New ideas through international cooperation
Information and Communication Technology students and their teachers received German visitors for two weeks when students and teachers from the Berufliche Schule ITECH, an IT vocational school in Hamburg, came to Raseko to run a workshop. The collaboration follows on from the Design Thinking Workshop in Hamburg last autumn and a similar workshop in Raseko a year ago.
The idea of the Design Thinking Workshop was originally born out of the international Individualised Learning in Collaborative and Blended Learning Environment (CoBle) project. The first workshop was such a success that it was decided to organise it again this year.
ITECH teachers Julia and Marius arrived in Raisio at the end of February with 20 students. From Raseko, 20 ICT students attended the workshop with their teachers Marku and Petr. The students were divided into small groups and tasked with solving a challenge, this time from Pemamek Oy, a manufacturer of welding and production automation solutions for the heavy metal industry.
The task of developing robotics
The workshop started with a company visit to Pemamek’s premises in Loimaa. During the visit, the students were presented with a challenge: to investigate alternative security solutions for large robotic welding stations in the shipyard industry. The safety solutions should in some way allow humans to work simultaneously with the robot without compromising the safety of the worker.
Pemamek’s own projects have already explored options. The aim of the challenge was to get ideas from “outside the box”. Students also had the opportunity to design their own projects outside the challenge, but the overarching theme of the workshop was “General human-machine interaction”, meaning that each group’s prototype project had to be related in some way to automation in society.
To create prototypes, students used 3D printers and a laser cutter in the digital fabrication learning environment Fab Lab. During the project, students were introduced to service design, entrepreneurship and multicultural teamwork, as well as industrial robotics and automation.
The workshop was organised as part of the SEED (Sustainable Energy Education) project, which focused on strengthening the innovation and knowledge ecosystem with local companies.
The quality of the prototypes surprised
The groups presented their solutions and prototypes at a fair in the Eeronkuja sports hall. Pemamek’s Machine Safety Manager Mari Lahti, Automation Engineer Janne Ikonen and Robotics Manager Ville Laine came to evaluate the work.
Janne Ikonen says that the technical solutions, coding level and prototypes produced by the students in a short timeframe were a positive surprise. Mari Lahti and Ville Laine agree: – Diverse ideas, yes, the students seem to be well-versed in the subject, Mari Lahti says.
Mari Lahti, Janne Ikonen and Ville Laine arrived at the fair from Pemamek to assess the students’ results
Ice hockey and winter swimming
To counterbalance the busy days, the guests had free time to watch the TPS-Jukurit hockey match at the Gatorade Center and explore Turku and Turku Castle. The bravest ones dared to try winter swimming at the Ispoisten swimming beach.
The collaboration between Raseko and Berufliche Schule ITECH is set to continue, with the next Design Thinking Workshop already in the pipeline. The idea is that Raseko will again send students to the ITECH vocational school in Hamburg next autumn. Let’s hope that the trip will come true, and the students will be able to take on the challenge of a German technology company!