Kuperkeikka – Youth voices on Finnish education

Tiago Martins Pinto / Kuperkeikka Team
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Kuperkeikka gives voice to teenagers reflecting on what it’s like to grow up and study in Finland’s school system. Each episode features young people with immigrant backgrounds sharing their experiences. From learning a new language to finding friends, from understanding teachers to balancing cultures. Hosted and produced by Tiago Martins Pinto together with the Kuperkeikka team, the podcast invites listeners to hear honest, everyday stories about education, belonging, and change.

Episodes

  1. JAN 25

    #8 - Quiet Doesn’t Mean Weak

    In the final episode of this season, Zainab talks about what it’s like to grow up in Finland after moving from Iraq at the age of eight. She shares how pressure around language can build over time, and how being quiet is often mistaken for not caring. This episode closes the season by centring a voice that is often overlooked, and by reminding us that integration is not just about learning a language, but about feeling understood. Transcripts: 🇫🇮 Finnish: here 🇬🇧 English: here 🇵🇹 Portuguese: here

    15 min

  2. JAN 18

    #7 - From Poems to Preparatory Class

    In this episode, Ndey Sukai, a 17-year-old student from Gambia, reflects on support from teachers, moments of isolation, and the emotional impact of not being fully understood, both in school and in everyday life. She talks about poetry, multilingualism, family, and the small but important things that shape a young person’s sense of belonging. Transcripts: 🇫🇮 Finnish: here 🇬🇧 English: here 🇵🇹 Portuguese: here

    22 min

  3. JAN 11

    #6 - Somewhere Not Here

    Ilja talks about arriving in Finland after a very different school experience back home and what it took to adapt to a calmer and more reserved school culture. He reflects on learning Finnish, making friends when people already have their circles, and how the valmistava luokka can feel both supportive and isolating. The conversation touches on identity, belonging, music, and the feeling of being “from somewhere else,” ending with Ilja’s question for the next guest: how do you make friends? Transcripts: 🇫🇮 Finnish: ⁠here⁠ 🇬🇧 English: ⁠here⁠ 🇵🇹 Portuguese: ⁠here⁠ Comments & questions: kuperkeikkapodcast@proton.me

    27 min

  4. 12/14/2025

    #5 - Shoes Off, Oatmeal On

    Sini and Oona, two teenagers who arrived in Finland from very different parts of the world, yet found themselves navigating many of the same questions: What does it feel like to start over? How do you learn a new language, new habits, new rhythms? And where do you belong when every country has been temporary? Sini talks about culture shocks like taking shoes off at school, learning Finnish fast, and finding support in teachers and classmates. Oona reflects on moving through many countries, losing and regaining her voice, and the challenge of entering a Finnish classroom where everyone already knows each other. Transcripts: 🇫🇮 Finnish: here 🇬🇧 English: here 🇵🇹 Portuguese: here Comments & questions: kuperkeikkapodcast@proton.me

    18 min

  5. 12/07/2025

    #4 - Feeling Seen

    Between languages, classrooms and quiet hopes, Maxine and Rishita trace the paths they are learning to walk in Finnish school. They speak about the moments that made them hesitate, the ones that helped them breathe again, and the slow work of finding a place where they truly belong. Transcripts: 🇫🇮 Finnish: here 🇬🇧 English: here 🇵🇹 Portuguese: here Comments & questions: kuperkeikkapodcast@proton.me

    13 min

  6. 11/30/2025

    #3 - Finding Warmth in the Cold

    Dan moved from Burundi to Finland, and in this episode he shares what surprised him most, from loving the cold to navigating school in three languages. We talk about friendships, language barriers, math as a universal language, and why being the “new student” can feel so hard. This is a special episode, as we speak both French and English! :) Transcripts: 🇫🇮Finnish: ⁠here ⁠🇬🇧English: ⁠here ⁠🇵🇹Portuguese: ⁠here

    21 min

  7. 11/23/2025

    #2 - I Want to Talk, But I Don’t Have the Words

    In this episode, we meet Maxine, a 14-year-old teenager who moved from the Philippines to Finland a few years ago. She shares how it feels to enter a new school system, navigate Finnish through shyness, and find her place in the "Valmistava luokka" (preparatory class). Transcripts: 🇫🇮 Finnish: here 🇬🇧 English: here 🇵🇹 Portuguese: here Comments & questions: kuperkeikkapodcast@proton.me

    15 min

  8. 11/16/2025

    #1 - Growing Up Kurdish in Finland

    In this episode, we meet Bende a 16-year-old multilingual teenager born in Finland with roots in Kurdistan. She speaks five languages and shares how it feels to grow up between two cultures, balancing Kurdish traditions, Finnish life, and her own sense of belonging. Transcripts: 🇫🇮Finnish: here 🇬🇧English: here 🇵🇹Portuguese: here Comments & questions: kuperkeikkapodcast@proton.me

    7 min
  9. #0 - What is Kuperkeikka?

    11/07/2025 · BONUS

    #0 - What is Kuperkeikka?

    In this first episode, Tiago introduces Kuperkeikka, a podcast where teenagers share their real experiences of school life in Finland. The series explores education, identity, and fairness through honest conversations with young people from Helsinki. Transcripts: 🇫🇮Finnish: here 🇬🇧English: here 🇵🇹Portuguese: here Comments & questions: kuperkeikkapodcast@proton.me

    3 min
  • 9 Episodes

About

Kuperkeikka gives voice to teenagers reflecting on what it’s like to grow up and study in Finland’s school system. Each episode features young people with immigrant backgrounds sharing their experiences. From learning a new language to finding friends, from understanding teachers to balancing cultures. Hosted and produced by Tiago Martins Pinto together with the Kuperkeikka team, the podcast invites listeners to hear honest, everyday stories about education, belonging, and change.

Information