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A NATION OF TREE HUGGERS FINNISH WILDERNESS IS A SOURCE OF WEALTH, HEALTH AND INSPIRATION
2015 ISSN 2342-0170
WHERE PEOPLE AND VISIONS COLLIDE
The health innovation industry is bustling in Finland
A PURE FASHION STATEMENT
Bold designs out of textile waste
PREPARING FOR A PRODUCTIVITY LEAP
2 WE MAKE IT
WORK
By Heini Santos Photo Lappset Group
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RUNNING FREE Jump, grab the bar, swing, and land on a ball. The objective of parkour is to reach a state of continuous and controlled flow, while utilising everyday obstacles to move around creatively. Originally invented by the French a couple of decades ago, parkour is gaining popularity in Finland. The perks are that it is free, a whole lot of fun and the level of difficulty can be adjusted to a wide range of ages and different skill-levels. Together with professionals from the Parkour Academy, Finnish playground manufacturer Lappset developed a product line specifically for parkour. “The main design objective was to create, from a parkour point of view, as many functions as possible for a single piece of parkour equipment. As parkour instructors, we know what you need for it and have the experience of teaching people of all ages. Lappset, on the other hand, know the materials inside out�, says parkour professional, Perttu Pihlaja. There are about thirty official parkour training areas in Finland. Common training sessions, typically referred to as jams, bring together hundreds of people every week. Local parkour groups advertise their jams on social media. www.lappset.com/global/en
4 About the Magazine Focus on Finland is available in English, Chinese, German, Russian and Spanish. To read the magazine online or order free paper copies, please visit the Focus website at focus.finland.fi. For paper copies you can also contact the nearest Finnish embassy.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Petra Theman EDITORIAL BOARD Katja Anttila,
Mika Hammarén, Mervi Liukkonen, Peter Marten, Outi Torniainen, Sari Tuori, Sara Vihavainen EDITORIAL STAFF Otavamedia Customer Communications PRODUCER Terhi Rauhala LAYOUT DESIGN Linda Halenius ENGLISH EDITOR Nouveau Language COVER PHOTOGRAPH by Juho Kuva/Kuvatoimisto Gorilla PRINTED BY Erweko Oy PUBLISHERS: MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS formin.finland.fi MINISTRY OF EMPLOYMENT AND THE ECONOMY www.tem.fi SITRA www.sitra.fi INVEST IN FINLAND www.investinfinland.fi FINNFACTS www.finnfacts.fi ISSN 2342-0170
Stories illuminated This magazine is printed on Finnish LumiSilk - a woodfree, multicoated silk paper. It is made of virgin wood fibre from Finnish woods and produced in StoraEnso’s Oulu mill in northern Finland. LumiSilk has PEFC certificate and fulfils the Nordic Swan criteria.
PEFC/02-31-120
EDITORIAL Erkki Virtanen Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Employment and the Economy
RESOURCEFUL FINNS You will see plenty of wood on the following pages - and for a reason: it is after all one of Finland’s primary natural resources. And there is plenty of it: 80 per cent of our land area is covered by forests. Those forests have brought us wealth for centuries and continue to do so. There is a huge global demand for renewable raw materials and technologies enabling sustainable, efficient production. Bioeconomy is the next wave of economy and Finnish research and innovation is riding on top of it. For an industrial country, Finnish economy already has an exceptionally strong emphasis on sustainable use of natural resources. We hold the world’s 4th largest bio-capacity per capita. We master pulp as raw material and have harnessed it to replace non-renewables for example in plastics. Finnish government has defined a policy that Finland is to be a forerunner in natural resource economy by 2050. Here we lean on to another natural resource of ours: brains. With knowledge, experience and innovation we are developing revolutionary ways to enhance our society’s and industries’ productiveness.
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To make more with less, to improve the quality of life. Finnish nature is not just a source of profit, though. It has been an inspiration for world renowned artists and composers. Research shows that spending time in the woods enhances concentration and vigilance. It also has a positive effect on blood pressure and heart rate. I wish you welcome to experience the empowering effects of Finnish nature, first hand.
*The Domus lounge chair (1946) by designer Ilmari Tapiovaara represents both beautiful Finnish design and skillful carpentry. Its eye-pleasing forms are made from black stained birch and leather upholstery. It’s a valued design classic, not the least for its marvelous seating qualities.
HE MAKES IT WORK
PICTURE THIS The illustration on pages 12–13 was drawn by Finnish illustrator Eero Lampinen. Eero’s intriguing characters have adorned the pages of numerous Finnish publications, and he is currently working on his own graphic novel. He recently illustrated the cover for Grafia / Kuvittaja, the magazine of the Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland and The Finnish Association of Illustrators. www.eerolampinen.com
5 on Finland
2015 6
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Textile Industry. Upcycled. WHY FINLAND?
Finnish researchers harness both textile waste and wood-based biomass into raw material for innovative designers.
Healthy Dose of Brain Power Finland is a good laboratory for new experiments in health technology. 9 Finnish Biobanks Have Great Potential Finland to become a forerunner in commercial utilisation of genome data.
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32 Erika Holt Mixes It Up An expert in concrete found a professional and personal life in Finland.
Focus’ editorial team came up with a bunch of unique reasons to plan a trip to Finland.
34 Ready To Jump? Finns prepare for a productivity leap.
SOLUTIONS FOR A HEALTHIER PLANET
Seeing the Wood for the Trees
36 Revolutionary Research Heart and brain diseases’ treatment meets nano-technology.
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Forests are Finland’s “green gold” and the backbone of the bioeconomy industry.
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18 Water Expertise Crucial to Bioeconomy Water chemistry solutions reduce the amount of raw material needed.
FINNISH BY NATURE
Light as a Feather Finnish Wildlife Photo of the Year 2014 is Matti Pukki’s painterly picture of seagulls flying in front of a forest scene.
19 From the Forest to the Farm Finns have long known that pine resin has healing properties.
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KNOWLEDGE DRIVEN
Home for Revolutionary Research
MEET & GREET FINLAND
11 Reasons to Visit
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KEEP IT SHORT The bits and bytes of fresh Finnish innovations. In a nutshell.
10 Health Innovation Village The GE start-up campus accelerates speed of innovation in Helsinki.
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DESIGNING SUSTAINABLY
THE SOCIAL CONTEXT
What is Vlog?
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Smokahontas, the Squirrel Whisperer and other tales from the world of social.
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IN TOUCH
The Finnishing Touch Jean Sibelius grew up to be a central figure in creation of the Finnish national identity, composing the theme of a nation in the making. 24 A Second Opinion Finnish identity through the eyes of modern art.
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6 WHY FINLAND By Terhi Rauhala Photo Otso Kaijaluoto
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HEALTHY DOSE OF BRAIN POWER nce every month, on a Tuesday, the active players of the healthcare and wellbeing sector come together to network and share ideas in an informal breakfast setting. Health Tuesday, as the collaboration is called, is a fresh example of Finland’s bustling health and wellness ecosystem. Walls are torn down between the public sector, large companies, start-ups and students in order to create new business and wellbeing. “It’s all about the people. Health Tuesday meetings help create new partnerships and open up business opportunities. Eventually miracles will
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happen when you bring enthusiastic and talented minds together”, believes Ville Koiste, Assisting Specialist from The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. “The event brings together over a hundred attendees on a monthly basis: entrepreneurs, experts, investors and legislators. And the community keeps growing.” Worldwide, there are some 5 000 start-ups in the health and well-being technology sector. 300 of these are of Finnish origin. Known for its top-notch health-related research, Finland has already seen startup ideas make international breakthroughs. In the following pages you can read more on what the hype is all about.
