A conversation with Reinis Cimdiņš, a Forest Science student at the University of Eastern Finland (programme: European forestry)
Did you start your studies in Finland after finishing high school, or did your studies originate in Latvia?
First, I studied at the Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences at the University of Latvia; two years ago, as a geography student, I already visited Joensuu, Finland, for the autumn semester as part of an exchange programme. I returned home, got my geography bachelor's degree, and decided to continue my studies in Finland. During my bachelor's studies, I did not manage to prepare the necessary documents to compete for a scholarship and studies for the following autumn, so I started my studies in the joint international programme of RTU and Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 'Innovative Solutions in Geomatics'. I was in Riga for half a year, and studied in Vilnius for the other half. In parallel, I was 'preparing my candidacy' for Finland. Last autumn (2019), not without some luck, I secured the desired study place in Finland, but… I had already started writing my master's thesis in geomatics and didn't want to abandon it, so last semester I was 'chasing two rabbits': studying at two universities, experiencing a heavy study load and a lot of travelling. By the way, I literally just obtained my master's degree in geomatics – it's pleasing! As for studies and the future: I am truly having an internal battle between practical work and science. It's hard to say where my further path will lead! It's not clear to me yet!
Can Latvia and Finland be compared in terms of studies, or is that only possible theoretically?
It will be difficult to compare specifically regarding forestry studies because I haven't studied at the LLU Faculty of Forest and Wood Sciences. I can compare the study process at the University of Latvia, RTU, Vilnius University, and the University of Eastern Finland.
In Finland, one can focus much more or even entirely on their studies. Within my circle of acquaintances in Latvia, I don't know anyone at the master's level who is only studying. Everyone works alongside their studies. None of my fellow students in Finland work! To sort out all academic matters and keep up to the standard, one has to invest a significant amount of time and effort, and there is no time for paid work, though, of course, if there were no other options, I suppose one could.
There is no reason to criticise universities in Latvia! Regarding the differences, which undoubtedly exist, I can say something. You are on first-name terms with your lecturers in Finland (virtually all of them), and the lecturer is like your mentor, who, in addition to lectures, guides you and provides structure for independent work. You draw up your study plan yourself: starting each semester, a student can choose their own study courses. For example, I have fellow students who have combined their chosen programmes in all sorts of ways, and I essentially don't see or meet them! Yes, we are fellow students, but we don't meet in the course of our studies! As I said, last year, alongside my forest science studies, I also studied geomatics, I am interested in laser scanning solutions for forest inventory support, and in my studies, I researched and referenced scientific publications in my work… At one point, I realised that the author of some of the publications I was reading was my Finnish lecturer!
What else to say about studies…? We will each understand for ourselves whether it is necessary to study. As I said, I applied and got a scholarship, and that is a great support for my studies. In Finland, you can feel that things have been thought out for you, for example, in everyday matters: health insurance, a dentist, and other medical services are available to a certain extent right at the university, there is good sports infrastructure – a swimming pool, gyms, and sports fields are nearby, and there is an opportunity to play ice hockey, which I do as well. The university city (Joensuu) is relatively small, everything is reachable by bicycle. Many students also ride bicycles in winter because public transport is not free. Since I had to travel to Latvia often last year, I concluded that it is more cost-effective to travel home by car, and having tried different routes, I realised that it is cheaper and in some way more interesting to drive through Russia. The nearest border crossing in the Republic of Karelia from Joensuu is about 70 km away. Karelia and Russia in general are a bit of a different world for me; it is an adventure and a kind of financial saving.
About fellow students – I have a study friend Lauma from Rauna and an 'exchange' student Luīze from Valmiera. In my course, young people study from all over the world, from Costa Rica to the Philippines. The best contact? Hard to highlight, but it could be the Brazilians – fun, open, and pleasant people. To apply for the studies, it was necessary to pass the IELTS English language exam at a certain level, so the language does not cause great difficulties, although I don't consider my English perfect by any means. At times it is quite difficult. Even just the fact that English speakers and those proficient in English have different accents – Filipinos speak differently than Spaniards, or Finns, and so on!
