Article by
Mona Olander, Omnia, Vocational education centre in Espoo, Finland
Eric Allard, CEGEP, National school of cabinet making in Victoriaville, Canada
The first long-term MOSAIC mobilities kicked-off last month in Finland!
The 2 students from École National du meuble et de l’ébénisterie (Canadian MOSAIC Partner, in Montréal), Émile Morin and Laurent Grimard, arrived on the 24th of May 2025 to start their internship as cabinetmakers at Wooden Oy in Espoo, Finland.
These students had previously participated over the Spring period in virtual meetings, where students and teachers from their school and Omnia worked together to plan the mobility and develop the content of the MOSAIC Moodle module “The future of Making”. The focus of this new module is to capacitate students to produce eco-designed wooden products made with modern technology.
Once Émile and Laurent arrived in Finland, they completed this work at the Omnia workshop where, together with the Omnia team, they tested the MOSAIC Moodle workshop focused on making boxes using offcut material and using modern CNC technology, developed at their school. This in turn, provided a perfect opportunity to disseminate the mindset of green production processes between the schools!
Now, both students are working at the company Wooden Oy (MOSAIC partner), which they chose for their mobility experience upon learning about its sustainable working processes and the design and manufacture of products made of offcuts.
No wood material is wasted and thrown out. Even the wood dust is collected and pressed into pellets that can be used for warming up houses (Emile jokes that they look like ice-hockey pucks!).
As you can see from the pictures, they are now making a cabinet from offcut material in oak, from an old tree that needed to be cut down in Helsinki . The idea is to make sturdy shelves whilst allowing the material to show natural elements such as branch knots and the variety of colour in natural wood. The appreciation for natural and individual looking furniture allows for a more effective use of all of the material.
Have a look at the picture of them with their bikes! As supporters of green living, they decided to use bikes for their travel to and from work. It is a 12 km trip every morning and evening, but this is something that both Emile and Laurent are very familiar with as they are active bikers in Montreal and have participated in competitions such asTriathlons.
They also used their bikes in their spare time to explore Finland. During their bike-trips they discovered the abundance of nature (important to preserve for the future!) and the many similarities between Canada and Finland.
One difference they noticed was how household waste is recycled differently in both countries. In Montreal, the waste in an apartment is collected in bags that are all put in the same bin. In Espoo, there is a separate building in the apartment block where there are bins for glass, plastic, metal, paper, boxes, bio and mixed waste.
Émile and Laurent’s Canadian supervisors remarked on several occasions that they couldn’t have hoped for anything better than MOSAIC long-term mobilities for their first experience of mobility abroad – “The supervision and management of our 2 students by the Omnia staff is exemplary. And the fact that our students are doing their placement in a company as unique and exceptional as Wooden Oy is in fact an incredible opportunity for Laurent, Émile and our school. We are sincerely grateful. The MOSAIC project has enabled us to build bridges with European partners that make us a better educational institution, as well as giving 2 of our students an unforgettable experience”.
