Catching up with Consul General: Lecturer Heli Sirviö of Columbia University on the growing interest towards Finnish culture and language studies
Right before the beginning of the fall semester, Consul General Mika Koskinen had a chat with Heli Sirviö, lecturer in Finnish and Swedish Culture and Language at Columbia University. COVID-19 nearly caused the Finnish Studies program to shut down, but due to Heli’s persistent efforts, it’s still up and running. Remotely, for now.
Heli Sirviö teaches Finnish Culture and Language, and starting this summer, also Swedish Culture and Language, at the Columbia University. Columbia University, together with Swedish Government led Svenska Institutet, are planning a joint Nordic program to ensure stronger representation of Nordic culture in the curriculum.
Ms. Sirviö holds a Master’s Degree from the Helsinki University, Theater Academy. She served as a vice president of Finlandia Foundation New York Metropolitan Chapter in 2011-2018 and as a vice president of Finland in American Scandinavian Society in 2016-2019.
In her free time, she enjoys long walks in Central Park with her dog Pepper, yoga, books, theater, opera, concerts, and film. During the pandemic, she has found herself to be a passionate cook, spending hours inventing new dinner recipes.
Mika Koskinen: Columbia University is the only Ivy League school with a program for Finnish Studies. This spring, due to COVID-19, Columbia was forced to cut funding for some of its smaller programs, and the Finnish Studies Program was one in danger of getting completely shut down. How did you manage to save the program?
Heli Sirviö: Actually, through Columbia, we offer Finnish culture and language studies to students at Yale and Cornell, too. The program is small but the students are very dedicated, and many of them end up in exchange programs, or some even permanently living in Finland.
I am fortunate having lived in New York City for 13 years already. During those years, I have formed a broad array of friendships and connections with people from all different fields of life.
In the crisis our Columbia Finnish Studies Program faced during the spring, those connections showed their remarkable value.
Tero Kuittinen, who has an impressive technology and startup network of big-name Finnish movers and shakers, stepped up and contacted his network, many of whom are either Finns living in the US or having studied here. Tech leaders responded quickly and we received generous help from Ilkka Paananen, Pasi Jokinen, Samuli Seppälä, and William Wolfram.
Ultimately: The support we needed was gathered in record time, from the Finnish private donors as well as the Finnish Department of Education. Us Finns, we are really quite efficient folks…
In the end, we were waiting for Columbia University to confirm the paperwork!
Another important person during the crisis was Professor Emerita Aili Flint who worked as Finnish Professor at Columbia for decades and not only built the Finnish study program but also has invaluable advice on the University, and the possibilities we have for not only saving the program but even improving it further and better.
When there is a will, there is a way!
MK: Finnish was quoted as “the most requested language ever” by the language app Duolingo, which launched its Finnish course this summer. Why do you think studying Finnish is so popular now? Who are coming to your class and why are they interested in learning Finnish?
HS: What I witness in my young American students is a deep concern for the realities they’ll be required to adapt to when they graduate in a few years' time. Many walk into their adulthood with a student loan of $150,000 or some even have over $200,000.
Though our students at Columbia are amongst the brightest and the most highly motivated and talented individuals in the country, they still feel scared whether they'll be able to carry the cost of their ambition to study.
Nordic countries like Finland have received a lot of exposure and admiring commentary in the American media in recent years. I feel that the youth are curious to search for possibilities on how to build a future that is less stressful and more equal for all here in the US, and that is where Finland and other Nordics definitely seem like a beacon of light.
Also, some of my students have an interest in the history and language of Finland because J.R.R. Tolkien has mentioned several times that his elvish language in The Lord of the Rings is based on Finnish. I've had a student who is fluent in elvish wanting to understand Tolkien's mindset better, hence the student learned Finnish.
MK: What have your students found the trickiest in learning Finnish? Is there something that has caused wondering or proved to be challenging to learn?
HS: Finnish grammar is definitely a challenge! Yet my students impress me beyond anything I would have believed possible. As the language is an important part when aiming to understand the culture, mindset, and infrastructure of a nation, my students seem always extremely motivated to learn the language and its peculiarities as soon as possible.
Culturally, too, there are some aspects that the students find deeply interesting: Finnish schools, universities, and healthcare are covered by taxes, which results in questions that I find myself talking about and explaining quite frequently at lectures.
“How come does the student get paid support money by the government when they study and not the other way around?”
