There was an expectant atmosphere at the edge of Louhela’s ice rink. The interdisciplinary rousette skating event for university students had not started yet, but the students organizing it had already arrived. The students wearing overalls of various colors were helping each other with preparations. They were looking forward to the first event they were organizing together.
Linnea Pyykkö, an active member of the board of the hospitality management students’ association, has played a key role in organizing the rousette skating event. The idea originated from her childhood, when rousette skating events were traditionally held around Valentine’s Day. The students wanted to bring this nostalgic tradition into the local student life.
At the heart of rousette skating is finding new buddies through collecting heart-shaped numbers. Participants search for a partner based on the number they receive, and meeting five new people earns them their first overall patch. The event offers a great opportunity to network and make new familiar faces to meet on campus.
Despite the name of the event, it’s also possible to participate without ice skates. The planning ensured that everyone has the chance to join in. During the rousette skating event, participants can also play Mölkky, grill sausages, and enjoy other activities. The relaxed atmosphere ensures that everyone can find their own way to enjoy the event and meet new people.
Commonality built through collaboration
Pyykkö explains that the hospitality management students’ association in Joensuu is small and didn’t have the resources to organize the event alone. Additionally, the city’s encouragement of interdisciplinarity was taken into account, and they wanted to organise the event together with other student associations. Student associations are student-run organizations that bring together students from the same field of study.
– I thought this would be a good experiment to see how many would join in – and they did, says Pyykkö.
The first rousette skating event was organized by a total of six different student association from Karelia University of Applied Sciences and the University of Eastern Finland, including those representing students in hospitality management, business administration, theology, history, physiotherapy, and forest engineering.
It has been wonderful to see how excited everyone has been to get involved
– It has been wonderful to see how excited everyone has been to get involved, Pyykkö says. Some of the students involved in the organizing had never participated in rousette skating before, but they were excited about organizing the event.
Collaboration with other student associations enables a larger-scale event that brings students together across different fields of study and campuses, fostering commonality. The rousette skating event isn’t just for students from the organizing associations, it’s open to all university-level students.
– Interdisciplinary events are those where different mindsets, study methods, and lifestyles meet, Pyykkö describes. It is a collaboration between students from different fields of study, where ideas and skills combine. In Joensuu, interdisciplinary has been actively improved, and it has grown in recent years. However, Pyykkö hopes that interdisciplinary will continue to increase even more, as that brings new opportunities.
International students were actively encouraged to join, and the rousette skating event was also announced in English. Pyykkö reflects that international students may not have ice skates, which might limit their participation in the event. This is why the organizers wanted the event to include other activities.
A vision for the future
The reception of the event has been extremely positive. Rousette skating sparked enthusiasm not only among university students, the intended audience for the event, but also among others. During the event’s preparations, curiosity was also raised in the ice hockey rink about what would happen at Louhela’s ice rink and whether they could participate.
We hope to get more organizers involved next year
– We hope to get more organizers involved next year, Pyykkö plans. This would allow the event to expand even further. The organizers are already working on plans for next year. The desire is to offer the possibility of renting ice skates for those who might not have them. This would allow more students to ice skate alongside other activities.
– I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out, and I’m grateful to everyone who has been involved – from sponsors to student associations, Pyykkö sums up her thoughts about organising rousette skating event.
Artificial intelligence has been used in the translation of the article.
