INSIDER 24.03.17 | VOL. 19 | ISSUE 20
STUDENT MAGAZINE
POLAR BEAR PITCH EVENT BY ROOPE SAUKKONEN
Features & Recipe StartUp Passion Profile: Slaveya Hämäläinen Cheese Lasagna
Reviews Go-Expo 2017 The Shins: Heartworms Beauty and the Beast
EDITORIAL STAFF
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INSIDER STUDENT MAGAZINE South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences Paraatikenttä 7 45100 Kouvola Editor in chief: Hugh Clack INSIDER ISSN 1457-1587 /INSIDERSTUDENTMAGAZINE
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PHONE +358 44 702 8758 WEBSITE insider.xamk.fi EMAIL insider@xamk.fi WRITERS first.last@edu.xamk.fi
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EDITORIAL
GRADUATION, LEAVING AND SUMMER
This is going to be my first editorial for Insider and I was so excited to write it that I almost forgot about it. That is because this is also going to be my last editorial or rather my last article written for Insider. I graduated from South-East Finland’s University of Applied science last month. Now I am a little bit more adult than ever. Unfortunately, that also means that since I’m not a student any more I can’t write anything for Xamk’s student magazine. And this is a shame because I really liked my time in Insider. You can’t describe what makes Insider and its people click it just happens. You must become a part of this weird and lovable commune to understand why writing articles to student magazine is so god damn fun. But trust me it is and you should try it at least ones. Writing articles is one of the best ways to make your own student voice heard. Fortunately, summer is coming and I am going to enjoy it to my fullest. As you might have heard I am also one of the project leaders of Startup Summer Camp. SSC is a 10-week long idea accelerator for Xamk’s student. You can apply as a single person with or without an idea, with an idea or with team, idea and all the potential in the world. The program has intensive lecturing about business, marketing, software and hardware development and many other interesting, awesome and good to know topics. You also get 15 study points out of this program and can complete one big share of your studies doing something you like. But these are my farewells to Insider and to you our beloved readers. I hope you have enjoyed these couple of months as much as I have and keep on reading Insider’s future issues. Yours truly,
Roope Saukkonen
SLAVEYA
HÄMÄLÄINEN Slaveya Hämäläinen is a very positive person and likes to concentrate mainly on the good rather than wine about negative things. Her job is her number one priority, she wouldn't have been able to do anything else in her life with more enthusiasm, motivation and determination. She loves her colleagues and her students as well as her working place. She goes to work happy every morning. She doesn't like laziness and impoliteness. How long have you known you wanted to be a teacher? In Bulgaria unfortunately it is actually embarrassing to be a teacher. It is not appreciated in the same way as it is in Finland. I had to work other jobs to survive because the salary was nothing but even though this proffession is not respected in Bulgaria, I continued. I was lucky to step into such a supportive environment here in Finland. Now I am just so happy that I can do that and I can't picture doing anything else.
send my cards, I don't have time to write a story or tell what has happened during the year because I think either people don't care or maybe I just want to keep some parts of my life to myself. If I am writing to a close friend then they will already know these stories. I hand write to everyone a few words and I like to think about that person while I write it. Maybe I will end up writing the same words to most people but it is the thought of them that counts.
Do you prefer to start the day with coffee or are you already engergized by the time you arrive at Xamk? In the morning, I am already energized because I know that I am coming here. I don't take coffee because I don't need it to engergize me. I actually take tea in the morning.
You say you don't like impoliteness, what would consider most polite? Everyday contact is nice. Even in social media, just say “How are you?” or “Have a nice day.” or “Thank you,” just these basic things.
Would you say a world with only good and no bad would be ideal? I'm very quick to forget the bad things. When I started here I had about 100 students for a semester and I got feedback from all of them at the end. One student left very bad feedback. So bad that I could not sleep. I went to my boss and said, “I have not slept in a week. What would you think of me, as a new worker, and already I have received bad feedback? I feel like I am the worst person in the world.” And he was so clever to tell me, “Why didn't you think of the 100 people who said that everything is fine?” After that, I never focused on the bad things in life.