8 WHY FINLAND By Heini Santos and Leena Koskenlaakso Photos BetterDoctor, Mendor and Shutterstock
THE COMING OF THE UPGRADED LIFE The global trend towards controlling our personal health is overcoming traditional, doctor-centred health thinking.
cell phone app that knows your mental state, pants that tell you how to exercise, or robots as caretakers and surgeons. Sounds wild? It is also reality today. Consumers have a growing need to monitor their well-being around the clock in the search for their optimal condition. Due to digitalisation and developments in AI and robot technology, healthcare is moving from hospitals to homes, gyms and workplaces with a focus on prevention. “Finland places in the top ten of the global health innovation market. Things evolve quickly, and you have to be flexible to stay on top. The good thing about being a small country is that we are quite flexible. The healthcare field is highly regulated, so you also need to be an active participant in the decision-making,” says Antti Kivelä, who leads the “Empowering
society” theme area at the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. One of Finland’s most valuable resources is its set of comprehensive databases that cover the nation’s health statistics but also for example environmental data. “Thanks to far-reaching decisions some twenty years ago, we have health data from a vast population sample. Most other countries are just now starting to collect that data. We must cultivate this into products – especially in terms of the upcoming genomics strategy – and combine the databases with new technologies and procedures. We have excellent plans, now it is a matter of execution,” states Kivelä. Finland has already seen breakthroughs such as Mirena, an intrauterine birth control developed by Bayer. One place to keep an eye on is start-up cluster HealthSPA that focuses on mHealth, eHealth, and wearables, encouraging open innovation and helping start-up fledglings fly out of the nest.
Future diabetes management
Trouble choosing safe cosmetics?
Mendor has developed a discreet all-inone blood glucose meter that combines a lancing device and test strips in a mobile phone-like discreet design. It measures blood glucose accurately in less than 20 seconds, helping diabetics monitor their levels anytime and anywhere. The technology connects to a web-based software that analyses patterns in the patient’s glucose measurements.
There is no need to memorise all the no-no chemicals anymore. The CosmEthics app scans the product’s bar code for potential health hazards and toxic ingredients. The tool can be personalised to be used with specific allergies or, for example, a vegan preference. The Helsinki-based company also builds a community around healthier and more conscious consumption and recommends clean products.
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THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
Quick doctor rankings “Booking a doctor should be as simple as making a reservation at your favorite restaurant,” believes CEO Ari Tulla from BetterDoctor. Tulla came up with the service idea through his personal struggle with finding the right doctors, first in Finland and later in the US. BetterDoctor allows you to find and book the best doctor – ranked based on quality and availability – in minutes. With a US-wide network of over a million doctors, the service also takes into account the patient’s insurance plan and utilises patient reviews. www.betterdoctor.com
www.mendor.com
www.cosmethics.com
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FINNISH BIOBANKS HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL Finland has what it takes to become a leader in international biobank research and the commercial utilisation of genome data. A biobank is a repository for human samples donated for medical research by patients. The samples provide human genome data that can be used for identifying the best treatment for each individual patient, and for detecting the risks of the onset of a genetic disease. That is why biobanks can act as a gateway towards personalised medicine, targeted drugs and commercial genome services. BIOBANK ACT LAYS DOWN THE RULES
“The Finnish Biobank Act came into effect in autumn 2013, and the first authorised Finnish biobanks started their operation during 2014. The Biobank Act specifies the
requirements for operating biobanks, secures the rights and privacy of sample donors, and defines the role of corporate collaboration. Together with the national genome strategy, to be launched this year, this opens up research possibilities that are unique on a global scale,” says director Antti Kivelä of Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. Biobanks have also a lot of commercial potential. They can partner with pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies and submit samples for clinical trials, for example. MANY UNIQUE ASSETS
”Finland has a comprehensive public healthcare system, high-class genomics research, coherent longterm electronic patient data records, and reliable clinical databanks. People are willing to participate in medical research. And all Finns have an individual social security number,
which makes it possible to combine data from different databases and utilise it in new ways,” Kivelä notes. A national health account has also been introduced. It is an online service where citizens can collect their personal health data, such as laboratory and gene test results. All of this makes Finland a unique place to launch commercial genome services.
“BIOBANKS CAN ACT AS A GATEWAY TOWARDS PERSONALISED MEDICINE.” - ANTTI KIVELÄ
10 WHY FINLAND By Leena Koskenlaakso Photos Ari Heinonen and Jussi Hellsten
GE HEALTHCARE ACCELERATES SPEED OF INNOVATION WITH A
technology facility for start-ups who want to network, innovate and grow.
Customers are looking for clinically relevant and affordable solutions that deliver better outcomes,” says Didier Deltort, Global Vice President and General Manager of Monitoring Solutions, as well as President of GE Healthcare Finland. “Secondly, we wanted to tap into the local health technology ecosystem, and create a manageable chaos that is based on making ideas collide. We know Finland is a good laboratory for new experiments, so partnering with the local health technology ecosystem to drive breakthrough innovation was a natural fit. You cannot innovate if you do not collaborate,” Deltort claims.
INNOVATION THROUGH COLLABORATION
HELPING START-UPS WITH INVESTMENTS
“We had three reasons for establishing the Health Innovation Village. Firstly, we wanted to change our company culture to be more open, more cooperative and more innovative. Twenty years ago our customers waited for us to get our inventions ready, but now they have become impatient and have a lot of options. It is vital to move from the traditional long-term, research and development centred innovation to fast and speedy product development.
“Thirdly, we wanted to help Finland’s entrepreneurial community. Our goal is to provide GE Ventures with more visibility regarding innovations happening here in Finland. More than just a capital partner, GE Ventures provides unrivalled access to a global network of GE expertise and resources to help start-ups develop and grow new ideas. This will create a snowball effect. The next step is to have GE Ventures people come to the annual Slush event
START-UP CAMPUS The Health Innovation Village, located in GE Healthcare’s office in Helsinki, invites start-ups to join GE staff in collaborating on novel healthcare technology solutions. GE Healthcare Finland develops, manufactures and supplies high-tech anesthesia carestations and patient monitoring and critical care solutions for customers across the globe. With nearly 800 employees and two campuses in Finland, GE Healthcare recently expanded its Helsinki location to include the Health Innovation Village, a new healthcare
Didier Deltort (left), President of GE Healthcare Finland and Controller Mikko Kauppinen.
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in Helsinki to meet the start-ups that we have already looked into.” There are no quantifiable goals for the Health Innovation Village, according to Deltort. “It will take a couple of years for the ecosystem to flourish, but I believe that in 2015 we will see positive results. In the end, this will hopefully create value for our customers and GE shareholders, and jobs here in Finland.” MAKING PEOPLE, IDEAS AND VISIONS COLLIDE
“The number of start-ups that have joined the campus grew to 17 in just three months. We have room for more, and we can easily expand the 700 square metre premises if necessary,” says controller Mikko Kauppinen, who acts as project manager for the start-up village. “We only charge the start-ups 100 euros per month per desk, which also covers electricity and water. They have access to meeting rooms, some individual offices and a big open space office. They also have free use of GE Healthcare’s new in-house cafeteria, which is a meeting place where people, ideas and visions collide,” Kauppinen explains.
Finnish baby-clothes company Beibamboo has a patented line especially for hospitals looking after preemie babies. Their team of five collaborates in Health Innovation Village.
WHY FINLAND?
“There is access to highly skilled and well-educated people here. There is no bureaucracy, or very little. There is security, and Finland is one of the least corrupt countries in the world,” Deltort says. “It is easy to do business here, and the Finnish government is quite active and open to discussing with businesses,” adds Kauppinen. “There are no traffic jams. And in Helsinki, everything is within 10 to 15 kilometers’ distance. We are located just three kilometers from downtown Helsinki, right next to Pasila railway station and within easy reach of the airport, which is ideal.”
“YOU CANNOT INNOVATE IF YOU DO NOT COLLABORATE.” - DIDIER DELTORT The annual Slush event in Helsinki represents the vigorous Finnish start-up scene.
