The Filter Scholarship, aimed at supporting students in mechatronics and automation, has been awarded for the 2024/2025 academic year. This prestigious scholarship, offered through the Estonian National Culture Foundation, was open to students in their third year of vocational secondary education.
Meet the 2024/2025 FILTER Scholarship recipient Karl-Martin Teppand, a third-year student at Tartu Vocational College has been selected as this year’s scholarship recipient. His outstanding commitment to the field of mechatronics and automation has earned him this recognition. As part of this scholarship, we look forward to welcoming Karl-Martin as a trainee in the FILTER Estonia maintenance team from February 2025.
A conversation with Karl-Martin Teppand
To gain insight into his journey and aspirations, we asked Karl-Martin a few questions.
1. How did you come to study science and engineering?
“I think the interest in science came from home. I started to have big questions about life and the world that surrounds me daily when I was quite young. Consequently, I was often directed towards a physics or chemistry textbook that could answer my endless questions. Time went on and the questions were answered, but the interest kept growing. Growing up in the countryside, work in the household never ends, and so it could be said that knowledge of science became not only a part of life but also a facilitator of everyday life.”
2. Why did you start vocational education?
“At the end of primary school, each of us has inevitably had to think about what kind of life and future we want to create for ourselves in the long term. One thing I’ve always been sure of is that I want to raise my bar every chance I get and then raise it again. It’s a never-ending competition with myself; it’s something that has always made me look for the best way to prove myself. The same reason brings us back to the point where I had to make my decision between high school and vocational school. And here the answer for me was simple, I saw only one of them as an immediate opportunity to prove myself. I realized that vocational school would immediately give me the opportunity to start learning and improving myself in the technical field that I knew at that moment I wanted to pursue.
My final decision to specialize in mechatronics was based on several factors. I was aware that I wanted to dedicate my life to engineering, but I was not yet sure what my final field or specialty would be, in which to strive for excellence. At the time of making my choice, I had also developed a great interest in pneumatics and hydraulics, which my primary school physics teacher had made so fascinating. Mechatronics came into my life because I saw it as the best foundation for my future, fulfilling all my expectations and hopes, and offering more opportunities. My physics teacher was also one of the key people who helped me make the final decision to study mechatronics.”
3. What fascinates you most about this field of study?
“Endless innovation! The field of engineering and mechatronics in the 21st century is evolving faster than ever. Every day and every week we hear news of new inventions. This unstoppable development just pulls you along and makes you want to learn and experience new things every day. How can I say ‘NO’ to something so exciting?”
4. Where do you want to get to?
“I would like to reach a point in my life where I can look back and be proud of myself. This means that every rock and stump that comes my way will be overcome with complete determination. I haven’t set myself a firm and unshakeable path to walk straight, I just wouldn’t stay on it. I always walk around with my eyes wide open and play with my cards on the table – that way opportunities find me, and I do my best to always make the most of them. I have also always wished that when the day comes to leave this world, there will be people who can say ‘I was honored to have known him’.”
5. What did you know about FILTER before?
“I remember one really powerful heating system in one of the newer barns. It used the warm milk of a cow milked on the farm to heat accumulation tanks, after which the milk was channeled into large coolers. That was the moment when ‘FILTER solutions’ first caught my attention.”
Congratulations, Karl-Martin!
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Karl-Martin Teppand and wish him success in both his studies and his upcoming internship at FILTER Estonia. We are excited to see the impact he will make in the field of mechatronics and automation in the coming years!