Christmas cards, do you believe they should come back? When I
Grayson Leif Heflin
So you're a morning person? Yes, absolutely! What do you think is the true cause of laziness? Sometimes people just don't believe in themselves, they think they are not good. Actually though these ones could do it better than the others if they just had motivation. When you have holiday time, do
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you prefer to be active or inactive? I like to be active. I like walking, running, fitness, anything that will make me tired. I feel I have to deserve the things I get, even a holiday. There are days when I just read too.
WHY COULD STARTUP PASSION TRAINING PROGRAM CHANGE YOUR LIFE? So you have experienced StartUp Passion Hackathon yourself just recently. Or maybe you just heard or found out about StartUp Passion Training Program from someone, saw a poster or run into it on Facebook. You might be into developing ideas and changing the world with other passionate people working towards a common goal. Or maybe you’re alone with your thoughts and looking for other likeminded, enthusiastic people. But why exactly should you jump into our programme and invest some time in it? What could you gain and why choose this specific program to build your future skills in developing ideas and customer-centered businesses? The following 5 principles describe our training programme and may help you to make up your mind.
5 FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. CHALLENGING YOURSELF IS FUN We run into various problems every day. Actually we are surrounded with small and huge problems. Why not trying to solve one of those problems? Why not becoming someone who changes the world in some way? We’ll help you to find the problems, the solutions and becoming a change maker. We will help you to see opportunities. We will encourage and support you to challenge yourself more and more to change the world around you. Dare to jump and become an innovator and developer. Challenge yourself with problems. Learn to love challenges!
ing. You will enjoy learning and you will learn more than you even expected. Learn, enjoy and have fun!
2. LEARNING IS FUN Learning can be fun if you let it be! We aim at personalized learning. When you have ownership of your problem (and thus also the solution) and work with your own, relevant idea, you will be dedicated to learning in an entirely different manner. It will be natural and inspir-
4. WORKING HARD CAN BE FUN We have one simple rule for our participants and there are even songs written about it: “Work, work, work, work, work.” It is just as simple as that. It doesn’t mean that we would not have fun together as well but to achieve goals, to build something
3. CROSS-BORDER IS FUN Meeting people from various backgrounds with variety of skills and knowledge, talking to and with them, creating something together in a cross-border environment take your learning process into a totally another level. The most creative and successful teams are the ones able to rise above the differences and conflicts. Creating a cross-border startup right from the beginning can be a huge competitive advantage today. Do not fear the borders – instead cross them!
big (and even something smaller) you need to work hard. This program is not for relaxation. It is not a holiday. It’s about challenging yourself, bringing yourself into another level and becoming better. Actually we want you to become the best version of you! 5. PASSION AND CONVICTION SHOULD LEAD YOU TO SATISFACTION If you’re just passionate about something but you don’t work hard, you won’t be able to achieve your goals. But if you’re passionate AND convinced, you will start moving and doing. This kind of action will ultimately bring you satisfaction: just simply knowing you tried for instance with an idea of yours is satisfying as such. We will help you with setting up goals and taking the following steps to further either your startup idea or simply your career. So take the first step, join our programme and start moving! By Kirsi Rouhiainen
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LIZARDHAZARD GAMES INTERVIEW Salli Loikkanen Roope Saukkonen