12 MEET & GREET
FINLAND
By Heini Santos Illustration Eero Lampinen
11 REASONS TO VISIT Focus’ editorial team came up with a bunch of unique reasons to plan a trip to Finland.
ROVANIEMI 6 MARCH
19 APRIL
Arctic Business Forum
The 200-member parliament is elected every four years. During the election day, Finns around the country cast their ballots at local voting stations. Early birds and expats can vote in advance.
For the 6th time, arctic business gets center stage in Rovaniemi. The Arctic Business Forum serves as a discussion arena and a business to business meeting point.
Parliamentiary election
www.arcticbusinessforum.com
SODANKYLÄ 10-14 JUNE Midnight Sun Film Festival What do you do when the sun doesn’t set? Watch movies! The Midnight Sun Film Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary. Prepare to indulge in cinema 24/7, meet internationally renowned filmmakers, and be amazed by the arctic summer and hospitality. www.msfilmfestival.fi
TURKU 3-5 JULY Ruisrock One of the oldest rock festivals in Europe, Ruisrock features dozens of artists from big international names to smaller local talents on a beautiful island just off the coast in the country’s former capital Turku. A three-day ticket costs around 130 euros. www.ruisrock.fi
HELSINKI 12-18 JULY
HYRYNSALMI 17-18 JULY
The World Gymnaestrada
Swamp Soccer World Championship 2015
Finland’s largest single event ever, the World Gymnaestrada brings together 25 000 gymnasts from over 50 different countries. The goal is to promote and present the value and diversity of gymnastics, and inspire people to participate. Venues include the 1952 Olympic Stadium.
Let the muddiest team win! Swamp soccer originated in Finland as a form of extreme physical exercise for athletes and soldiers. Since, it has been adopted by the rest of the nation as a fun recreational sport. Before putting together a team check out some photos on the website!
www.wg-2015.com
www.suopotkupallo.fi/en
13 WHILE HERE, PUT SOME TIME ASIDE TO... • Swim in an icy lake and warm up in a sauna. • Go island-hopping in south-western Finland or admire wood architecture of the old town regions of Porvoo and Rauma. • Eat a ‘karjalanpiirakka’ – a rice-filled pastry. • Take a walk in the woods • Stroll the streets of Helsinki, member of UNESCO network of creative cities.
HELSINKI 11-12 NOVEMBER Slush A sizzling hot non-profit business event where startups and innovators meet with executives and investors. In 2014, the event attracted 14 000 visitors. www.slush.org
LEVI NOVEMBER FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finland’s largest ski and activity resort offers tons of cool stuff to do from reindeer and husky safaris to snow mobiles and northern lights. In November, you can spot the brightest stars of the alpine skiing scene at the World Cup. www.levi.fi/en
HELSINKI 14-30 AUGUST Helsinki Festival The largest arts festival in Finland features, for instance, classical and world music, circus, dance, theatre, cinema and a range of urban events. Children are treated to their own customised programme. www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi/en
LAHTI AUGUST - SEPTEMBER
HÄMEENLINNA, HELSINKI DECEMBER
International Sibelius Festival
International Sibelius Conference and violin competition
The nation’s musical pride, classical composer Jean Sibelius was born 150 years ago. To celebrate his life, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra treat audiences to a series of six concerts conducted by an impressive line of Finnish conductors. www.sinfonialahti.fi/sibelius/en_GB/sibelius
Sibelius scholars meet every five years in the composer’s hometown of Hämeenlinna where you can also visit his childhood home. In December, the finals of the 11th prestigious International Sibelius Violin Competition take place in Helsinki. www.sibelius150.fi www.sibeliuscompetition.fi
14 SOLUTIONS FOR
A HEALTHIER PLANET By Fran Weaver Photo Norman Ojanen / SKOY
SOURCE OF XYLITOL Birch trees are a source of xylitol, a natural sugar with proven benefits in dental health and preventing ear infections. Finns have done pioneering research on xylitol’s health benefits for decades and the substance has become an integral part of dental care.
TWO BILLION CUBIC METRES OF WEALTH That is how much wood is growing in Finland’s forests. Roughly 80 per cent of our land is covered with tenacious arctic woodspecies, referred to as “green gold” by Finns. We take good care of this treasure: we grow more than we harvest, we use it economically, and take into account the biodiversity of our nature. www.forest.fi
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AMBITIOUS VISION The bioeconomy requires large scale investment. In comparison, the gaming industry companies can create new value and products on a laptop. However, a biorefinery, for example, is a long-term heavy investment. In order to attract investment the Finnish government has come up with new innovative tools, such as the biorefinery competition. www.bioeconomy.fi
SEEING THE WOOD FOR THE TREES orests are the backbone of the Finnish economy – they have played a vital role in our industrialisation. As the nation has been built around and by the wood-processing industry, Finland has accumulated a unique know how in turning our forests into products and services. The bioeconomy builds on this tradition. It has huge potential which, in the next decade, will hopefully turn into real figures. We are aiming to increase the value of the
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bioeconomy industry from 60 billion euros to 100 billion euros. In the process we will create 100 000 new jobs, and increase the wellbeing of both people and the planet. Innovation and the ability to cooperate across industries is a key to success. In the bioeconomy era, biological natural resources will be turned into products and services, food and energy. Clean technologies, recycling and being resource smart are ways to ensure a sustainable future. Read more about the bioeconomy on the next spread!
16 SOLUTIONS FOR
A HEALTHIER PLANET By Fran Weaver Photos Mirva Kakko / SKOY, Genelec, Marimekko and Wood City
BUILDING UP THE BIOECONOMY Finland is well-placed to pioneer solutions for the future bioeconomy – a new type of society based increasingly on sustainable use of renewable natural resources. address global challenges including population pressure, dwindling resources and climate change, must find ways to produce food, material goods and energy by using renewable organic materials much more widely, instead of fossil fuels and other finite mineral resources. Sustainability is the key concept behind the switch to such a bioeconomy. “Finland is well positioned to be a forerunner in the development of innovative bio-based materials and products for the future bioeconomy, due to the abundant biomass resources in our forests, and our industries’ long history of finding imaginative ways to make products derived from wood,” says Christine Hagström-Näsi, CEO of the Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster FIBIC. A bioeconomy requires a reliable and sustainable supply of biomass. Finland has one of the highest figures in the world for biocapacity, in terms of the annual production of biomass per person. Its forests grow by about 100 million cubic metres each year, but only half this volume is harvested for use in construction, energy production and industry. This makes for
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a truly renewable supply of biomass that does not take land away from food production. EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE “The know-how built up over the decades in our advanced wood-processing industries will be vital in the future bioeconomy,” says Hagström-Näsi. Residual materials from pulp-making processes have long been utilised in Finland to generate bioenergy and many other useful products. Finland’s forest industry firms
are today using this backlog of expertise to rapidly diversify into new wood-based products including biocomposite materials, bioplastics, textiles and carbon-neutral biofuels. “But the bioeconomy won’t only be based on the forest sector, as a lot can also be done with other materials like agricultural residues and organic wastes,” adds Hagström-Näsi. This will require a systemic change and whole new ways of thinking, with expertise combined across sectors to find ways to utilise 100% of the potential of biomass through the cascading of material use, the utilisation of sidestreams, and recycling. FIBIC’s role is to bring together Finnish scientists and businesses working with bio-applications to ensure that bio-research leads in commercially viable directions. GOOD CHEMISTRY Maija Pohjakallio, bioeconomy specialist at the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland, explains how chemistry will play a crucial role in developing a new circular bioeconomy. “From the manufacture of fertilisers needed for biomass cultivation to the refining of biowaste, chemical companies are involved in the entire biomass cycle,” she says. Finland’s chemical industry has been developing bio-based products for global marketing since long before the concept of the bioeconomy was devised. Examples include CMC cellulose gum, an ingredient in many food and non-food products, and the tooth-friendly sweetener xylitol.
