Bring Your Child to Work Day spreads the joy of learning
Helena Vänskä programmed a toy car to create drawings.
“This is so much fun!” she said excitedly.
Vänskä was one of the many children who got to see what their parents do at work during the annual Bring Your Child to Work Day. The event is part of the Children’s Rights Week, which this year focused on the theme “Right to Learn”.
Staff at both Tampere University and TAMK were invited to bring their children to visit their workplaces on Friday.
Peek into the diverse and international Tampere University
At Tampere University, the day began with an opening event on the city centre campus. Vice President for Education Marja Sutela introduced the children to the University as a work environment and highlighted the activities offered by Juniversity, our university catering to children and young people.
“The campus community is involved in research, teaching, learning, instructing and inspiring. The daily life on our campuses is wonderfully rich and varied,” Sutela said.
The children gained a first-hand glimpse into the University’s scale and international environment, reflected by its 4,000 employees and more than 80 nationalities.
“Bring Your Child to Work Day is an excellent opportunity for children to see for themselves what their parents do on campus,” Sutela summed up.
Campus tours and the fun of exercise
In addition to independent explorations, a variety of events and activities were offered across Tampere University. For instance, the children could attend guided tours on all three campuses and participate in workshops and sports activities.
The tour of the city centre campus included a workshop at Juniversity’s science classroom. The children could also meet two robots at the Main Building.
On the Hervanta campus, the children could play VR games and meet researchers at the Centre of Excellence in Body-on-Chip Research.
Action tracks set up in each of the three SportUni sports centres allowed the children to release their pent-up energy and excitement.
Children greeted robots at TAMK and created AI-edited artwork at the University Consortium of Pori
At TAMK, the children were invited to explore the Virtual Lab for Social and Health Care, featuring an immersive cylinder space that offers a 360-degree virtual experience of a Christmas market and other landscapes. They also had the opportunity to meet robots and play various games using a VR headset.
The day’s programme at the University Consortium of Pori (UCPori) included a workshop where the participants could edit their own drawings using artificial intelligence. Another workshop invited them to envision friendly interactions with future technologies through playful design methods. Each child could develop their own prototype of a technological solution that fosters positive encounters.
Author: Elina Kirvesniemi, Emmi Rämö
