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Auramaa and Sataedu are part of an exceptional student exchange programme: this is the 3 rd time they participate in a student exchange programme “Truckstars on the road” that brought four Belgian professional driver students to Finland.

Four excited youg men enter Auramaa’s terminal in Pori at the end of January. They are in the beginning of a three week period and about to learn what it’s like to be a professional driver in Finland. They have been chosen from amongst many applicants. Teija Auramaa and Jukka Vataja introduce Auramaa’s operations and the terminal.

Rye bread and butter are served in the coffee table. Rye bread has been chosen as Finland’s national food just a couple of weeks ago. The students talk about Auramaa’s HCT (high capacity transport): the trucks are a lot bigger in Finland than in Belgium.

– In Belgium the trucks are max 18,75 meters long and the max. volume is 44 tons. In Finland the numbers are 25,25 meters and 76 tons, says Jonas, 18.

This year the drivers guiding the students are Toni Lötjönen, Arto Hynnä (for the 3rd time) and for the first time Harri Reunanen ja Jere Liljeqvist.

– Three years ago we asked volunteers to guide and teach students and Toni and Arttu were open-minded and excited to jump at the chance. This year also Harri and Jere stepped on board, says Jukka Vataja.

During the next three weeks the students participate in classes at Sataedu but have also a chance to gain experience together with Auramaa’s drivers.

The young men marvel at the truck outside the terminal. The truck is on its way to Eura and Lahti.

Picture: Four Belgian students participated in a student exchange programme in Satakunta Finland. From left to right: Lars, Jonas, Gert and Marco.

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Next time I speak with the students is three weeks later when the time in Finland is about to end. What have they learned about transportation and logistics in Finland?

– Our days started mostly at 4 am. We delivered goods to supermarkets, schools, rest homes, shopping centers and police station. Some days we picked up and delivered industrial materials to factories.  I feel that in Finland there is much more respect for professional drivers and people pay attention to them in the traffic more than in Belgium, says Marco, 18.

– We helped with load security and I also had a chance to drive the truck to the ramp! In addition, we learned how to use a crane, tells Lars, 19.

– Thanks to Sataedu we also gained some experience in driving on snow and ice. I was most surprised on how Finnish drivers can drive big trucks trough cities and small roads, adds Gert, 18.

– In Belgium the drivers spend a lot of time in traffic jams which don’t exist in Finland to that extent. In Finland there are only the road, the driver and peacefulness that we can never experience in Belgium, say the students.

The students also had a chance to get to know Finnish culture: they visited Pori and Tampere, participated in an ice hockey game and went to sauna, ice fishing and even tried curling. Although we Finns find our lifestyle often too hectic, were the students so fascinated by Finland’s peaceful lifestyle, nature and traffic culture they even talked about a chance to move to Finland someday. The only problem was the language:

– I speak many languages but Finnish seems impossible to learn! laughs Marco.

Picture: In Finland the trucks are much bigger than in Belgium. The students marvel at the truck outside the terminal.

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The cooperation continues also in the future

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The cooperation continues also in the future

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Teija Auramaa from Auramaa is pleased with the student exchange program. The experience has always been positive and this time is no exception. The cooperation continues also in the future.

– Many people find transport industry quite old-fashioned so we want to be an example and lead the way. Networking with schools and international actors is important and it gives a chance to learn new things even though we don’t operate internationally, says Teija.

Teija also thinks it’s possible to expand the cooperation also to other Auramaa terminals in Finland. Pori is good because of its diversity:

– In Pori the students have a chance to participate in local and long-distance driving. The location is good and we handle a lot of grocery deliveries there.

It’s not only about offering a learning experience to the students. It’s a learning experience for Auramaa’s employees as well:

– This is a learning experience for our drivers as well: they have a chance to change thoughts on professional things, to speak languages and to get to know new people. Our drivers have spent evenings with the students also outside the working hours: that is something we have never required, but they have always wanted to show the Finnish lifestyle to the students. We highly appreciate it, smiles Teija.

Picture: Truckstars on the road is a result of cooperation of many people.