Lizardhazard games is an indie game company founded by Xamk’s game design student Salli Loikkanen. Salli Loikkanen and Sylvia Smatanová attended to a pitching competition in Oulu called Polar Bear Pitch. They are currently developing a game called Your Royal Gayness. “Your Royal Gayness is a humorous PC game where you play as a prince managing a kingdom while your parents are away. And there's one more thing - you're gay, so you also need to come up with excuses to avoid marrying a princess. Luckily, your three advisors are always by your side to help you make challenging choices that affect the financial state and happiness of your kingdom, among other things. Our core values include diversity and acceptance, though we also want to make sure the game is fun to play!” - Lizarhazardgames Your Royal Gayness is now in Kickstarter and is aiming to raise 5 500 € funding for their game. You can find out more about Lizardhazardgames from their web page: http://lizardhazardgames.com/ And Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/mysterycorgi/your-royal-gayness-the-ultimate-fairytale-parody-g/description
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What were your first thoughts when you heard that you must go to pitch in avanto? I heard about this pitching even from my co-worker Sylvia first. My first though was “Let’s go, LETS DO THIS!”. Followed by a censer about how to get to Oulu. How did you prepare yourself for the event and for the ice hole? We decided to go to the event at the last possible minute and most of our plans and preparing was done during the car pool ride to Oulu. “I have gone ice hole swimming as a kid but I had for gotten how cold it was.” Salli loikkanen What kind of thoughts do you have from the semi-final pitching even of Polar Bear Piching? The facilities were nice enough. They had tent saunas and worm dressing room for the pitchers. Free sausages were nice bonus. And the ice hole itself? Pepping in to the ice hole was a shock but I managed somehow to keep my calm. Our pitch lasted for over two and half minutes and at the end of it I couldn’t feel my legs any more. I toke a while before I got my feeling in my legs back. What were the biggest pros about Polar Bear Pitch and why should more people attend to these kinds of events? We got to practice our pitching and it is super important for startups. A lot of people heard about our project and we got a lot of good feedback from our judges. Events like these are useful for networking. We do these kinds of things and events so that more people hear about our projects and startup. We would really appreciate it if you would go to our Kickstarter page and had a look at what we have been doing. That by itself would make this trip to Oulu worth it.
VIRTA INTERVIEW WINNER OF POLAR BEAR PITCH
Roope Saukkonen Virta is the winner startup of 2017 Polar Bear Pitch. They are developing electronic vehicle charging station as a service. “VIRTA - EV Charging Business as a Service VIRTA offers a complete turnkey solution for managing electric vehicle charging services of any scale. Our future-proof solutions enable professional charging networks to offer a world-class end user experience to their customers. We also help real estates and other businesses stand out by providing them with a comprehensive EV charging service package.” - Virta You can find out more about them from their web page: https://virta.global/
How did you decide to participate in the Polar Bear Pitch? We were last fall’s Slush and the large polar bear came to interview us in front of our stand. We took up the challenge above all, that the event sounded whimsical fun. Of course the potential exposure in various media including internationally was an important motivator. What do you think winning Polar Bear Pitch will give to your startup? The most important thing was the victory of the general interest in the awakening to our cause. Electric cars are here already - and we want people to be aware that they needed to support a broad network of charging points. In addition, the company is constantly growing, and we hope our future employees found us out from this event. What advice would you give to a beginning startup entrepreneurs? Your case is worth to believe in firmly so that you work long days persistently. We are in an industry which continues to face resistance for example in the media. We are now setting up our completely for new markets, and we break the preliminary setups, recognizing that the fruit is harvested not until the next decade.
