Excu is short for “excursion” and it means a short trip that implies leisure activities. At Aalto University excu is an organized visit to some company or organization by a group of students. Usually guilts and student associations are in touch with the representatives of different companies and organize those visits. The chosen companies of course function in a certain area of business that interests the student group and could become a future workplace for those students.
A couple of weeks ago I participated in one such excus organized by the Real Estate Economics student’s Association – FUNDI. We visited one of the buildings that were developed by HGR Property Partners – Accountor Tower in Keilaniemi district in Espoo. The building is 84 meters high and it is the 9th tallest building in Finland at the moment.
Façade of the Accountor Tower (YIT 2019)
During the excu HGR Property Partners´ representatives introduced as to the company and the team and told about their recent and biggest projects in Helsinki area. Students could ask different questions and learn more about real-life work in the field. The idea that after excu students get inspired and have a better understanding of what could be their possible career path. After the official presentation part, companies usually divide students into groups and introduce a case study to solve. This time we had to come with a concept for an area and 2 pavilions in front of the Accountor Tower in case the pandemic would never end. We had 1 hour to come up with the ideas, create some kind of business plan, and evaluate the financial viability of our projects. Then we had to pitch our projects and the best team got incredible prizes – 1-year gym memberships! After the official part was over students and company representatives had the opportunity to chat and network during an amazing 3-course dinner at Lucy in the Sky restaurant. The restaurant has a breath-taking view over the Helsinki archipelago!
To sum up, such visits are always a great opportunity for students to get to know different companies in their own field, network, and also experience something exciting like a dinner at a great restaurant or visit places, where usually people can’t go by themselves. For example, during my 1st year of studies, I visited a construction site of the Mall of Tripla, now the 4th largest shopping mall in Finland. It is really fun to visit it now when I know how the construction process looked like. By the way, all of the excus are totally free of charge for students, you just need to pay a membership fee to your association or guilt. Try to visit as many excus as possible during your
studies and take maximum advantage out of them!
More info about Real Estate Economics students’ Association FUNDI: https://fundi.fi/en/front-page/
Other student associations and clubs at Aalto University: https://www.ayy.fi/en/list-of-associations
Daria Babanina
Master’s student of Real Estate Economics at Engineering School