3 May – 16 May 2015 Tallinn – Helsinki – Turku

3 May – 16 May 2015

Symposium 4 March 2015 Radboud University Nijmegen

14:00-14:10 Opening Jeroen van de Wiel 14:10-14:30 Finland: History and international Franziska Schwarz relationships 14:30-14:50 Universities and industries Birthe Lagendijk 14:50-15:10 Estonia: History and international Peter Betlem relationships 15:10-15:30 Break 15:30-15:50 The education system of Finland Chantal Palmen and Estonia 15:50-16:10 Studying in Finland Arianne Breure 16:10-16:30 Description of Chemistry and Rosa Stolper Molecular Life Sciences in Finland and Estonia 16:30-16:50 Program Britta Helwig Chris Prüfert 16:50-17:00 Closure Jeroen van de Wiel 17:00-18:00 Drinks

Franziska Schwarz

Finland is a country in Northern Europe with Russia as Eastern neighbor and Sweden in the West. It is the only member of the EU sharing a 1300km border with Russia. This has influenced the country’s history and the many wars its neighbors Sweden and Russia led, have been carried out on its territory. Finland has been under foreign sovereignty for 767 years until its independence in 1917. Important Russian buildings can be found in the Finnish capital Helsinki and the oldest universities of the country can be traced back to the Swedish governors. Those were founded in Turku and the oldest one has been transferred to Helsinki by the Russian rulers. Helsinki therefore has profited from the Russian government, being announced capital due to its proximity to St. Petersburg. Although, Russia stays an important economical partner, the government of Finland orientates more towards Western Europe to achieve international importance.

Birthe Lagendijk

In this presentation about universities and the industry in Finland and Estonia, I will first give a short introduction about the four universities we will visit on the study tour.

In Estonia this is the Tallinn University of Technology and in Finland these are the University of Helsinki, the University of Turku and the Tampere University. Each of these universities take their research very seriously and I will give examples of how these universities fit in our study tours theme of "exploring the sources of innovation" which they handle in several different ways. Afterwards I shall change my focus to the topic of industry. I will talk about the main industrial sectors of Finland and about their contact with universities. I will also give examples of some recent innovative research done by companies in these industrial sectors in cooperation with universities in Finland. Lastly I will -only lightly- touch upon the subject of industry in Estonia, since the main sectors of industry in Estonia overlap quite a lot with the industry found in Finland.

Peter Betlem

Estonia (Eesti) has a rich history dating as far back as the end of the last glacial era. Being uniquely situated between West and East, and South and North, it was already known to the Romans (ca. 98 C.E.) and mentioned in the great Scandinavian Sagas. Up until the 12th century Estonian tribes participated in trade and raided settlements from the Baltic Sea to as far south as Byzantium and the Orient. This would come to a halt as Christianity spread further and further across the continent. By 1193 Pope Celestine III had called for a crusade against the pagans in the North which ended the reign of the ancient Estonian tribes. After almost a millennium of foreign- rule, home-rule was regained on 2 February 1920. Foreign-rule was briefly reinstated after its annexation by the Soviet Union during World War II. Since re-establishing its independence in 1991 Estonia has once again styled itself as the gateway between East and West. Joining organizations like NATO, EU, WTO, and embracing the connectivity that the modern times have to offer, it has been become one of the most wired and advanced countries in Europe. After a millennium, it seems Estonia’s international role has finally come back full circle.

Chantal Palmen

As we all know, education is a very important part of the development of a child. Even to adults education can mean a lot when you think of their position in society and new career opportunities. It really stands on the basis of many things in life. Finland has one of the world’s best education systems. Like with all things being the way they are at the moment, history contributed a lot. Finland is often referred to as the land of paradoxes; Teach less, learn more. There are many books written about this education system. In Finland the profession of teacher is seen as noble and prestigious in Finland. Every year more than 10 times as much students apply for the job. Also education is free in Finland. This factor majorly contributes to equal chances of individuals in society. So we can definitely learn a thing or two from the Finnish view on education.

Rosa Stolper

Johan Gadolin is seen as the founder of Finnish chemistry research and he worked at the University of Helsinki in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Other famous researchers that studied at this university are the Nobel prize laureates A.I. Virtanen and Ragnar Granit. Nowadays there is a chemistry department at the Faculty of Science, which includes almost all the important topics in chemistry. Molecular Life Sciences research is also found at this department, and at the faculty of medicine, biological and environmental sciences, and pharmacy as well. In Tampere Molecular Life Sciences are an important field of research and it is the main focus of the BioMediTech institute, a joint institute of the University of Tampere and the Tampere University of Technology. The University of Turku has research departments in biochemistry and chemistry. One of its strongest research subjects is molecular biosciences. A large part of the pharmaceutical and biotechnological research industry in Finland is based in the Turku Science Park. Furthermore the chemical sector is important in Finland, accounting for the largest export group with 25% of the export. The largest export partners are Russia, Sweden and the Netherlands. The main export products are oil products and basic chemicals. In Estonia the chemical is sector is of less importance, but still is very export-oriented. The main product is shale oil products, followed by rare earth metals and their oxides. Chemistry and Molecular Life Science research is found at the University of Tallinn, where one of the important research themes is Nano- and mesosystems in physics and analytical biochemistry. 6