17 “Boosted by novel technologies and forms of cooperation, the utilisation of bio-based materials and biotechnology is rapidly increasing in Finland’s chemical industry today,” says Pohjakallio. Finnish companies working in many different fields are already using more bio-based ingredients in products ranging from Tikkurila’s paints and Kiilto’s adhesives to Plastiroll’s biodegradable Bioska bin-bags and Lumene’s cosmetics. Neste Oil and St1 Biofuels are meanwhile leading the way in the use of organic residuals in the production of climate-friendly road vehicle biofuels.
“BIOTECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES ARE RAPIDLY CREATING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR BIOREFINING.”
GOING BIO TOGETHER The bioeconomy will also increasingly involve industrial symbiosis, with firms working together in clusters such as industrial parks and designated innovative cities. “This helps to optimise resource efficiency, with one firm’s wastes becoming another firm’s raw material,” explains Pohjakallio. One such cross-sectoral innovation involves the chemical processing of resin-based substances derived
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
Wood fibres for superb sound
Fashion from the forest
Wood-based composite materials can have excellent acoustic properties. Genelec, who export studio monitor speakers around the world from their production facility at Iisalmi in Eastern Finland, are now producing a range of high quality speakers incorporating innovative biocomposites. About half of the speakers’ Natural Composite Enclosure, produced for Genelec by UPM, consists of wood fibres sourced from sustainably managed forests. The fibres are set in recyclable polypropylene to make a biocomposite with excellent durability, resilience and vibration damping properties. Using wood fibres to replace oil-based plastics improves the loudspeakers’ carbon footprint while contributing to their state-of-the-art sound quality.
The famed Finnish fashion and design company Marimekko recently unveiled the first dress made from birch cellulose fibres produced through the ground-breaking Ioncell process devised at Aalto University. The birch fibres represent an environmentally friendly Finnish-grown alternative to cotton or synthetic fibres. The resulting fabric has a pleasing look and feel, and is considerably stronger than cotton or conventional viscose. Commercial scale production of clothes made of Finnish birch fibres could be feasible within a decade. Designers will then be called on to create wood-based clothes as beautiful and graceful as the silver birch trees of Finland’s forests.
www.genelec.com
www.aalto.fi www.marimekko.com
Modern urban homes and workplaces made of wood Building work is well under way at Wood City, a revolutionary inner city development sprouting on a brownfield site at Jätkäsaari on Helsinki’s southern waterfront. Wood City’s two 8-storey apartment blocks will be completed during 2016, making them the first buildings on such a scale anywhere in Europe. A similarly scaled wooden office block and wooden hotel will be ready in 2016. Realised by Stora Enso Building and Living, constructors and developers SRV, and Helsinki City’s Housing Production Department, this project showcases innovative Finnish wooden design, construction and architecture in a prime location where wood construction is making a welcome return to the heart of the Finnish capital. www.woodcity.fi
SOLUTIONS FOR A HEALTHIER PLANET By Fran Weaver Photos Jarmo Lappalainen, Nicklas Makelä / SKOY
from by-products from the forest industry to make beneficial additives for livestock feed used in the farming sector. Biotechnological advances are rapidly creating new opportunities for biorefining. “Companies like Metgen and Roal have pioneered the development of industrial enzymes, for example,” says Pohjakallio. Biorefining will become a key industry in a fossil free future. During 2014, Finland’s Ministry of Employment and the Economy organised an international biorefinery competition to encourage innovators to come up with ideas for new kinds of biorefinery operations. During 2015 public and private funding packages are due to be put together for biorefinery investments in Finland based on the best ideas emerging from the competition. “The major challenge in developing the bioeconomy in Finland and the EU is to optimally integrate the sustainable production of food, animal feed, bio-based products, biofuels and bioenergy,” says Pohjakallio. In May 2014 the Finnish Government unveiled a wide-ranging bioeconomy strategy designed to help innovative Finnish researchers and companies create competitive and sustainable bio-based solutions for global problems. The strategy aims to create a favourable environment for investments in the bioeconomy while further building up the national knowledge base and ensuring the sustainable supply of biomass. Its ambitious targets include a rise in the annual productivity of Finland’s bioeconomy sectors from €60 billion today to €100 billion by 2025, resulting in the creation of 100,000 new jobs. www.bioeconomy.fi
“BIOREFINING WILL BECOME A KEY INDUSTRY IN A FOSSIL FREE FUTURE.”
WATER EXPERTISE CRUCIAL TO THE BIOECONOMY The sustainable use and recycling of clean water resources is a key element of the bioeconomy, since the production of biomass and the refining of bio-based materials and products are typically highly water-intensive processes.
WE MAKE IT WORK
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The Helsinki-based company Kemira is a global leader in water chemistry, water treatment and water management. Kemira particularly has long experience and a high level of expertise in the chemistry of woodpulping, which has given their R&D experts a head start when it comes to finding solutions for the processing of other kinds of biomass. Much of Kemira’s R&D work involves seeking solutions that will contribute to the growth of the bioeconomy by facilitating and improving the efficiency of biorefining processes that may use massive quantities of water. Clean, fresh water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in many regions of the world. Key water management challenges – in both industrial processes and the public water supply – include the need to control potentially harmful microbes, and the need to reduce problems with scaling in pipes, pumps, containers and other water infrastructure. Water chemistry solutions can also reduce the amount of raw materials needed for manufacturing processes. Kemira’s FennoBind products, for instance, are used as strength-improving ingredients in paper- and boardmaking processes. Their application enables lighter, stronger cardboard or paper to be produced using lower quantities of pulped fibre. www.kemira.com
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FROM THE FOREST TO THE FARM
Eastern Finncattle in Pappilanpuisto organic farm.
The biorefinery firm Forchem, based in Rauma in Western Finland, manufactures a rapidly expanding range of carbon-neutral products from fractions of crude tall oil (CTO). This versatile natural oil, derived from the resin of pine and spruce trees, is commercially obtainable as a co-product from softwood-pulping processes. Bio-based materials made by Forchem are used in products including industrial and household coatings, lubricants, paints,
“FINNS HAVE LONG KNOWN THAT PINE RESIN HAS HEALING PROPERTIES.”
soaps, paper binding agents, ink resins and adhesives. Tall oil derivatives have a much lower carbon footprint compared to alternatives derived from petrochemicals or other crops. One recent innovation led by agricultural suppliers Hankkija involves the use of tall oil fractions in livestock feed. Finns have long known that pine resin has healing properties when rubbed on cuts or scratches. Natural resin-based substances with anti-microbial properties produced by Forchem are now used in the feed ingredient Progres supplied by Hankkija to poultry farms around Finland. Since they function as natural antiinflammatory agents, such additives can be used instead of synthetic antibiotics in
livestock production. Antibiotics are not routinely fed to Finnish farm animals, but they are widely used on farms in many other countries, leading to concerns about their impacts in food chains and on bacterial resistance. The suitability of the Progres feed ingredient for other livestock varieties including pigs, cattle and farmed fish – is currently being tested with a view to being sold in potentially huge export markets. CTO derivatives can also be used in many other products including rubber tyres and asphalt. Tall oil sterols added to yoghurts and spreads can help to reduce blood cholesterol levels. www.forchem.com
20 THE SOCIAL
CONTEXT
FINNISH FOR MORE N… IO BLOG ACT
By Heini Santos Photos Shutterstock, Veera Välimäki, Kreetta Järvenpää, Juha Paananen and Salla Ikonen
THE SQUIRREL WHISPERER 20-year-old Konsta Punkka hides out in the woods, sometimes for hours, with a bag of nuts in his pocket. He shares images of Nordic wildlife – squirrels, foxes, birds, even bears – on Instagram where he has 142 000 followers. According to Punkka, being calm, patient and respectful are the key for getting close to wild animals. Konsta Punkka instagram.com/kpunkka
KNITS AND KNOTS
WHAT IS VLOG? “You guys mean sooo much to me, I love every single one of you.” Right there, Smokahontas sums it up. Vloggers live or die by their fans and followers. alancing her camera on a stacked box of tea and two slices of rye bread, Sara Forsberg made a video that changed her life. The talented 20-yearold, also known as Smokahontas, talked gibberish imitating different languages and uploaded the video on YouTube. The video went viral, and two months later she moved to Hollywood and signed a record deal. Her videos have been viewed over 29 million times. Smokahontas’ case is extraordinary but she is not alone. As of November, 2014, Finnish videos total nearly 18 billion views on YouTube. Vlogging – video blogging – as a phenomenon is exploding. Video genres range from diaries to skits, political speeches, product evaluations, practical tips, and time lapse videos. Companies, too, have
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noticed the growing potential of videos; over 90% of consumers watch videos online, and people admit to being more likely to buy a product if they have seen a video of it. Popular vloggers are getting recognised on the street and they arrange live meetings with their fans. In August 2014, Finland saw the country’s first ever Tubecon, a meet and greet event that filled up Hartwall Arena in Helsinki with over 5 000 fans. Some of them lined up for hours to ensure meeting their favorite vloggers. The event also featured live shows, a panel discussion, concerts, and the Tube Awards ceremony – not to mention an area for grown-ups where the younger fans could leave their parents during the event. The next Tubecon takes place August 15th, 2015, in Helsinki. www.tubecon.fi
100% rain features the knitting and sewing work of Veera Välimäki, the woman behind the designs of Rain Knitwear Designs. She is described as being ”passionate about wool and loves all kinds of short rows.” Her unique patterns are available in PDF format. 100% rain 100-rain.blogspot.fi
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LET’S CODE, MOMMY! ART FOR THE COMMON GOOD Get a glimpse of the world through the eyes of Finnish photographer and artist, Kreetta Järvenpää. Her work includes portraits, still lifes, illustrations, and visual storytelling. She enjoys cooking and all things vintage and hand-made.
