Study Guide

Objective

Northern Region in Glocal Context
Study Tour in the North (project)
The student gets a holistic understanding of the business environment specifics in the northern areas as well as in businesses and industries operating in the Arctic region. He/she gets a thematic insight to the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism. He/she understands the principles of successful and effective project management, communication and tour leading. The student plans, implements and evaluates a small-scale study tour related to the Arctic tourism in northern parts of Finland, Sweden, Norway and/or Russia. He/she deepens his/her knowledge of how to retrieve and apply information. The student is able to use both written and spoken English in various business communication situations.

The student

- is familiar with business environment specifics as well as with businesses and industries operating in the northern areas

- knows how to use localness as a resource in business operations and is able to analyse the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism from sustainable point of view

- knows the principles of the project work and management and develops his/her practical team working and project management skills

- is able to plan, implement and evaluate a study tour in a group as a small-scale international project according to an assigned budget and thematic goals

- is able to demonstrate his/her tour leading and guiding skills

- is able to write documents required in business communication situations and use spoken English in various situations required by the working life taking also multicultural issues into account

- knows how to retrieve, use, assess and apply information critically from various sources

Content

- business environment specifics (geopolitical, sociocultural, economic, ecological and ethical aspects) and different business and industries in the northern areas, opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism (4,5 ECTS)
- principles of the project work and management and applying the knowledge in the project (3 ECTS)
- tour leading and guiding (1 ECTS)
- communication in English in various business communication situations (1 ECTS)
- effective information retrieval from various databases and sources (0,5 ECTS)

Materials

Various articles, videos and other learning materials related to to different topics of the study unit.
Portny, S. 2013. Project Management For Dummies.For Dummies. E-book available in Finna.
Thomsett, M. C. 2002. The Little Black Book of Project Management. New York: Amacom. E-book available in Finna.

Teaching methods

The implementation of the study unit is based on a project cycle model. In the learning project students plan, implement and evaluate a small-scale study tour or real-life experiencerelated to Arctic tourism and the northern regions. Depending on the programme of the study tour, there might be a participation fee or some other expenses for the participants.
The study unit includes various pedagogical methods such as lectures, workshops, field trips, project meetings, self-study and team working. Self- and time management, peer learning and peer support are crucial in the implementation of the study unit and the project. Students will receive continuous feedback during the semester as self-assessment, peer-assessment and assessment and feedback from the teachers.
Preliminary implementation plan (please check the exact time and place from TimeEdit):

week 36
- Orientation to the northern business environment and project work (info and orientation 2h, Petri Pälli and Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen)
- Project kick off and team-building and principles of successful and effective project work and management (workshop 2h, Petri Pälli)
- Sustainable tourism in the Arctic: Best practices and challenges (lecture 2h, Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen)
- Nature, culture and history of the Arctic region (self-study)
- Reindeer husbandry and Sámi people (self-study)
- Stage 1. Planning the project (Petri Pälli)

week 37
- State of the Nordic region (self-study and workshop presentations 3h, Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen)
- Sharing economy (workshop 2h, Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen)
- Project communication (lecture and workshop 2h, Minna Väyrynen)
- Stage 2. Project plan presentations and mid-term process evaluation and Current issues on the project implementation (project meeting 3h, Petri Pälli)

week 38
- Bioeconomy and sustainable use of forests (visit to Pilke science centre 4h, Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen)
- Information retrieval (Heidi Minkkinen 2h)
- Principles of purchasing process and business writing (lecture and workshop 2h, Minna Väyrynen)

week 39
- How to debate and express your opinions (lecture 2h, Minna Väyrynen)
- Shipping, transportation and mining industry (workshop 3h, Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen)
- Principles of purchasing process and business writing (lecture and workshop 2h, Minna Väyrynen)

week 40
- Project plan presentations and mid-term process evaluation (presentations and evaluation meetings 4h, Petri Pälli)

week 41
- How to improve the debate report and argumentation (tutoring 4h, Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen and Minna Väyrynen)

week 42 Self-study

week 43
- Orientation to the tour leading and guiding (lecture 2h, Minna Väyrynen)

week 44
- Tour leading and guiding (lecture and tutoring 2h, Minna Väyrynen)
- Debate seminar (presentation 3h, Aulikki Laitinen-Tolonen and Minna Väyrynen)
- Return the final debate report

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Please note that there might be more specific assessment criteria for learning assignments which will be given at the beginning of the study unit.

Fail (0)
The student does not know the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she does not know the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of the sustainable development. The student does not know the principles of the project work and management and he/she is not able apply the knowledge in his/her work. He/she does not participate in the study tour and does not demonstrate tour leading and guiding skills. The student is not able to write or speak English in various working life situations.