In Finland, I am in my first year of studies out of two; next year, I will spend one semester at one of the European Forestry partner universities – in Romania. (The choice was Spain, Austria, Germany, Romania, France.) I will likely be back in Finland for the final semester.
So, one semester will be spent in Romania, which was not my first choice. Each student had to rank the offered universities in a certain order (by 'ranks', priorities), followed by evaluation – the student's grades, credits earned, motivation letter, and on a competitive basis, I 'did not get' my first choice of university (University of Freiburg, Germany). So – Romania it is!
The programme I am studying, 'European Forestry', covers, if you will, the whole of Europe and its forest sector as a whole. ***In May, we – the whole course – will go for one month on a 'field course' visiting five of the aforementioned countries' universities and companies, and we will look at how forestry is organised in different parts of Europe! We will spend about six days in each country. Then will follow summer practice in Vienna and a semester in Brașov (Transylvania, Romania).
The forests and natural conditions of Romania differ significantly from those in Latvia and Finland!
Yes, definitely, but there are the Carpathians, which introduce their own adjustments, so it is difficult to judge; we shall see! Big companies, international enterprises, are many places the same. I will be in Transylvania, which is definitely not the boreal zone; it has its own specifics where broad-leaved trees dominate and management is carried out by adapting to the peculiarities of the terrain, but that is still ahead! I hope it will be both useful and interesting!
Those in the know in Latvia praise Finland as a European forestry powerhouse. Is that felt on the ground, too?
In Finland, forestry processes and related matters are organised quite intensively. Effectively everything is mechanised! As for forest owners and properties – in Finland, there are very many small forest properties whose owners live in cities, rarely see their property, and their understanding of property and management is – let's say – varied. A large part of small forest owners have handed over forest management to management companies. Similar things, as far as I know, are happening in Latvia too.
It is difficult to say how widely interest in forests and forestry is spread throughout Finland. The city where I study, Joensuu, is called the forest capital of Finland; here are forest machinery manufacturing plants, here is a forest science centre and the European Forest Institute. The forest is respected, cared for, and cultivated! It is difficult for me to judge other Finnish regions, for example, the south and the western part, where agriculture is respected. Likewise, about Lapland, where vast protected nature areas have been established, and there are known conflicts regarding forestry with the local Sámi people. By the way, in Finland, private forests are slightly more numerous than those owned by the state, and large areas of state forests are concentrated precisely in the Sámi-inhabited territories in Lapland.
When you finish your studies, where will your future path lead? A little about your plans…
My future plans are related to Latvia. I will study for one more year, then I think I won't be active in Latvia for about 4-5 years, but I definitely plan to return! That is my plan and vision for today. I'm not thinking about a doctorate for now, but, as I mentioned, the choice will likely be between science and practical forestry. We shall see which one gains the upper hand!
Latvia, Brazil, Nepal. In your letter, while inquiring about certification issues, you mentioned that in your study work you are comparing these very different countries. How did that happen?
That is part of the study programme. The group composition was divided at random; the task is to conduct interviews via Skype, surveys, and prepare a small study about the things that are common and different in each of the three countries. We are trying to find out what is the importance of forest certification to achieve one of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals regarding responsible consumption. The work is still ongoing, so I will not mention precise findings and comparisons. A couple of superficial notes about Brazil – a lot of attention there is devoted to short-rotation plantations of eucalyptus and other species, forest fires, and issues related to the conversion of forest land for agricultural purposes. I don't know much about Nepal yet, but forest cooperatives play a significant role there. Moreover, this cooperation takes place between villages and local communities.
*** As Reinis wrote after coordinating the interview: "...due to recent events, my field course programme has been changed, and we will not be going to Europe. For now, we will stay in Finland and there will be an alternative here."