“How about if you get sick, how big premiums/copay do you have you pay on your insurance? What, none?”
Also, the Finns’ united front in the fight against climate change is something that the students admire, and we frequently talk about the possibilities of what America and its people could learn from smaller countries like Finland or Sweden.
The landscape of the Finnish societal support system is definitely quite different from the US.
My other profession is in the field of arts and film, and we familiarize ourselves with a lot of Finnish life and mindset through discussions on Finnish TV, film, literature, and design. There, in film, literature, and art the language is bound to a deeper expression, a way of telling, a way of sharing one’s experience. The Finnish pace is quite different from the American, and I feel that experiencing art is a deep and impactful educator about society and culture as a whole.
Therefore, a lot of our study is based on Finnish culture, and that is the most efficient way of getting into the Finnish mindset and understanding the people.
"Some of my students have an interest in the history and language of Finland because J.R.R. Tolkien has mentioned several times that his elvish language in The Lord of the Rings is based on Finnish. I've had a student who is fluent in elvish wanting to understand Tolkien's mindset better, hence the student learned Finnish."
MK: In the wake of Columbia University’s recent announcement about canceling in-person classes for the fall, how does operating only virtually affect your teaching and the program? What are the possible challenges you face as a teacher when teaching a language virtually?
HS: This has been a wonderful pool of possibilities, actually. Finland has some world-leading augmented and virtual reality companies that can provide a whole new approach for the students.
Companies like Zoan, 3DBear, and others have proven to bring amazing new learning environments for our students, and Columbia is a very open-minded and an enthused environment for us to look into developing those opportunities even further, together.
Many of my Columbia students do not have the chance to fly to Finland during the study year, but the VR environments can offer them a chance to "visit" virtual Helsinki, have a conversation with a Finnish avatar in a natural environment like The University of Helsinki or Cafe Engel, or maybe the National Opera house. This brings definitely variety, real Finnish authenticity, and extra motivation into the regular study curriculum. And it makes learning fun.
MK: Finnish EdTech companies have provided distance learning support to schools in New York by offering complimentary software licenses and even voluntary Finnish teachers to coach their local colleagues. How do you see the role of digital and augmented/virtual reality solutions in education now and in the future?
HS: I believe that the augmented and virtual reality platforms open a whole new educational landscape for us all. And that is very exciting!
The wonderful Finnish companies have the best of Finland that they can offer for American and New York schools and universities: they have a thorough understanding of how broad and deep a good education can take any and all students who are offered a possibility of expanding their study to include AR and VR. The developers in these companies have great knowledge of the Finnish school system that has many times in past decades proven to be the best in the world.
Now that their expertise in the augmented and virtual reality platforms can be harnessed to educate students around the world, I believe that the possibilities are endless.
Though the pandemic has put us all globally through challenges that we were not able to imagine a few months ago, there is also a silver lining here: to develop new innovative and supportive ways to learn and work.
"I feel that the youth are curious to search for possibilities on how to build a future that is less stressful and more equal for all here in the US, and that is where Finland and other Nordics definitely seem like a beacon of light."
MK: We have learned that "Kalevala Marathon" is the annual highlight of the Finnish Studies program. How did you come up with the idea of the Marathon, and can you tell us a little bit more about it?
HS: Actually, Kalevala Marathon is something I inherited from my predecessors. Professor Aili Flint came up with the idea and developed and grew it into the annual super-event it is today. At the event, we have copies of Kalevala in almost all the languages it has been translated to (I believe I have currently 48 different translations available) and during the event, we can hear Kalevala recited in Sanskrit, Swahili, French, Turkish… everyone who speaks that language can pick up a copy and read a short passage. We also have Finnish music and dance performances that draw their inspiration from Finnish folklore and Kalevala. Sometimes it's opera, sometimes jazz, modern dance, drumming, rock…
During the intermissions, we have Finnish karjalanpiirakka pies, salmon sandwiches, authentic Finnish pulla (bun), and some coffee and wine. People love the event!
MK: What is the most beautiful word or sentence in Finnish for you and why?
HS: Mummo, grandmother.
For me my Kerttu-mummo represented the ultimate power, warmth, and heart of a Finnish woman.
Her generation lived through wars and rough times and yet they grew the nation into one of the leading, most balanced and happiest countries in the world. So, for me mummo carries a lot of admiration and love.
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