Leaving one’s comfort zone and active collaboration in teamwork with people from different cultures, countries and business fields were at the top of students’ minds as the project week was approaching its end.
– Here I have to speak English and I’m more confident now. No one judges you, and you get to test your own teamwork skills, said Luisa Helf from Germany, who studies business administration, and Julia Nowak from Poland, who studies accounting and controlling.
The students also enjoyed the opportunity to see authentic Finland and talk to local entrepreneurs and people. Cooperation with students from different fields opened up perspectives outside of their own field of study.
– We had a very good team dynamics and we discussed everything. The cooperation was smooth, said Francky Raminoson, who studies tourism and hospitality in Switzerland.
In addition to German and Polish participants, there were students from several nationalities: Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Greece, Mexico, Scotland, Spain and Finland.
Finding opportunities and answers are the core of the COEUR week
This year, the theme of the COEUR week was sustainable tourism. The students and teachers who acted as coaches for the project week worked at the Haaga-Helia Porvoo campus and visited various destinations in the nearby areas.
– COEUR started in 1996 when Matthias Eickhoff and I wondered why there are so many conferences for university staff, but not for students, said Andrew Turnbull from Robert Gordon University in Scotland, who has been a COEUR coach for 19 years.
Creativity and diversity are at the heart of COEUR. The foundation for creative ideas and solutions is laid when people from different cultural backgrounds and fields meet and work together. During the current ChatGPT era, one might get an answer to any question right away, but during the COEUR week, students were able to develop their own thinking without the fear of mistakes.
– The idea of COEUR has always been that we do not give answers, but we ask questions and give space for the development of one’s own thinking, said Matthias Eickhoff from Mainz University of Applied Sciences.
Like every year, the week in Porvoo culminated with the presentations of the student teams, when they presented their sustainable tourism ideas to the coaches and the influential jury with experience in sustainability and entrepreneurship.
