Everything starts with a great pitch

A buzz of excitement filled the room. Teams wearing matching t-shirts were going over their lines one last time in the hallway.
 
The start of the first open event of Helsinki Challenge, Thursday’s PitchNight, had the feel of a tech startup conference – but tonight was about more than just tech: a first look at some of the ideas vying for a spot in the Helsinki Challenge final showcased science, art, healthcare, urban planning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and even an attempt to gauge a nation’s collective state of mind with data mining.

Teams had seven minutes to pitch, after which everyone received feedback from the evening’s three guest commentators Outi Kuittinen from the think tank Demos Helsinki , Oppo Nyrövaara from HelsinkiVentures and Valto Loikkanen from startup accelerator NewCo Factory .

First to take the stage were Frankenmind . A team of three undergraduates, Joonas Rissanen , Sami Kattelus and Joonas Viuho , are designing a “thinking machine”, a semantic problem solving mechanism based on artificial intelligence that can find solutions to open-ended problems and learn from its own progress. “Instead of building algorithms, we build mechanisms that can design algorithms themselves”, said Kattelus.

Next up was researcher Eija Juurola from the Department of Forest Sciences at the University of Helsinki. Juurola introduced the idea of Climate Whirl, a platform for climate science and its effects. The multidisciplinary team’s mission is to make scientific principles behind the climate change more understandable for the general public and build a bridge between science, arts and education. Juurola’s team want to make information sharing and learning a two-way street between scientists and the general public.

Osteoarthritis in the knee is the most common cause of work disability in Finland, with one out of four adults aged 45 years and over suffering from it. Researcher Virpi Muhonen from the Orthopeadic Research Group at the University of Helsinki introduced the audience of PitchNight to new solution: the COPLA scaffold for cartilage repair, promising significant safety, health and cost benefits for patients. To top it off, it’s also biodegradable and animal-product free. Muhonen left the stage inundated with pre-order requests from members of the audience.

Urbanisation is a global megatrend which poses both challenges and opportunities for humankind. At the moment, urbanisation in Finland is progressing at the pace of a developing country, said Jari Niemelä professor of urban ecology and one of the founders of Urbanacademy. “Cities are engines on science, culture, innovation and wealth, if urbanisation proceeds sustainably.” The platform and network combining research, teaching and innovation will be providing answers to urban sustainability through collaboration between the University of Helsinki, Aalto University, the City of Helsinki and other stakeholders.

Joonas Vinko and the AaltoHelsinki Bioworks team want to turn bacteria into superheroes. Nine enthusiastic undergraduate students interested in synthetic biology are developing a system that allows us to control bacteria gene expression with a remote controller. The device could be used in bioreactors, making prototyping and multi-phase production chains faster, easier and more profitable. AaltoHelsinki Bioworks team will be the first ever Finnish team taking part in the iGem 2014 science competition for college students in Boston this November.

The researcher Krista Lagus from the National Consumer Researcher and her team want to find a way to chart the recognition of nation’s dynamic state of mind and conflict resolution based on data economics. The hugely popular Suomi24 discussion portal is treasure trove for learning to recognize societal conflicts and conflict boundaries based on Suomi24 data. The vision of the team is to find appropriate models and know-how for resolving national conflicts. The CEO of publishing company Aller which is behind the Suomi24 Pauli Aalto-Setälä is on the team.
 

The passion of Kiesus Learning is to make learning materials for cultural education that encourages for participation. Mari Huotari , Mira Rantakeisu and Antti Huotari have already produced a Google Maps based database of religious communities in Helsinki called Uskonnot Helsingissä and a board game around the same theme. Next they want to find a publisher for the board game and enlarge the the map of the religious communities to whole Finland.

Olli Vesterinen , researcher at the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki, introduced the audience the platform called kaikkialla.fi which is an online service bringing together teachers and learning environment developers. Their mission is to form an open network of experts and change the school culture. They want to promote new learning culture where participatory pedagogies and crossing boundaries between the school culture and surrounding society are central.

Wrapping up the evening was Hannu Salmi , reaserch director at the Department of Teacher Training at Helsinki University. Until now, augmented Reality (AR) technology has mainly been used in specialty fields such as military and high-tech companies, but there’s great potential in its wider educational use. Salmi’s project is aiming towards evidence-based education and new solutions in a broader learning context of UniverCity.

 

The night ended in great spirit and some real networking. Helsinki Challenge is truly on now. The best part is that there’s still time to sign up: just register your team on this site and start developing your idea. Competition entries must be submitted by October 17.

Kuvat: Alma Snellman