An Erasmus+ Exchange Week in Helsinki
International friendships, cultural experiences and learning together – these were at the heart of our Erasmus+ exchange week at Konepajan lukio from 25 to 30 October 2026. We were delighted to welcome students from Gandia, Spain, to Helsinki for a week of shared learning, new experiences and international cooperation.
Learning together in real-life environment
The exchange is part of our Erasmus+ project Learning in Context: Cultural Heritage, Tourism Media and Science Across Europe. The project aims to strengthen students' language skills, intercultural understanding, teamwork and confidence while connecting classroom learning with real-world experiences. Another important goal is to build lasting partnerships with European schools and develop learning activities that can be used in future international projects.
During the week, Finnish and Spanish students explored Helsinki together through a programme combining cultural heritage, tourism, media and practical learning. Our aim was to discover some of Helsinki's most popular tourist attractions and understand what makes them appealing to visitors. We also wanted to emphasise sustainable tourism and explore ways to promote responsible travel. The week's activities culminated in students producing their own destination marketing videos showcasing Helsinki.
The week began at Konepajan lukio with introductions, team-building activities and shared project goals. The students quickly felt at ease with one another, creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere that provided an excellent starting point for the entire week.
On Monday, students visited Helsinki's Tourist Information Office to gain an overview of tourism in the city, including its most popular attractions and where visitors come from. We also visited Rikhardinkatu Library, housed in the first building in the Nordic countries specifically designed as a public library. The visits offered insights into how cultural services and tourism contribute to the city's identity. The day ended with a fun glow bowling session.
On Tuesday, the group visited Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where students learned about Finnish history, cultural heritage and sustainable tourism. They also explored the challenges and opportunities of marketing a hostel located on an island. In the afternoon, we visited Helsinki City Museum, whose exhibitions have received awards and recognition. An excellent and knowledgeable guide brought the city's history to life, offering fascinating insights into Helsinki's past and identity.
Wednesday's programme included visits to Allas Pool, Helsinki Cathedral, Oodi Central Library and the Olympic Stadium. These visits encouraged students to consider how architecture, culture, leisure activities and tourism shape a city's image and attractiveness. At Allas Pool, students gained insights into developing a spa business with international ambitions in the heart of Helsinki. They were also invited to experience a traditional Finnish sauna and winter swimming, which proved to be a memorable experience for many.
Throughout the week, students explored Helsinki on foot and by public transport, putting the principles of sustainable travel into practice. They also worked together on media-related assignments, including video production and editing. These activities connected cultural experiences with digital communication, tourism marketing and working-life skills.
On Thursday, students brought together the video clips they had recorded throughout the week to create destination marketing videos of Helsinki. They also reflected on what they had learned about sustainable tourism and brainstormed ideas for making travel more sustainable and encouraging tourists to make responsible choices.
Staying with Finnish host families gave the Spanish students an opportunity to experience everyday Finnish life and culture first-hand. Feedback from both the host families and their guests was overwhelmingly positive, with everyone expressing great satisfaction with the arrangements and experiences. It was wonderful to see how quickly the students formed close friendships and how much they enjoyed their time together.
What did we achieve?
Students' experiences and learning were explored through surveys conducted at the beginning and end of the exchange week. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, showing encouraging development in students' confidence, communication skills and intercultural understanding.
Nearly all students felt that they had become more confident speaking English, learned about another culture and made new international friends. Most also reported improvements in their teamwork and communication skills, while many felt more confident trying new things and facing unfamiliar situations. More than half said they had gained a better understanding of how culture, tourism and media connect to working life.
The students' different ages and educational backgrounds also influenced how they experienced the visits, particularly from a working-life perspective. The Spanish participants were 14-year-old lower secondary school students with limited exposure to working-life topics, while the older Finnish students attended a work-life-oriented upper secondary school and had already gained experience of collaborating with local businesses. Despite shared introductions and assignments, recognising how organisations operate, attract customers and connect their services to tourism was naturally more familiar to the Finnish students. These different starting points were also reflected in the survey results.
Overall, the exchange provided valuable learning experiences, collaborative media work and new ideas for future projects. Most importantly, it demonstrated how international learning can strengthen students' confidence, independence and sense of European community.
In the students' own words
The students' comments capture the atmosphere of the week better than anything else:
"I was actually expecting less, but it turned out to be way better."
"I was expecting to learn to speak more English and I got to speak English a lot."
"The week was better than I expected. I learned about Finnish culture, practised my English and made new friends."
"Week was better than I expected, we all became friends."
"It has been an amazing week, during which I've had experiences I wasn't expecting, for example, the sauna."
Next stop: Gandia, Spain!
Our Erasmus+ journey continues in February 2027, when Finnish students will travel to Gandia to reunite with their Spanish partners. The next phase will focus on tourism marketing, sustainable and responsible tourism, and digital media production, building on the knowledge and experiences gained in Helsinki.
For Konepajan lukio, this exchange is more than a single international visit. It is an important step towards long-term European cooperation, meaningful learning beyond the classroom and lasting international friendships.
We look forward to continuing our shared journey in Spain!
This exchange is part of Konepajan lukio's Erasmus+ international cooperation activities, supported by the European Union.
More information about the Erasmus+ programme(Link leads to external service)
Funded by the European Union's programme Erasmus+. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Finnish National Agency for Education. Neither the European Union nor the EDUFI can be held responsible for them.