A Finnish street art collective, Multicoloured Dreams, aims to increase the amount of art and culture on the streets of Helsinki and encourage people to participate in creative action in common spaces. The blog introduces their projects with lots of colourful photos and clever details.
Gretchen Gretchen
Multicolored Dreams
LIKE A FAIRY TALE
www.gretchengretchen.com
AN AMERICAN TEACHER’S VIEW American teacher Tim Walker shares his observations about the Finnish education system while teaching at a Helsinki school. His in-depth posts deal with, for example, the benefits of longer school holidays, teaching children social skills, and differences between common teaching methods in Finland and the US. The blog has sparked several newspaper articles and interviews on both sides of the Atlantic. Taught by Finland www.taughtbyfinland.com
mcdreams.wordpress.com
“You can imagine my little girl (5 years as we speak) being quite excited when her commands made an actual physical robot move and draw on the floor. Yes. The floor.” Juha Paananen publishes coding lessons for children on his blog Girls Can’t Code. It all started with his personal experiences of early coding experiments as well as teaching his own daughter. He has also founded a popular coding school for kids and publishes a virtual book about coding, targeted to ages 4-120, with or without the help of a grownup. Girls can’t code girlscantcode.blogspot.fi
22 IN TOUCH By Päivi Brink Photos The Finnish Museum of Photography, The National Gallery and Amorphis
THE FINNISHING TOUCH SIBELIUS PLAYED THE STRINGS OF A NATION’S HEART Jean Sibelius was born 150 years ago into a whole different Finland than the country we know today. He grew up to be a central figure in creation of the Finnish national identity, composing the theme of a nation in the making.
I. K. Inha: Mustiala School of Agriculture, Finnish Agriculture, 1899. Digitised original negative. The Finnish Museum of Photography
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ibelius is often mentioned as the composer who captured the essence of Finland’s natural environment. His close relationship with nature started already as a school boy in Hämeenlinna where he walked in the Aulanko forests with his violin. He composed music about trees, birds and thunder, and also about the mythical forest god’s kingdom Tapiola. Sometimes his work was symbolic, like the Ice Breaking on the Oulu River (Jäänlähtö Oulujoesta, 1899) where the river’s violent liberation from ice became a symbol of Finland’s liberation. Sibelius was Swedish speaking and the Finnish Swedish intelligentsia had a major role in the Finnish national awakening. Marrying into the Finnish-minded Järnefelt family had a strong impact on him. Finlandia is considered intensely Finnish music in Finland, second only to the national anthem, and it’s often played at patriotic events. The Finnish national epic The Kalevala was a major inspiration for the great
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composer. The epic was considered a source of Finnishness and proof of Finland’s own culture. Sibelius composed works like Kullervo, Lemminkäinen, Pohjolan tytär and Aallottaret, all based on the Kalevala’s characters. The generation of artists born in the 1860s was deeply involved in creating the identity of Finland. Sibelius’ contemporaries, artists like Pekka Halonen, Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Eero Järnefelt were painting Finnish landscapes and scenes from the Kalevala. Composer Robert Kajanus also wrote music with themes from the epic. Photographer I.K. Inha cycled from village to village taking pictures of Finnish people and their way of life. Juhani Aho accurately portrayed Finns in his novels. These artists knew each other well and had a profound influence on each other. They were inventing the national landscape and the way Finnish people still see their country and themselves. Jean Sibelius became a national icon in Finland already early in his career, but the relationship between Finns and his music has stayed fresh and alive even in this millennium.
Akseli Gallen-Kallela was inspired by Sibelius’ tone poem Satu and named his painting after it in 1894. He hoped that Sibelius would have finished the painting himself by adding some notes to the empty panel. Sibelius didn’t want to choose only one part of the work.
FURTHER READING: • Ateneum Art Museum’s exhibition catalogue Sibelius and the World of Art. Ateneum 2014. • Glenda Dawn Goss: Sibelius. A composer’s Life and the Awakening of Finland. The University of Chicago Press, 2009.
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A SECOND OPINION FINNISH IDENTITY THROUGH THE EYES OF MODERN ART Today’s artists are still inspired by the same things as Sibelius’ generation, but with a different take. Three experts on Finnish 19th century art, contemporary visual art, and art music described the new renditions of Finnishness.
A.-M.B. = Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff, one of the curators of the “Sibelius and the World of Art” exhibition, Finnish National Gallery Ateneum’s Chief Curator
M.S. = Marja Sakari, Museum of
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Contemporary Art Kiasma’s Chief Curator
O.V. = Olli Virtaperko, Composer, leader of Ensemble Ambrosius, Artistic Director of The Tampere Biennale
O.V: In the professional community of composers the question of national identity is not central. More than 10% of the members of The Society of Finnish Composers are originally from abroad. Today every individual has his own idea of Finnishness. But still, those foreign artists who learn Finnish, integrate better into their community than the others.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE FINNISH?
A.-M.B: For Sibelius and his artist friends Finnishness
NATURE AND THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
was spiritual. They were trying to define the nation and its original, pure essence. Representing a distinctive Finnish identity was political. Symbolism and the mystic movements of the 1890s influenced them, and they saw the artist as a seer and a mediator. The artists were like priests mediating from the spiritual world to the people. They could capture essentials like Finnishness.
A.-M.B: The experience of nature became the artists’ main topic. They were showing their work abroad and building the Finnish brand. In the Paris World Exposition in 1900 Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Pekka Halonen and Albert Edelfelt showed paintings that depicted scenes from the Kalevala and Finnish landscapes, mainly wintertime views. They wanted to show recognisably Finnish landscapes.
M.S: Contemporary Finnish art portrays a multicultural
M.S: Artists are still interested in human contact
Finland. There isn’t one original Finland, but many different ones. Artists like Iraq-born Adel Abidin, focus on various global problems and immigration. The concept of what is Finnish has become broader. Israeli artist Yael Bartana, for example, showed in 2013 in her video performance Finns with different backgrounds having a conversation about Finland.
with nature, urban nature and global questions about climate change and population growth. Kari Soinio has deconstructed the concept of the national landscape in his Kansallismaisema series. Antti Laitinen, in his installations, portrays the natural world as being exploited. Nature is no longer untouched and our relationship with it is no longer innocent.
