double take as I picked up the newspaper Kaleva in the morning.”

Talks of co-operation at Kontinkangas

The analysis mentions possibilities for renovating both the campus at Linnanmaa and Kontinkangas, partial demolition and rebuilding of the current building stock, and building something new at a new location near the city centre of Oulu.

Even though the relocation would go forward, Niinimäki says the move would not concern the Kontinkangas campus. “It is natural for the campus to be at Kontinkangas, it would not be relocated.”

But does the University aim to have a shared higher education institute campus at Kontinkangas as well?

The University has two faculties at Kontinkangas (Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine as well as the Faculty of Medicine) while the Oulu University of Applied Sciences has social and health care education at Kiviharjuntie. Oulu UAS and the University are already collaborating in Dentopolis that was opened in September 2017, as the dentist students of the University and the dental hygienist students of Oulu UAS are working together there.

“In a way, we already are on a common campus, as the area is large, and it has the University, Oulu UAS, and the hospital. But we need to think about their locations in relation to one another,” says Niinimäki.

“At Kontinkangas, [the main building of the Faculty of Medicine] Kieppi and Dentopolis represent new and high-quality building stock. But for example, the premises of Tellus Kontinkangas and the Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine are starting to approach the end of their lifecycle. Some decisions need to be made about them,” Niinimäki muses.

Jouko Paaso, the Rector of the Oulu University of Applied Sciences, notes that the collaboration between the higher education institutes at Kontinkangas has been discussed already. “Yes, it has been brought forward, as we are part of the same concern, a functional co-operation would be natural. Preliminary discussions have been had, now we are continuing those and thinking if shared premises would be a good solution.”

Paaso emphasises that no concrete plans have been made yet.

“The number of students in the area is large, we have more than 2,000 social and health care students there. One cannot do this in a jiffy, but we must ponder what areas could we co-operate on.”

“Oulu UAS would not be left alone”

What would be the role of the Oulu University of Applied Sciences in the possible change?

Oulu UAS decided on relocation to the Linnanmaa campus in October 2016. The campuses from Teuvo Pakkala and Kotkantie are moving to the Linnamaa campus during the year 2020.

The University of Oulu owns a majority of the stock of Oulu UAS, and the two higher education institutes belong to the same concern. At the moment, the institutes are planning how to organise shared services. Rector Jouko Niinimäki is also the Chair of the Board of Oulu UAS.

According to Jouko Niinimäki, the management of the University of Applied Sciences has been made aware of the discussions held last week. The Board of Oulu UAS was sent a bulletin yesterday, and the staff has been notified today on intranet.

“Of course, Oulu UAS would not be left alone. If we decide on relocation, the University of Applied Sciences would be included in the plans from the very beginning. Oulu UAS is an independent entity that will make its own decisions. We will place no team orders for Oulu UAS.”

“The question is about extremely long-term things, basically a strategy for the next 20 years. For sure, the first movements of it would start rather soon. The possible relocation of Oulu UAS would happen near the end of this strategic period.”

Jouko Paaso, the Rector of the Oulu University of Applied Sciences, says that Oulu UAS has no need to renegotiate the rental costs. Oulu UAS has a twenty-year rental agreement on properties at Linnanmaa.

“At the end of 2017, we made a rental agreement that included renovations according to our needs. Back then and during the tendering process we had negotiations, and we think we reached a reasonable price which we though matched the general prices in the Linnanmaa area. There has not been a need to reopen the discussions [on rental prices].”

“Though I do understand that as the University has renovated spaces, the increase in rental costs has been seen as too high. From the perspective of someone who organises the education, this is a difficult task as the resources should be aimed at something else than the increasing property costs.”

According to Paaso, the Oulu UAS staff has been informed that the relocation to Linnanmaa proceeds as planned. The property strategy analysis can have an impact on Oulu UAS premises, but only in the long term.

What would be left if the University leaves?

In preparation for the relocation of Oulu UAS there has been a great deal of improvements in the Linnanmaa area. In preparation for the increased amount of people and traffic in the area, public transportation, cycling routes, and student housing have all been improved. In addition to improvements in cycling routes and bus lines, the brand of the campus area has also been developed. In August, the Board of the City of Oulu accepted an overall framework of the area that acts as an unofficial and guiding document between a master plan and street plan of the area.

