Back to work after Christmas

After spending some precious time at home with family and friends, it was time to fly back to Finland at the beginning of the new year. There were still 1,5 months of the internship left waiting for me! We started the new year with a new year’s reception together with all colleagues and their family. It was a really nice way to look back on the previous year, to look forward to the new year and to meet some family of my colleagues.

This month I had some interesting meetings on for example Dutch-Finnish cooperation on wind energy and the organization of the Vaasa Energy Week. In addition to that, a delegation from the Dutch province of Drenthe made a visit to Finland to establish contacts and learn about how the region of Uusimaa, that includes Helsinki, faces the challenges and opportunities of our time.

We also had the long awaited launch of a new version of a book on Villa Kleineh, the residence of the Dutch Ambassador. It was a very nice event with also several (diplomatic) neighbors visiting.

Most of my focus was however on the new website and my hydrogen in Finland research. Since the start of February, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Finland has a new website. The idea is that information about all the activities of the Embassy are now better available and easier to reach. It was a fun project to contribute to and it’s a nice bonus that the website went live still during my internship!

As the end of my internship approached, it was time to wrap up my research project on green hydrogen in Finland. I got a lot of insights into the developments regarding hydrogen in Finland through desk research, a field visit to industries and interesting conversations with multiple stakeholders. I managed to create a market overview, a so called “value chain analysis” of the Finnish hydrogen market and I analyzed relevant policy documents and other publications. I learned a lot and also enjoyed it on the way. The internship has totally convinced me of my interest in the energy sector, energy policy and specifically the role of hydrogen in future energy systems. After writing my thesis on this same topic the coming spring, I really hope I can continue my professional career in this field too!

Porvoo, museum visits and the Musiikkitalo

Next to the work for my internship, there were still (and there are still) a lot of things to see in Helsinki and Finland. In January I visited the beautiful old town of Porvoo, which is a one hour bus drive away from Helsinki. The colorful wooden houses in combination with the snow really made it into a postcard-like experience.

In Helsinki, I’ve been keeping an eye out on the “free admission days” that museums throughout the city organize every month. This is a really nice initiative that makes it possible to explore lots of culture, even though you’re on an intern budget 😉. This month the Helsinki Design Museum and the Museum for Finnish Architecture were on my agenda. I’m a big fan of Finnish and Nordic design, so it was really interesting to get to know more about the history and see some original prototypes in real life. The Museum for Finnish Architecture had an exhibition on the (often overlooked) role of women in architecture in the past. This exposition is a valuable eye-opener and for sure a recommendation if you happen to be in Helsinki the coming weeks!

Something that I wanted to do, but didn’t get the chance to do so far, was going to a concert of music from Sibelius. Sibelius is Finland’s most famous composer; he has written amongst others the world-famous patriotic hymn called ‘Finlandia’. In the last week of my internship I therefore paid a visit to the Musiikkitalo, the main classical music hall of Helsinki. Here the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra performed the Lemminkäinen-suite, conducted by Susanna Mälkki, which was a really nice experience!

Looking back

And then this is was already my last blog; my internship has sadly come to an end! When looking back I certainly think of a successful, fun and immensely interesting time! As you could read in my previous blogs, I got to do a lot of cool things! Both moving to Finland, as well as the work at the Embassy was a really nice experience that I wouldn’t want to have missed. I mostly worked on energy and economic affairs at the embassy, but I was also lucky to get a better view of the consular, public diplomacy and political work that the Embassy in Finland does. I got to know how an Embassy works; what challenges there are for a small Embassy like ours in Helsinki, but surely also the benfits. I couldn’t be more lucky with my colleagues as well. I was always included in the work they do and it was a very nice team to work with!

I will certainly miss the Embassy and Finland. I’ve felt welcome at the Embassy from day one and that is also true for Finland. While moving abroad can be challenging, Helsinki has become a true second home the past half year. I will for sure come back!

The coming weeks I will still be in Finland to arrange things for moving back to the Netherlands, but I will also still make a train trip to Lapland in hope of spotting Santa Clause and perhaps even the northern lights.

If you’re reading this and you think: “I want to have this experience too!”, I can only recommend you to take the leap, write that motivation letter and hope for the best! Who knows you end up in Helsinki or some other place around the world to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!