25 1. Antti Laitinen, Armour (2014). In artist Antti Laitinen’s work nature is the subject, the scene and the substance. He has, for example, rowed down the River Thames in London with a floating island. The armour was built for a living tree using steel sheets and pop rivets. 2. Representations of the Finnish landscape on paper and canvas have worked as building blocks upon which literature has built its ideas of Finnishness. Those landscapes are recognised through even the slightest hints, even if we haven’t seen them in real life. Koli by Kari Soinio (1997). 3. In 1909 Eero Järnefelt invited Sibelius to join him in Koli in North Karelia. Sibelius was inspired by Koli’s magnificent views to write his Fourth Symphony from and dedicated it to his brother-inlaw. Landscape from Koli, Eero Järnefelt (1928).
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O.V: For many composers nature is still an important source of inspiration. Certain harmonies, structures and melodies are attached in our minds to Finland’s natural world due to a silent or articulated agreement, and endless repetition. Sibelius’ music represents Finnishness for the listeners of today, but, in the future, the same associations can come from rap music or from mobile game theme music. THE KALEVALA AND FOLK ART
A.-M.B: The composer Robert Kajanus thought that Sibelius had found the essence of the Kalevala with his artistic vision. Artists using the epic as their inspiration depicted Finland as a nation with its own culture. Karelianism was a movement admiring Karelian handicrafts, rune singers and kantele players, trying to find the original Finnishness. M.S: The Kalevala can still be important for some artists.
Sirpa Alalääkkölä’s Aino triptych brings the national epic into the world of punk music and helps to dismantle the traditional view of women. Pekka Nevalainen’s Tuonelan joella is a space that can be experienced and it awakens associations with the mythical underworld.
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“IN THE FUTURE THE SAME ASSOCIATIONS CAN COME FROM RAP MUSIC OR FROM MOBILE GAME THEME MUSIC.” - OLLI VIRTAPERKO
26 IN TOUCH
Pekka Nevalainen, By The Tuonela River (1986) The name and content of Pekka Nevalainen’s work is a reference to Kalevala. In Finnish mythology Tuonela River is the stream separating the world of the living from the underworld. Nevalainen has reconstructed the river from meandering metal sprouts, a pool and water. He also combined video imagery and an air current to the installation.
O.V: The artistic representations of The Kalevala have always been made on demand: when national resources have been used to order art based on The Kalevala, a great deal of art has been made. The Kalevala inspires due to the solid foundation that its stories offer for creation. INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCES AND CO-OPERATION BETWEEN DIFFERENT ART FORMS The tragic figure of Kullervo still inspires a positive response from among young Finnish men. Finnish heavy rock band Amorphis dedicated their album Eclipse (2006) to Kullervo and the lyrics tell his story. Another heavy rock band Nightwish has performed a cover version of Sibelius’ Finlandia. It can be watched on YouTube.
A.-M.B: Sibelius and Gallen-Kallela shared the same conception of art and their understanding of art became deeper through international influences. For them and Järnefelt and Halonen, the co-operation between different art forms was essential. Contemporary connections abroad were important to Sibelius, as was spending time outside of Finland.
M.S: There are active conversations today
between artists representing different art forms. The art world is very international and many artists have friends and contacts in other countries. There are plenty of artists’ residences around the world and the major art centres are very important for artists, to visit, so that they can relate their own work to the international scene.
O.V: All contemporary composers live and study abroad at some stage of their career. International influences leave a clear mark on our expression. Today’s Finland is musically like the whole world in a microcosm: for example, the modernist Germanic tradition, the Spectralism with French influences, American minimalism and the influences of popular and folk music can be heard. There is also a lot of co-operation between different art forms.
“THE KALEVALA’S STORIES OFFER A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR CREATION.” - OLLI VIRTAPERKO
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LIVING SIBELIUS
1. 1. SIBELIUS AND THE WORLD OF ART
Photo The National Gallery
You can walk in the composer’s footsteps See all Sibelius jubilee festivities at www.sibelius150.fi
Sibelius’ work and the art scene of his time intertwine in Ateneum Art Museum’s exhibition until March 22nd. Pekka Halonen’s Winter Landscape (left) is an example of the composer’s symphonic sceneries. www.ateneum.fi/en
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ish inn F o t Pho
Photo Lehtikuva / Pekka Sakki / IMAP
N at ur al
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Photo Visit Finland
His tory Museum
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5. 2. TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE The Finnish Natural History Museum presents a fascinating journey through Finland from the southern coast to the northern fells. www.luomus.fi/en/finnish-nature
Photo Lehtikuva
3. A MONUMENTAL MAN Eila Hiltunen captured the spirit of Sibelius’ music in her famous sculpture, the Sibelius Monument. Step inside and hear the echoes of the welded steel organ pipes.
4. THE HOME Sibelius built his home by the Lake Tuusula near Helsinki – as have done many other famous Finnish artists. His home Ainola is well worth a visit: the atmosphere is unique. www.tuusulanrantatie.fi/en
5. THE BOULEVARD You can almost hear the colourful discussions of Sibelius and his entourage echoing from the walls of Hotel Kämp, restaurant Kappeli (in the picture) or The Swedish Theatre all located by the Esplanade Boulevard. The latter was also the location of Finlandia’s premiere. www.visithelsinki.fi
28 DESIGNING
SUSTAINABLY By Kaisa Alapartanen Photos manufacturers
TEXTILE INDUSTRY. UPCYCLED. Scarcity of material and increasing demands for sustainability by consumers are driving Finnish textile industry into renewing itself. of January 2016, an EU Directive will put an end to taking textile waste to landfill sites. The most obvious option for dumping textile waste would be recycling it. But what to make of fabrics that are too worn out or dirty to be re-used as such? This challenge has been taken on by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. By using solvents to break down fragile or soiled textile fibres it is possible to create fabric that is even better than the original. By separating the cellulose molecules in textile waste it can be turned into raw material for new textiles. Needless to say, these solvents are not only efficient but also environmentally friendly. A step further is the joint research project Design Driven Value Chains in the World of Cellulose (DWoC) by Aalto University, Tampere University of Technology and VTT. The project aims to develop cellulose-based products that are suitable for technical textiles and consumer products. Designers contribute by introducing an experimental method of creating prototypes, as well as the ability to visualise something that doesn’t yet exist. The approach is so far relatively untapped. Hopes are high: approximately 5 million tons of fibre could be manufactured from Finland’s current logging residue (25 million cubic metres/year). This could replace more than 20% of the globally produced cotton, at the same time reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 120 million tons, and releasing enough farming land to grow food for 18 million people. Desertification would also decrease by approximately 10 per cent. Also, the potential production value of these new technologies is estimated to reach 2–3 billion euros for various Finnish industries.
As
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GOOD FROM WITHIN Nurmi is a sustainable clothing label based on true sustainability. The designer behind the brand is Annina Nurmi, who wants to create clothes that are cherished forever. Sustainability and openness are core values for the company. Rather than following trends and designing for the next season, Nurmi makes designs that continue their life longer than the short cycles of the traditional fashion industry.
“NURMI DOESN’T ONLY LOOK GOOD BUT IT’S ALSO GOOD FROM WITHIN.” www.nurmiclothing.com
UPCYCLING HOPE GlobeHope turns left-over materials into quirky clothes and accessories. As a forerunner of re-design and upcycling, GlobeHope just celebrated its ten years in the business. The original idea of creating unique and interesting clothes without producing new material has proven to be successful, also globally. www.globehope.com
“FASHION VICTIM CALLED EARTH” In contrast to traditional recycling companies, Pure Waste takes left-over fabrics, opens them into fibres and turns this material into yarn and fabric – and all the way into desirable and well-designed clothing. Pure Waste is calling for the whole textile industry to wake up. Currently 15 per cent of the fabrics manufactured for clothing are wasted during cutting. “Waste is the end product that all our planets natural resources are turned into. And so it has become the only natural resource that is still accumulating”, the company states. www.purewaste.org
BUNNY-HUGGING SUSTAINABILITY The Red Elephant makes colourful clothing, mostly from recycled materials and mostly for children. The clothes designed by Helena Opas are known for their lively fabrics and comfortable yet urban designs. With a strong retro-feel, these clothes are just waiting for you to take them on adventures! “The Red Elephant adores sunflowers, jumps into water puddles, hugging bunnies and rustling dried leaves in the autumn.” www.punainennorsu.com
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KEEP IT SHORT
HELLO WORLD! Helsinki hosted the first ever coding world championship final last June at the Hello World Open.