What effect would the possible relocation of the University have on Linnanmaa?

According to Jouko Niinimäki, the area would maintain its importance: the area is relatively close to the city centre, it has good traffic connections, and the Technopolis Science Park is next to it. He reminds that if the decision to relocate happens, it will be done gradually.

“If the change were to occur, other activity would take our place, and this activity would support the employment in the area,” Niinimäki says.

“The city decides which direction they want to develop the area. A lengthy timeframe guarantees that the area would have positive new functions.”

The University of Oulu has had “preliminary discussions” with the City of Oulu, says Jouko Niinimäki.

“We have been involved with people from planning, especially [Director of Urban and Environmental Services] Matti Matinheikki, Mayor Päivi Laajala, and the Chair of City Board Kyösti Oikarinen. The end result has been that the plan is worth investigating.”

Why was the information put out now? Jouko Niinimäki says the Board of Directors of the University has had “free-form discussions” on the matter previously.

“The issue came naturally on the agenda, there is no special reason why it popped up just now. As the agenda for the next board meeting goes public today, we want to inform people ourselves, and also to control rumours.”

Jouko Niinimäki says that there have not been any decisions made on who would pay for the possible new construction. “We are not that far yet; we have not even decided are we building something new or not.”

“But if one has to speculate, I would guess that we would partly take a loan, and partly use our own money for the construction.”

The Linnanmaa campus has also had its share of moves within the University. Within a few years the architecture students moved from the city centre to Linnanmaa, and the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Education relocated inside the campus building.

Do the rental agreements enable moving away from Linnanmaa?

“Naturally we aim that we stay put until the rental agreements are up”, says Niinimäki. According to him, the campus has a wide variety of rental agreements in place: some could be discontinued immediately, some have a rental period of a few years, and some are rather long.

“We have looked both at the map and the rental agreements, and the proposed move would be feasible. On the financial side, we have also made some rough calculations. All three options are economically viable, none of them are impossible or just wishy-washiness.”

The Board of Directors of the University of Oulu will discuss starting the property strategy analysis in their meeting on the 20th of November.

It has been 60 years since the first opening ceremony of the University of Oulu. The University did not have a one shared space during the initial years. The proposed location of the campus had plenty of options, from Sanginsuu to Virpiniemi, and even near the city centre in the region of Hupisaaret. The construction of the Linnanmaa campus began in the early 1970s, and continued all the way into the 2000s, when the Tietotalo segment near the administrational wing was completed.

Translation: Kalle Parviainen

Julkaistu 15.11.20191.2.2023

Anni Hyypiö

Oulun ylioppilaslehden entinen päätoimittaja. Twitter: @AnniHyypio

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“Could your classmates translate this for you?” – The beauty and pain of multilingualism at the University of Oulu

University of Oulu has about 1,900 students every year who use English as their primary studying language. This includes exchange students, international degree students and postgraduate students. But how well does the University meet the needs of its English speaking students? Anca M. Catana discusses the issue.

In English

TEKSTI Anca M. Catana

‘Could your classmates translate this for you?’

I don’t know how often you heard this statement from lecturers during your studies at the University of Oulu, but during my 3 years of studying the Intercultural Teacher Education (ITE) programme I heard it, a lot!

Short answer: no, they can’t. And that is not because they don’t possess the skills. Most of them do.

But is it really their job to do that? Are they rewarded for it somehow? Or are they eventually losing more than gaining by doing this?

Let’s start with the first question: Is it really my classmates’ job to translate the lesson content or the instructions of the assignments to us? If we think about professional interpreters, they usually have studies in the field and their earning starts from 40 euros per hour.

Do my classmates have the same level of education? Not really. Are they receiving any financial reward near that? Nope.

Actually, the amount of information that reaches everyone in this manner is problematic. The ‘helpful classmate’ will probably lose a good share of the lecture. And the part that is finally reaching us is probably less than half.

The result is a lose-lose situation for everybody: our classmates, us and the teachers who don’t get to do their job as well as they would like to.

How much is the teachers’ responsibility?

I occasionally hear fellow international students complain about teachers and teaching. Of course it is tempting to blame those whose job is to make sure that their classes are accessible and inclusive.

