What is a university student’s everyday life like in the future? What would the students’ dream campus be like? A workshop event was organized for the students on 8 February 2021, in which students were asked to look into the future and define needs related to studying and space solutions. In this news release, we put together the key ideas from the workshop. This story shows what life on the campus of dreams would be like in the eyes of students. A summary list of the results can be found here.
I arrive at the campus at lunchtime. I was up late last night, so I decided to skip the morning lecture. Fortunately, all lectures are recorded and I can watch the recording later today at a time that suits me. I lock my e-bike in the bike shelter in front of Tervahovi and take my helmet and battery to the storage cabinet. I put the battery charging inside the cabinet and lock the cabinet with a PIN code of my choice.
Time to study
After lunch, I start looking for a good self-study space. I find a nice, open and bright space with all kinds of workstation solutions, from armchairs to desktop solutions. This time I choose a traditional desktop and spread my machine and the material I have collected for my master’s thesis on the table. Luckily all of it fits comfortably. I plug in my computer and phone for charging and raise the table to a standing position. The space is nicely quiet, just the right amount of speech around me, but not loud enough for me to hear it properly, even though the conversation is taking place in the same space. I admire the scenery from the window for a moment and start studying by looking at the lecture recording this morning.
I suddenly awaken from working on my thesis to a knock on the shoulder: a friend of mine had seen me studying passing by, and suggests a little break before our group meeting. We head to a nearby café and take a little snack with us outside. We end up walking to the shore and sit down in the sun to enjoy the already cooling autumn air. We look at the life on the shore and the sea at the back. We agree to try out the outdoor gym this week after a lecture.
We have reserved a group workspace for four people, and head there to work. This is the meeting first meeting of the group work, so we choose a relaxed armchair-like social room-like space, where we can still work privately. We rush to choose the comfiest chair from the space and remotely contact the fifth group member who stayed at home today due to a little sniffiness.
There’s no reservation for a teamwork space after us, so I stay there and study. However, when I return to the thesis, I notice a dilemma for which I urgently need my instructor’s help. I send him a message and suggest a quick appointment. “Ok, come within 15 minutes to the service area, room 3,” he replies. I go to the waiting area of the service area to wait until space is freed up and we can get there with the instructor.
Flexible studying hours
When we finish, I feel exhausted. It is soon 6 pm and I decide to have a student-priced dinner before deciding what to do next. Luckily, I don’t have to dine alone, because from the door I can see my friends waving and inviting me to join them. After dinner, I feel tired of studying and decide to go home. When picking up my things from the locker, my friend and I agreed on the next day. I will work all day, but we agree to meet on campus at 5 pm, go out for dinner and then head to the 24/7 self-study facilities for the evening. After that, there’s something going on in the student organizations’ facilities – I’ll have to go check it out, too.
When I cycle home, I smile. What an effective day!