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LASAGNA
SO CHEESY IT SHOULD BE CALLED JUST CHEESE
Don't you just love everything that is baked with lots of butter and cream? Here is a recipe for all you comfort food –loving little pigs. This is the food to nurture your haunted souls. This is the food that will keep you warm and cozy when struggling with assignments and group work. What this is not, is a traditional lasagna with the cheese sauce. This is less messy to make and as promised, veery cheesy! What you do: 1. Chop onions and gloves of garlic. Parboil them a little, add in the crushed tomatoes and 1 dl of cream. Rinse all beans and add them into the sauce. Season with black pepper and basil. Cook with mild heat for about 5-10 minutes. 2. While the sauce is cooking, butter the baking dish ready and slice tomatoes and mozzarella. 3. Mix cheddar and emmental together, leave about 100g of the cheddar for later use. 4. Now it’s time to assemble the whole thing. Spread a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. 5. Arrange 4-6 noodles lengthwise on top of the sauce. Now spread slices of mozzarella on top and then set another layer of noodles. 6. Add mozzarella and tomato slices over the noodles, finish this layer with cheese mix. Then add another set of noodles. 7. Now cover the noodles with the sauce and sprinkle once again cheese mix on top of it, then add noodles. 8. Now it’s the final layer. Spread all that is left from the sauce over the noodles, do the same with all ingredients that you have left. Sprinkle the cheddar as well as parmesan on top. 9. At this point mix 1 dl of cream and 3-4 dl of milk, and pour it to the edges of the lasagna stuff. 10. Cover the baking dish with foil, this way the top layer won’t get burned. Bake in a preheated oven (200°C) for about 30 minutes. Now you can remove the foil and bake for 10-20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before serving! Suvi Karell
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What you need: • package of lasagna noodles • 2 cans of crushed tomatoes • 2 dl cream • 3-4 dl milk • 400 g mozzarella • 4 tomatoes • 400 g (grated) emmental • 250 g (grated) matured cheddar • chunk of parmesan • 2 onions • can of kidney beans • can of white beans • can of black beans • 2 gloves of garlic • black pepper • basil
GO-EXPO 2017 The Photo & Camera Fair (Kuva ja Kamera) this year was held together with several other fairs including Outdoor Expo and the Helsinki Horse Fair, and under the main title of Go-Expo. The total number of visitors over the weekend was in excess of 40,000. The photographic section (Kuva ja Kamera) has been getting slightly smaller each year, and this year seemed to be no exception. Once again, some big names were represented but it still felt as though something was missing. Mainly some popular brands were represented by Finnish retailers rather than the manufacturers themselves. One noticeable brand that appeared to be missing was GoPro. Indeed, action cameras were not really represented at all. The inevitable presence of helicopter drones was there, with DJI, but even these had reduced themselves to a very small and basic stand. The growing trend for action cameras is something that one would come to expect from a combined photographic and outdoors fair, but markedly absent this year. There was something new however, one very small stand (if a tiny crammed table and chair can be classed a stand) promoting VectorSaveTM rescue parachutes for drones from Vectorheli, something a popular drone manufacturer could have done with at the release of one of their last offerings. The Outdoor Expo hall was split into sections for Golf, Fitness, Cycling, and Ball Sports. Many countries were represented promoting golfing holidays and giving a very international feel to the fair, with many of the stands offing tastes of local cuisine, such as Spanish hams and Portuguese Madeira – it was just a shame that the Scottish stand was not offering Single Malts. Fitness stands appeared to be separated into clothing, footwear and protein bars, with free samples enticing people into buying the special fair offers. To sum up, the fair appears to have been a success although there were fewer visitors than in 2016. Next year the fair will be slightly earlier 2-4.3.2018. Let’s hope to see more exhibitors, something new, and maybe even more smaller entrepreneurs taking part. Hugh Clack, Editor in Chief
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THE SHINS
HEARTWORMS James Mercer
Indie Pop/Psychedelic Pop // March 10, 2017
T
