Arcada University of Applied Sciences and 45 students joined forces with adventurer Patrick "Pata" Degerman and a wheelchair athlete Aron Anderson during spring 2015. Our goal was to scale a 300 meter tall, perfectly vertical mountain wall in La Grave, France, after months of preparations in Helsinki, Finland. The students got to climb the wall, but also work with things related to their studies. Not only was the expedition learning by doing at its best (what Arcada is all about). The adventure also gave all parties involved a chance to stand out, test and develop new products, methods and concepts. To help us we had a great team of experts, mentors and sponsors. Check out our adventure below! The climbing expedition took place 7-15 May 2015 in La Grave.
Expedition Arcada involved professional adventurers, students and experts at Arcada UAS and also a number of sponsors. Everyone involved benefitted in various ways from the extensive co-operation. The expedition was a unique and multidisciplinary development and learning project which spurred new ways of thinking regarding innovations and entrepreneurship, supported the participants’ professional and personal development and offered excellent opportunities for networking.
The days in France were the main highlight of this expedition, but the preparations started months before the journey to France began. There were meetings, training sessions, marketing and other kinds of preparations to do before the real adventure could begin.
The journey we had been preparing for so long finally begun! The whole crew left Finland behind and flew to La Grave, France, to start the adventure. In the following boxes you can take a closer look at the days in France and learn all about the real reason for the expedition!
During and after the expedition the participants created a wide range of written, digital and audio materials. The students created e.g. videos, a website, a book, a blog and several podcasts.
Mediastudents created several short videos of the expedition, but they also made two documentaries. You can check out all of the videos on Expedition Arcada's official youtube channel!