GUEST POST: What ever you have done before, has brought you here

Written by Albert van der Kooij

My first trip to Finland included a visit to Mindtrek, the Nordic digital media and business conference, focusing on social media & Web 2.0.

I met Cai Melakoski, head of the Media Programme of TAMK and involved in the organisation of Mindtrek. He invited me to come to the International Week and TAF. And so I did… on one condition: I wanted to take some students with me. Internationalisation is not only for international officers, but especially for the students and their future perspective.

TAF and the international week were great. Besides enjoying the visit to Finland and – climax – the authentic smoke sauna, I’ve met several partners from TAMK. The result: some of them are now appreciated partners of the Academy of Popculture. For instance:  Chris Hales came to our School to do a workshop with students of three universities in Leeuwarden.
Last year we’ve visited Liepaja University and did a project with students of the media & art department: ‘What ever you have done before, has brought you here’.

We even met colleagues from the School of Arts from Utrecht/The Netherlands :)
Now we have a warm relationship with them.

The VJ/Audioworkshop and presentation at TAF with our students and students of TAMK was a great success:
Video 1 
Video 2

So successfully that we went to Tampere again in 2009. Students from TAMK came to Leeuwarden last year November for a workshop and presentation at our open day, called Brick by Brick.

What started as a one-to-one conversation, is now one of the basics of our internationalisation strategy: looking for people who are open minded, are willing to share connections and knowledge and realising a natural growing, open source network.

This year we’ll be back at the international week. With again enthusiastic students and lecturers.

See you and your students in May 2010

Albert van der Kooij
Director Academy of Pop Culture
Leeuwarden/the Netherlands
The Academy of Popculture is a department of Academy of Fine Arts, Design & Pop Culture MINERVA from the Hanze University Groningen of Applied Sciences

Photo: Arriving at the International Week smoke sauna evening 2009: Albert's colleague Adri Schokker, Albert van der Kooij, Interactive Cinema Doctor Chris Hales, lecturer Sohvi Sirkesalo and Head of Film and Television Programme Leena Mäkelä, TAMK