By Kaisa Alapartanen
Photo European Space Agency
The masterminds behind the event were creative technology company Reaktor and game developer Supercell. The participating teams – all 2520 of them – were challenged to create an artificial intelligence and drive a virtual racecar. After regional qualifications, eight finalist teams travelled to Helsinki to race each other for the championship and to win prizes worth 10 000 euros. The most valuable prize of all, however, was the exposure the young programming talent received from potential employers. The team to create the smartest and fastest car was Need for C - Tomasz Zurkowski, Piotr Zurkowski and Wojciech Jaskowski from Poland.
Photo Lehtikuva
helloworldopen.com
FLYING FINNS ON A COMET European Space Agency’s Rosetta Spacecraft travelled through our solar system for a decade landing on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12th November 2014. The lander Philae, the orbiter structure and 6 different instruments on board were built by Finnish companies. The permittivity Probe that searches for water was built by the Finnish Meteorological Institute – and was the first instrument to touchdown on 67P. Rosetta will continue orbiting the comet, hopefully discovering unknown facts about our universe. rosetta.esa.int/
RIGHT KIND OF WARE Rightware User Interface tehnology is changing the way we drive our cars. The company’s Kanzi solution combines high-quality, real-time graphics with the vehicle’s computer systems. Traditional gauges will be replaced by a digital touch-screen that the driver can also use for navigation. Audi is Rightware’s biggest client and have developed their virtual cockpit based on Kanzi. For a test drive, find the newest Audi A3, A6 or TT and take a spin, guided by a Finn! www.rightware.com
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Photo Sami Heiskanen
THE SLUSH EFFECT The Helsinki hosted non-profit start-up event Slush has grown into a global phenomena. The 2014 event was attended by 14 218 people from 79 countries. 3 600 companies were present and 1 400 start-ups had a chance to interact with 750 investors. The winner of the Slush 100 pitching competition, Enbrite.ly, won the grand prize: a staggering 500 000 euros. Impressed by the figures? Slush 2015 will take place on the 11th and 12th of November. highway.slush.org
THE HELSINKI CHALLENGE
Illustration Linda Liukas
An international science-based competition and innovation accelerator organised by the University of Helsinki aims to discover solutions to major challenges and provide building blocks for wellbeing in the future. 20 semifinalists compete for a 375 000 euro prize on the 11th and 12th of November 2015. challenge.helsinki.fi
DO YOU KNOW RUBY? She’ll teach you all there is to know about technology.
Linda Liukas’ Ruby teaches small children about coding. So will Finnish schools: coding will enter the curriculum next year as part of mathematics classes.
“I want to combine the art of storytelling with software and help small children get excited about technology in a way that goes far beyond the bits and bytes inside a computer. I believe stories are the most formative part of our childhood. Everyone has a story, that has made the world seem magical and full of possibility.” This is how Linda Liukas, creator of Hello Ruby described the birth of “the world’s most whimsical way to learn about coding”. www.helloruby.com/
32 KNOWLEDGE
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By David J. Cord Photos Pekka Nieminen
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ERIKA HOLT MIXES IT UP Researcher Erika Holt has found a professional and personal life in Finland. rika Holt didn’t realise it when she was very young, but she was surrounded by Finnish customs as she grew up in America. “My grandmother was Finnish,” she says. “So we listened to Sibelius, had rice porridge for breakfast, and Santa Claus came through the front door on Christmas Eve to deliver presents.” After Holt finished her Master’s degree she came to Finland, but she was not drawn by Santa’s Lapland workshop. Instead, she came to conduct research in civil engineering and construction materials. She returned year after year until the Technical Research Center of Finland VTT hired her. “What brought me was the research,” Holt explains. “But then I met a Finn, got married, and had two children. Now I’m assimilated into the Finnish lifestyle.” Holt gives a tour of her traditional cottage above a picturesque lake in Espoo.
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She shows off her sauna, explains where she likes to ski and philosophises on gathering wild blueberries in the forest. “In August we hosted a party for my 25 VTT team members here at the cabin,” she says. Holt talks about her professional and personal life and draws interesting parallels. She is an expert in concrete and likes to cook, and mentions that the two are similar in how you mix different ingredients to achieve the desired result. In her professional life she has two main fields of research: material solutions for infrastructure and nuclear waste containment. “Rainfall is increasing due to climate change,” Holt says. “But we can’t rip up all the storm drains and put in larger pipes. Instead, we try to create materials which are porous, so the water percolates down through layers naturally into the ground. This would solve many problems. During spring in the Nordic countries the snow is constantly freezing and thawing on
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By Terhi Rauhala Photo Shutterstock
READY TO JUMP? FINLAND IS PREPARING FOR A PRODUCTIVITY LEAP
“THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING FINLAND.” - ERIKA HOLT
the pavement. If we had these materials the water would drain into the soil, thus improving the urban green environment, safety and well-being of people.” Holt’s work on nuclear waste containment is just as important for our future. The world has been using nuclear power for decades but is still struggling with waste disposal. Holt plans to help change that. “The whole world is watching Finland,” she says. “We are the global leader in developing a permanent solution for the geological disposal of nuclear waste.” Yet while Holt spends her workdays researching the safe containment of nuclear waste, at her cabin she has a much more ancient power source in mind. On her walk she stops and examines a pile of birch logs. “A sauna after canoeing on the lake sounds good this evening,” she says. “Time to heat the sauna!”
The Internet of Things is a powerful enabler of productivity gains. Researchers, politicians and industries alike believe it will revolutionise the way we do business and lead our everyday lives. Research Professor Heikki Ailisto from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is leading the spearhead programme ‘Productivity Leap with Internet of Things’ (Pro-IoT) concentrating on enhancing the usage and productivity of companies’ controllable resources, such as machines and equipment, with applications of the IoT. Ailisto’s research team is at the heart of one of the most interesting turn of events in the technology industry. “The industrial internet’s impact will be seen across a broad swathe of Finnish society, working life and in industrial operations”, the professor states. The Pro-IoT programme’s main focus is on Finnish manufacturing industry. In addition it covers also other critical areas of business life, such as health care,
trade, property and infrastructure - as well as the functioning of the public sector. The key enabling technologies, that are sensors, communications, dataanalysis and cyber security are also part of the programme. “Finland has all the prerequisites for success: competitive and international technology industry, solid ICT skills as well as a public sector that is wellmanaged and capable of reform”, Professor Ailisto says. BEYOND HYPE
Estimates for IoT’s global market value are stunning. It is predicted that the connections in the IoT will more than triple in just three years, to cover 9 billion devices. At the same time it is estimated to bring an annual one percentage point increase in global production – for the next 15-20 years. “Calculating one per cent compounding growth over fifteen consecutive years, we end up with a global increase of 10 to 15 trillion dollars (8,5 to 12,5 trillion euros) in national product”, says Ailisto. VTT takes it seriously and invests altogether more than 90 million
“ESTIMATES FOR IOT’S GLOBAL MARKET VALUE ARE STUNNING.”