Poor (1)
The student has a very basic knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she has limited understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of the sustainable development. The student has limited knowledge of the project work and management and he/she is only partly able to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour but needs a lot of assistance. The student is able to retrieve and use the information but needs a lot of assistance. He/she is able to write and speak English on a satisfactory level in various communication and working life situations.

Satisfactory (2)
The student has a basic knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she is able to describe the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and he/she recognises the effects of sustainable development. The student has some basic knowledge of the project work and management and he/she is partly able to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour but needs assistance. The student is able to retrieve and use the information. He/she is able to write and speak English on a satisfactory level in various communication and working life situations.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good (3)
The student has a good knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she is able to describe the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of sustainable development. The student has a good knowledge of the project work and management and he/she is able to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour. The student is able to retrieve, use, assess and apply the information. He/she is able to write and speak English mostly fluently in various communication and working life situations.

Very good (4)
The student has a very good knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she understands the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of sustainable development. The student has a very good knowledge of the project work and management and he/she knows how to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour. The student is able to retrieve, use, assess and apply the information from various sources. He/she is able to write and speak English fluently in various communication and working life situations.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent (5)

The student has an excellent knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she fully understands the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of sustainable development. The student has excellent knowledge of the project work and management and he/she knows very well how to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates successfully tour leading and guiding during the study tour. The student is able to retrieve, use, assess and apply the information critically from various sources. He/she is able to write and speak English in an excellent, native-like manner in various communication and working life situations.

Assessment methods and criteria

The assessment is based on the competences of the semester. The competence (result) and learning (process) are assessed separately.
Learning is assessed throughout the term and the learning project through instruction and feedback. The process assessment goals are
- Social competences (participation and co-operation, communication and interaction)
- Reflective competences (problem-solving, reflective and developing working method)
- Cognitive competences (project management)
- Operational competences (working and operating in the project and the study tour, responsibility)
Competence is assessed throughout the competences of the study unit and the learning project. The competence assessment goals are
- Knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas and the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism
- Knowledge of the project work and management and applying the knowledge in his/her work
- Demonstration of the tour leading and guiding during the study tour
- Retrieval, use, assessment and applying the information
- Using written and spoken English in various communication and working life situations
Competence demonstrations and results are
- Debate report and presentation (5-0)
- Project plan and analysis (5-0)
- Participation in the project work / self- and peer assessment (5-0 or Pass/Fail)
- Individual competence test (Pass/fail)
- Participation in the study tour (Pass/fail)
- Demonstration of the tour leading and guiding (Pass/fail)
Evaluation criteria will be agreed in the beginning of the study unit.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

Excellent (5)

The student has an excellent knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she fully understands the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of sustainable development. The student has excellent knowledge of the project work and management and he/she knows very well how to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates successfully tour leading and guiding during the study tour. The student is able to retrieve, use, assess and apply the information critically from various sources. He/she is able to write and speak English in an excellent, native-like manner in various communication and working life situations.

Very good (4)

The student has a very good knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she understands the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of sustainable development. The student has a very good knowledge of the project work and management and he/she knows how to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour. The student is able to retrieve, use, assess and apply the information from various sources. He/she is able to write and speak English fluently in various communication and working life situations. 

Good (3)

The student has a good knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she is able to describe the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of sustainable development. The student has a good knowledge of the project work and management and he/she is able to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour. The student is able to retrieve, use, assess and apply the information. He/she is able to write and speak English mostly fluently in various communication and working life situations.

Satisfactory (2)

The student has a basic knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she is able to describe the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and he/she recognises the effects of sustainable development. The student has some basic knowledge of the project work and management and he/she is partly able to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour but needs assistance. The student is able to retrieve and use the information. He/she is able to write and speak English on a satisfactory level in various communication and working life situations.

Poor (1)

The student has a very basic knowledge of the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she has limited understanding of the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of the sustainable development. The student has limited knowledge of the project work and management and he/she is only partly able to apply the knowledge in his/her work. The student demonstrates tour leading and guiding during the study tour but needs a lot of assistance. The student is able to retrieve and use the information but needs a lot of assistance. He/she is able to write and speak English on a satisfactory level in various communication and working life situations.

Fail (0)

The student does not know the business environment specifics in the northern areas. He/she does not know the opportunities and challenges of the Arctic tourism and the effects of the sustainable development. The student does not know the principles of the project work and management and he/she is not able apply the knowledge in his/her work. He/she does not participate in the study tour and does not demonstrate tour leading and guiding skills. The student is not able to write or speak English in various working life situations. 



Please note that there might be more specific assessment criteria for learning assignments which will be given at the beginning of the study unit.

Qualifications

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