2.3.2026 Blogs

A Dynamic Start with International Collaboration

Raseko welcomed international guests in February, when a group of German students and their teachers arrived on campus for an innovation workshop and a Spanish teacher came for a job shadowing period.

Design thinking workshop held at Raseko for the third time

A Design thinking workshop was held at the Raseko campus for the third time in collaboration with the Hamburg vocational school Berufliche Schule Itech. During the two-week workshop, the students were tasked with responding to challenges set by the partner company Octomeca by developing solutions and prototypes in international groups. Twelve information and communication technology students and eight electrical and automation students from Raseko participated in the workshop.

The image shows a digital display with text.

The picture shows the premises of the production facility.

The first week of the project kicked off when representatives from Octomecan arrived at Raseko to present the challenges to the students. The very next day, the students had the opportunity to delve deeper into the topics during a factory tour. This was followed by intensive work on their own innovations, with the Raseko Fab Lab’s facilities also being put to good use to support the projects. Two productive weeks culminated in a fair day, when the teams presented their prototypes.

The challenges listed below were presented to the student groups, who had to choose one and solve it.

Industrial machines consist of multiple mechanical and electrical components — such as motors, roller systems, and bearings — whose lifespans are i limited. When failures occur, they often result in expensive repairs and unplanned production downtime. At the same time, machines continuously generate valuable operational data. How can machine data be used for maintenance needs in time and extend the machine lifecycle without unexpected production interruptions?

Production lines experience daily disruptions. Operators often lack the time or tools to analyze what caused the stop and how best to respond. How can we support production line operators so they quickly understand what happened
and how to adjust or operate the machine to resolve the situation?

After the wrapping process, products can accumulate static electricity, leading to production disturbances, quality defects and safety risks for operators and equipment. How can static electricity be controlled or eliminated in the wrapping process to make it safer, smoother, and more reliable?

During the load wrapping process, deviations may occur in the wrapping material in certain situations (e.g., small holes or incomplete load coverage), which may require the load to be rewrapped, in the worst case at the end of the line if the deviation is not detected early enough. How can we automatically verify that pallet wrapping fully meets coverage requirements without continuous manual inspection?

The picture shows the prototype innovated in the workshop on the table. — Team 6’s solution to the first challenge: a machine learning algorithm predicts which systems or hardware components need maintenance and when. In addition to the algorithm, a 3D-printed prototype is also on display, which monitors changes in DC motor parameters and reports on the need for maintenance using artificial vibration.

The image shows the prototype with two vertical displays. — Octomecan CEO Janne Koskela familiarizing himself with Team 7’s solution to Case 4, which aims to use machine vision to detect anomalies in rolled products.

The image shows a 3D-printed prototype being presented to a company representative. — Team 5 presents its prototype for the third challenge to Octomecan CEO Janne Koskela. The solution adds an ionizing “bar” to the wrapping process, which discharges static electricity immediately during wrapping.

The picture shows a prototype of the workshop using two computers and brochures. — Team 4’s demo for solving the fourth challenge. This solution uses machine vision to detect holes in the wrapping material and temperature differences to detect air leaks in the wrapped equipment.

The image shows a 3D-printed prototype. — Team 9’s prototype for the third challenge, in which ionizing air is blown onto the product being wrapped on the production line. In the prototype, blowers would be attached to the upper edge of the equipment support structures on the production line to blow ionizing air into the products being wrapped.

The picture shows the Workshop prototype being presented at a table, with a computer screen on the table showing the packaging line. — Team 10’s prototype for monitoring wrapping material consumption (case 2). The consumption of wrapping material rolls is monitored using an LDR resistor and laser light. When the LDR detects a sufficiently large change in the amount of light, the operator can be notified that there is only enough material left for one hour. In this case, additional material can be delivered in time to avoid production stoppages.

Five people standing in a group photo. — Raseko teacher Markku Kynsijärvi, Octomeca administrative coordinator Anne Salosyrjä, project engineer/IT manager Mikko Korhonen, CEO Janne Koskela, and Raseko teacher Petri Lautamäki. In addition to them, Octomeca also had production workers who were interested in learning about the solutions.

The picture shows supporters captured on the central screen of the ice hockey arena.

Photo taken in the courtyard of Santapark in Rovaniemi.

Although the two weeks were intense and busy, there was still time for leisure activities. For example, the Germans took a weekend break and visited Rovaniemi to see if they could spot the Northern Lights. (And they did!) In the evenings, there was also time to go to a hockey game at the Gatorade Center, among other things.

Job shadowing strengthened cooperation

During the second week of the workshop, Alfonso J. Padilla, an ICT teacher from the Ies Maestre De Calatrava educational institution in Spain, arrived at Raseko to shadow Raseko’s ICT teacher Markku Kynsijärvi and lecturer Toni Turunen. Job shadowing is part of the Erasmus+ expert mobility program, and its purpose is to observe the work of international colleagues, learn from it, and gain good ideas for developing one’s own work.

Three people in a group photo. — Raseko lecturer Toni Turunen, Spanish teacher Alfonso J Padilla, and Raseko teacher Markku Kynsijärvi.

“The idea of job shadowing came about last fall at a workshop in Hamburg, which was also attended by three teachers from Ies Maestre De Calatrava together with 10 students. At that time, we considered whether it would also be possible for Spanish students to participate in the workshop organised in Raseko, says teacher Markku Kynsijärvi.

The job shadowing period was scheduled to coincide with the workshop so that Alfonso could observe how the workshop in Raseko is carried out in practice and what kind of work it involves. The experience strengthened the cooperation, and the goal is to involve Spanish students in the workshop in the future.

The Design Thinking workshop and Erasmus+ expert mobility are funded by Erasmus+.