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euros into Pro-IoT. Finnish businesses take part also: more than 50% of companies’ r&d investment is targeted to ICT and electronics. APPLICABLE INNOVATIONS
“Industries are very keen on utilizing the possibilities. Thus we have several assignments from industries both in Finland and abroad”, Professor Ailisto describes. An example of an application in practice, is the zero power sensor, developed by VTT, which saw daylight in 2014. “With no power source of its own, the sensor receives energy from a scanner via radiowaves. The energy activates the sensor, it runs the measurement and sends the data to the scanner. We have successfully used the device in 10–11 metre distancies.” The sensor has raised interest both in
Finland and abroad and there are patents pending. “The practical application could be for example an inlaid sensor for measuring humidity or tenacity of building structures”, Ailisto suggests. DE-WIRING THE PORT OF SINGAPORE
Another present day example is the application of wireless network in a container dock to enable remote controlled AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) traffic. Port of Singapore, the world’s second-busiest harbour in terms of total shipping tonnage, was impressed by VTT’s telecommunications expertise and ordered a research from them. “Our assignment was to find out what kind of requirements a harbour environment places for AGV devices, with blind spots,
reflections, disruptions and all the metal”, describes the leader of the project, Research Manager Pertti Raatikainen from VTT. “The goal was a proof of concept. We chose the most promising wireless technologies on which the system could be based. After tests in Finland our team held a demonstration in Singapore in October 2014”, Raatikainen explains. The solution was a combination of several technologies, the details of which Raatikainen cannot reveal. “AGV vehicles must be able to communicate their location to others as well as to the control centre, at all times. Continuous connectivity of the mobile devices is based on VTT’s “handover” solution which enables timely jumps between different networks when quality of the existing connections degrades.” A similar concept has also been demonstrated in port of Cork in Ireland and a follow-up in Singapore is planned. Raatikainen is very proud of his team’s achievement, but it comes as no surprise for him: “In mobile network development the Finns have been top players globally for decades”, he says.
INTERNET OF THINGS SPEARHEAD PROGRAMME • One of the four VTT’s major research programs • Duration 2013–2016 • Total volume more than 90 million euros • 250 persons involved in technology and solution development areas: global asset management and smart lighting Port of Singapore, the world’s second-busiest harbour in terms of total shipping tonnage, was impressed by VTT’s telecommunications expertise and ordered a research from them.
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By David J. Cord Photos University of Helsinki and Shutterstock
FINNISH ACADEMICS EMBARK UPON
A REVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH PROJECT A multidisciplinary project aims to create innovative pharmaceuticals and drug delivery systems to treat some of our most serious heart and brain diseases. Heikki Ruskoaho’s publication history almost makes him seem like a novelist instead of a scientist. He has written about topics such as nano-medicines for the treatment of heart failure and biomaterials for drug delivery, ideas which
“MOREOVER, AS WE CONTINUE TO LIVE LONGER, THESE ISSUES WILL BECOME ALL THE MORE URGENT.”
would be right at home in a story set on a spaceship in orbit around a distant star. Ruskoaho laughs at the comparison. “Yes, it does seem like science fiction,” he agrees. “But this is very real and it is happening now.” Professor Ruskoaho is the coordinator for an ambitious research project in the treatment of heart and brain disorders. The project 3i – Innovative Induction Initiative – aims to increase the ability of the heart and brain to generate new cells with oral medications. “We reprogramme stem cells,” Ruskoaho explains. “There is a limited ability for the heart to repair itself and replace cells so we enhance the ability of stem cells to generate cardiac cells. There are stem cells in many different areas but we only want to act locally in the areas we are targeting. To achieve this we develop nano-targeted drugs.” The project’s aim is to help solve some of the most pressing medical problems of the 21st Century. Heart disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury and degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson’s are major causes of death and contributors to expanding healthcare budgets. Moreover,
as we continue to live longer, these issues will become all the more urgent. COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES
The 3i project brings together a variety of experts from the University of Helsinki, Aalto University and Helsinki University Central Hospital. Life sciences, chemistry, physics, engineering sciences and medicine are combined in an innovative fashion to make the project succeed. “This is a multidisciplinary study,” Ruskoaho continues. “We have nine professors in the group who specialise in different areas such as stem cells, chemicals and nano-materials. In total we have 30–35 people in the group.” The project is possible due to the strong support of state-funded financing organisations. The Finnish Funding Agency
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for Innovation Tekes has provided 4.8 million euros to fund the 3i programme between 2014 and 2016. 3i is also gaining attention from industrial partners who are keen to learn more about the commercial opportunities of such cutting-edge pharmaceuticals. A company owned by the University of Helsinki, Helsinki Innovation Services, is helping to bring 3i’s inventions to market. Ruskoaho says it is reasonable for their tool compounds to be on the market within five years and there could be much more to come out of the project later. “This is one of the biggest trends ever,” he concludes. “In the long term there are many other commercial possibilities, such as drug delivery systems.”
The 3i project brings together a variety of experts from the University of Helsinki, Aalto University and Helsinki University Central Hospital.
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT
MUSIC ENHANCES QUALITY OF SCHOOL LIFE
ALTERNATIVES TO ANIMAL TESTING AWARDED Dr. Tuula Heinonen (in the photo) from the School of Medicine, University of Tampere, Finland was awarded with the Björn Ekwall Memorial Award in recognition of her achievements in promotion and implementation of alternative methods to animal experimentation. Heinonen has developed tissue and organ models based on cells differentiated from human (adult) stem cells or human primary cells. The models combine several cell types of a tissue with supporting material to mimic the normal functions of human tissues. Heinonen is also the founder and director of the Finnish Centre for Alternative Methods (FICAM).
ficam.fi
The claim of whether music education can create social benefits in the school environment was tested in 10 Finnish schools with an extended music curricular class and control classes. Researchers Päivi-Sisko Eerola and Tuomas Eerola from the Department of Music in University of Jyväskylä, found that by the 6th grade there were significant differences between the two groups: Students of extended music tuition felt generally more satisfied with their school and had a stronger sense of achievement and opportunity. Differences related to the schools and gender did not account for the results. Also, an extended curriculum in sports or visual arts did not confer similar benefits. Published in Journal of Music Education Research, Issue 1/2014
38 FINNISH
BY NATURE By Terhi Rauhala Photo Matti Pukki
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LIGHT AS A FEATHER Finnish Wildlife Photo of the Year 2014 is Matti Pukki’s painterly picture of seagulls flying in front of a forest scene. Pukki was hiding in a hut, intending to capture images of brown bears, but things took a different course: ”It was a rainy, windy summer night and there were hardly any bears in sight. So I started photographing seagulls to pass the time. I used long exposure and moved the camera up and down,” says Pukki, describing the origins of the winning shot. Matti Pukki has spent dozens of days a year in the woods for the past 15 years photographing Finnish nature. His camera loves landscapes as well as animals and plants – the whole variety of Finnish wildlife. The Finnish Association of Nature Photographers has awarded the best annual photographs since 1981. You can admire all the award winning photographs on the association’s website: www.vuodenluontokuva.fi.
Matti Pukki will have an exhibition in summer 2015 in Kotka Maretarium (an aquarium in the southeastern city of Kotka in Finland), presenting a selection of his work.
Photo Marjo Tynkkynen / SKOY
FINLAND IS… The most sustainable state in the world. In fact,
A nation of book worms.
High on caffeine.
Strong in gender equality. According to
Finland was the only country in the world that received the “very sustainable” status, according to the annual Fragile States Index.
Our annual consumption is 12.0 kg per person – almost tenfold the annual world average (1.3 kg).
There is a public library in every municipality. Finns borrow a world-record amount of books: 18 per person per year.
the World Economic Forum (WEF), Finland ranked 2nd.
A land of extreme seasonal contrasts.
A berry-picker’s paradise.
In 2013 the coldest day was in Sodankylä -39.7 C (-39.5 F), and the warmest day was in Liperi 32.4 C (90.3 F)
According to Finland’s everyman’s right, you can pick mushrooms and berries anywhere walking is permitted. Finns do exercise this right: 50 million kg of berries are gathered annually.
The best place to be a mother, according to
The 3rd least corrupt country.
the Save the Children organisation.
Says The Corruption Perceptions Index 2014.