he Oregon-based guitar pop group The Shins were one of the biggest indie darlings of the early 2000’s, gaining praise with their albums like Oh, Inverted World and Wincing The Night Away. Then the new 10s arrived, and like many of their contemporaries, The Shins struggled to stay relevant. The band’s line-up had whittled down to singer-songwriter James Mercer, who didn’t seem too comfortable in becoming the sole man in the spotlight. As a result, the first solo Shins album Port of Morrow felt a bit by-the-book and uninspired, as if Mercer was attempting to ensure the audience that “do not worry, even if it’s just me, it’s still going to be the exact same Shins you know and love”. Now, after five years of waiting, the Shins return with their fifth studio album Heartworms. They have updated their sound into the electronic-influenced psychedelia of Animal Collective, Tame Impala and Of Montreal, even if Mercer’s songwriting is far more accessible than any of his apparent influences. The psychedelic elements are only skin deep, giving the tracks some much-needed texture without veering into Flaming Lips -esque pointless drone: “Name For You”, “Half A Million” and the title track are all good examples of using the new aesthetic without muddling the strongest parts of the output of the Shins. In many regards, this is a successful facelift, and helps to differentiate Heartworms from its predecessors; something that Mercer seemed to be painfully afraid of on Port of
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Morrow. Some highlights off the album include “Cherry Hearts”, where the grimy keyboards and pristinely clear guitars contrast each other, underlining the infuriating will-they-or-won’t-they story presented in the text; the stripped-down, folkish “Mildenhall”, which details Mercer’s teenage years as a lonely, awkward outsider connecting to his peers through music; and the closing track “The Fear”, which contrasts the anxiety-ridden lyrics with serene, lounge-influenced instrumentation. “Fantasy Island” and “Painting A Hole” are probably the deepest ventures into psychedelia: the former is a steadily flowing synth track, while the latter chugs on with a relatively heavy guitar groove. Both songs are fine, but especially the latter track shows that the psychedelic influences sit best with the Shins while they’re being used in style and not in substance. On Heartworms, James Mercer feels like he’s finally comfortable having the Shins as his personal project, walking away from the shadow of the band it used to be. While some times the psychedelic influences make the album feel a bit disjointed, they work mostly for the album’s advantage: only the future will show if this change of style is something the Shins will explore further. Roope Sorvo
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
STUDIO 123 Kymenlaaksonkatu 1 45700 Kuusankoski 05 3792082 www.studio123.fi
STUDIO 1 MATKA MERELLE (S) | 11€ | 1h18min Sat 15:30h Mon-Wed 17:15h
EMMA WATSON
LUKE EVANS
DAN STEVENS
Director Bill Condon // Writers Stephen Chbosky, Evan Spiliotopoulos Family, Fantasy, Musical
Beauty and the Beast movie was re-telling one of the classics of Disney with some refreshed perspectives but still keeping it original just like the fairy tale itself. The original fairy tale was written in 18th century France, and it was very nice seeing all the customs, settings, castles and culture in the movie were also presented that way, but one thing that I loved was the mixture of today’s world with the 18th century. It was nice to see that Belle was just a simple girl, living in a small town in France, and she was the type of the girl who didn’t get involved in other people’s business, she just loved reading books
and being on her own. My personal opinion is that in the movie they were singing way too much, and some scenes felt like it is never going to end, because they just kept singing and singing, and I am not a big fan of musicals! I also thought that the movie would be more magical, and since I am a cry-baby, I thought I would leave the theatre with swollen eyes, but that didn’t happen. However, the message of the movie was very clear, both for adults and children, that you shouldn’t judge a person by their looks, and that love is patient, kind and tolerant. One of the biggest reasons why I wanted to watch this movie was because I am big fan of Emma Watson, and I think she is very talented, and it would’ve been a shame not to watch this movie. The ending was very nice, and somehow, I knew it would end that way (not going to say how, you can watch yourself), but I felt like there was missing a bit of magic, just like I said before. I recommend this movie to everyone, who is looking for a break from the reality. “She warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.”
Setareh Nourzad
SAATTOKEIKKA (S) | 11€ | 1h18min Fri-Sun, Thu 17:15h LOGAN (16) | 12€ | 2h18min Every Evening 19:00h
STUDIO 2 LA LA LAND (S) | 11€ | 2h08min Sat 14:30h Tue 19:15h TOM OF FINLAND (12) | 12€ | 1h55min Fri, Sun-Mon 17:00h VAIANA (7) | 11€ | 1h54min Sat, Tue-Thu 17:00h (dub) Sun 19:15h (S3, orig.) KONG: PÄÄKALLIOSAARI (12) | 12€ | 1h59min Fri-Mon, Wed-Thu 19:15h
STUDIO 3 ONNELI, ANNELI JA SALAPERÄINEN MUUKALAINEN (S) | 10€ | 1h15min Sat 15:45h Sun, Tue-Wed 17:45h MOONLIGHT (12) | 11€ | 1h51min Fri-Sat, Mon, Thu 17:30h MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (12) | 12€ | 2h17min Fri, Mon, Wed 19:30h HIDDEN FIGURES (7) | 11€ | 2h07min Sat, Tue, Thu 19:30h
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