On the other hand, based on my experience, teachers often blame the limited number of contact lessons, the cutting of the funds or the general decisions made at a higher level for the difficulties encountered by the foreign students.

From my perspective, in the Faculty of Education at least, teachers face different challenges. Based on those, they could be divided into three categories: the ones teaching exclusively in Finnish, the ones teaching exclusively in English and the ones teaching both in Finnish and English.

The first two categories are probably doing fine most of the time. Teachers prepare the content of the lesson in one language and deliver it as many times as necessary. What occasionally happens is that the non-Finnish speaking students have to take part in the Finnish-taught classes or the other way around. The most common reason is that they missed the lesson conducted in English/Finnish and now they have to make up for it. Both Finnish-speaking and English-speaking students seem to suffer in this situation and extra support is offered only sometimes.

The third category of teachers is probably more challenged due to the fact that besides preparing the material in one language, the teacher has to prepare it once more in a second language. Is that the same amount of work as for teachers in categories one and two? Nope, I’d say it’s at least double the work. Are teachers rewarded enough for all the extra effort? Probably not, considering their commitment shown during the lessons.

In the Faculty of Education alone, there are some 45 international students admitted annually to the Masters and ITE programmes and the number is doubled by the number of exchange students.

The situation affects the international students in different ways. For example, I’ve noticed that some of the teachers who conduct their lessons both in English and Finnish seem to be less motivated or less resourceful when teaching the English version. Moreover summer courses are scarce (only two of them are held in English), optional courses are rarely offered in English, and for the ITE students it’s a challenge to find a Minor Subject. Under these circumstances, the option of joining a class taught in Finnish comes at hand. The teachers will most likely welcome you. But even if they are well intended, they frequently lack the instruments needed to save you from drowning.

Are there any solutions?

One easy way to solve the language problem would include not having any international students without Finnish skills, at all.

However, we’re still aiming for an international, multilingual, multicultural, inclusive university, right? Not to forget the tuition fees that range from 10,000 to 13,000 euros.

If we’re really aiming for an international university, these positive expressions should be acted upon, not just left to decorate university’s web site and posters.

Going back to ‘Can your classmates translate this for you?’, even though the way it happens today doesn’t really work, the basic idea could still be used in another form.

What about inviting students from the English philology programme, or any other students who feel up to the task, to act as semi-professional interpreters, but in a more organised and rewarding way? It would be essential that the students in question are not registered to that respective course, so they don’t have to learn the content they need to translate. They should also be rewarded somehow, either by credits or by payment.

Teachers could help by handing out a summary of the lesson to the interpreter before the actual lesson, or they could simply speak at a slower pace.

Here’s couple of other ways in which the teachers can help their non-Finnish speaking students catch up with what is happening. They can write clearly and explicitly in English what the assignments to that course are and how it is assessed, because in the end that is what hurts us the most. Even making a list with key-terms in English and Finnish might be a useful tool for teachers, Finnish and non-Finnish students alike.

Regarding the teachers, I’d say one of the major things is that they need more support in delivering their lessons to their non-Finnish speaking students. It’s not only my personal opinion, but what other fellow non-Finnish students I encountered suggest.

Supporting the development of staff’s English skills is a long-term investment from which everyone will benefit.

Secondly, there should be reward for those lecturers who do extra work when having English-speaking students in the Finnish-taught classes, or who teach in two or more languages, even if the lesson content is the same.

I still remember the situation I witnessed during my very first weeks of studies at this University. An exchange student ran out of the class crying, because the class was taught completely in Finnish. She was supposed to take it as part of her study agreement, and the class was supposed to be designed for international students.

What I truly believe is that with the right effort, time and financial investment and a bit of courage and interest situations like that could be avoided in the future.

Then the University of Oulu could indeed become ‘a model of multiculturalism’ as the Rector Jouko Niinimäki wrote on his blog on March 1st 2019.

This story was originally published on Oulu Student Magazine’s second print issue of the year, on 11th of April 2019.

Julkaistu 8.11.20191.2.2023

Anca M. Catana

Education student, theater enthusiast, nature lover. Curious, spontaneous and ambitious, open for new challenges.