Tekes Magazine 2014
A fresh
approach to
programming
PAGE 6
The most promising
start-ups
from Finland!
PAGE 13
ARCTIC
EXPERTISE
IN DEMAND
PAGE 20
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
1
02 index
06
A fresh
approach to
programming
With Rails Girls, Linda Liukas has
introduced software programming to
thousands of women around the world.
08
SkySQL finds
growth in Big Data
and the Cloud
SkySQL, one of champions in the
Tekes Young Innovative Companies
programme, profits from profound
technological changes.
Editorial ......................................03
In the spotlight .........................04
The most promising
start-ups from Finland ............13
Column: The Finnish
start-up ecosystem .................15
Tekes at your service ..............16
Tekes innovation
funding in a nutshell ...............18
Column: Building success
in the “New North”..................25
News and publications............26
20
Arctic
expertise
in demand
Climatic changes are creating newly
navigable sea routes in the far
north, opening up Arctic regions for
development. Northern know-how,
applicable in icy conditions, will soon be
at a premium.
Magazine 2014
Editor-in-Chief: Eeva Landowski
Producers: Risto Alatarvas, Susanna Lehto,
Sanna Piiroinen, Josi Tikkanen
Writers: Tim Bird, David J. Cord, James O’Sullivan,
Amanda Soila, Fran Weaver
Photographers: Eeva Anundi, Markus Sommers
English Editor: WriteStuff Finland, Dave Dunne
Editorial Board: Mirja Kaarlela, Pekka Kahri, Kari
Komulainen, Pia Mörk, Josi Tikkanen, Virpi Mikkonen
2
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Column: Biobanks advance
personal healthcare.................27
A multi-parts project ...............28
Testing, testing .........................32
Contact info................................38
Layout: Cake Ltd. Kari Lehkonen
Printed : Punamusta Oy
Cover photograph: Markus Sommers
ISSN: 1798-9876
Circulation: 11,000
Publisher: Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency
for Innovation. www.tekes.fi
editorial 03
PHOTO: MARKUS SOMMERS
Come and share
the joy of innovation
n excellent education system, beautiful nature and
an interesting Nordic culture. All true, but Finland
offers so much more. As well as all this you will find
top expertise and a highly competitive business
environment.
We at Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation work with the best innovative companies in Finland. Recently,
a new generation of enthusiastic, young entrepreneurs have
created a booming start-up community that extends its creative
spirit throughout the whole of Finnish business society.
However, innovative spirit is not a new trend in Finland.
For many years, we have worked to improve our innovation environment, to encourage businesses to grow and develop their
know-how, as well as to cooperate with leading research groups
in universities and research centres.
In the Global Competitiveness Survey 2013-2014, carried
out by the World Economic Forum, Finland ranked second
among 142 economies around the world in terms of innovation
and business sophistication. In another survey from Forbes,
Finland was rated first in the innovation ranking.
I hope you can sense the can-do attitude typical of Finns
in the stories portrayed in our magazine. They cover examples
of young innovative companies, arctic knowledge and learning
games.
At Tekes we can offer R&D and innovation funding for international businesses registered in Finland. In our programmes
we can also offer excellent testbeds and platforms for development projects and pilots.
You are warmly welcomed to Finland to do business, join
inspiring entrepreneurship societies and work with top experts
and scientists.
Pekka Soini
Director General, Tekes
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
3
04
COMPILED BY AMANDA SOILA
ULTRALIGHT
WARM, COMFORTABLE AND SECURE, the seats at
the Bolshoi Ice Palace in the Sochi Olympic Park are
also cutting edge in their design. All 12,000 seats at the
venue which hosted the ice hockey games at the 2014
Winter Olympics have been designed and manufactured
in the Finnish town of Salo, by the family-owned business
Piiroinen Oy.
Founded in 1949, the company started out producing
tin and nickel coatings, but later moved into furniture
design. Their big international break came at the turn of
the millennium with the ultralight CHIP-chair, designed by
Smart digital
LOCKS
Antti Kotilainen. The minimalistic chair – with its durability and timeless design – is still one of Piiroinen’s most
popular products, and has become the seating of choice
for public spaces around the world.
Piiroinen chairs, with their clean-cut design and
well-finished detail, are featured in some prominent spots
around the world; such as the Århus Art Museum in Denmark and Oslo University. Lately the company has been
focusing on developing new, environmentally friendly
chroming processes for their furniture. n
„
www.piiroinen.com
PHOTO: PIIROINEN
In the spotlight
design seats
AS THE WORLDWIDE lock making industry finds itself
at a point of transition - with mechanical locks being
replaced by electronic ones - iLOQ has stepped up to the
challenge. The company provides self-powered, digital
locking and access management that revolutionises the
lock making industry – just as digital cameras transformed
photography.
iLOQ aims to set new standards in lock security, by
replacing mechanical and electromechanical locking systems with a battery- and cable-free solution - solving the
problems of keys being copied or lost.
The company has also gained international recognition, as it was ranked as the fastest-growing Finnish
technology company on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50
listing in 2013. n
www.iloq.com
PHOTO: ILOQ
„
4
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Crowd
games
Understanding
your ship’s DNA
SHIPPING COMPANIES are increasingly suffering from rising fuel prices
and restrictive legislative pressures. But by collecting and analysing data
on board, ship operators are able to build up intelligence on the operational
effectiveness of vessels and apply this data to improve fuel efficiency.
Established in 2005 by experienced seafarers and technologists,
Eniram provides the shipping industry with fuel management systems to
reduce both consumption and emissions. When applications addressing
speed- and engine-management are combined
with trimming technology, shipping
companies typically save up to 10
per cent on fuel consumption
per vessel. The company’s
products and analytic
services are used on more
than 200 vessels, ranging
from cruise liners, tankers,
container ships, bulker
carriers and ferries.
„
UPLAUSE has taken gaming to a completely
new level with their ‘crowd games’. Designed
for large spectator events, the audience can
collectively participate in these voice-activated games by cheering or clapping - transforming the idle moments during a sports
event into interactive team play.
The company has recently joined forces
with some major US sporting venues and
teams. Now fans of the New York Knicks
or New York Rangers can take part in a big
screen Lexus car race at Madison Square
Garden. In partnership with the NHL and
Rovio, Uplause developed two interactive
crowd games featuring the brand new mascot, NHL Hockeybird.
www.eniram.fi
„ www.uplause.com
New
technology
Automated
testing against
cyber-attacks
HEALTHCARE START-UP MENDOR is showing itself
to be a leading light in efficient diabetes treatment
with their next generation diabetes care products.
According to the World Health Organisation diabetes is a rapidly growing problem - with some 347
million people worldwide having the disease - and it
is essential for sufferers to track the daily changes in
their glucose levels.
To help diabetes sufferers take the measurements more easily, Mendor has designed a blood
glucose monitoring system, which contains all the
necessary components for daily blood sugar level
checking. The stylish device is the size of a mobile
phone and it is also discreet to use.
Mendor has also created a cloud-based diabetes
data analytics and care platform, which helps in
sharing information between patients and doctors.
„
www.mendor.com
PHOTO: MENDOR
Revolutionary
diabetes treatment
THE THREAT OF CYBER-ATTACKS today
forms an active hazard for any company or
public actor but how can you prepare for the
unexpected? Oulu-based information security
company Codenomicon has found a way.
Using robustness testing tools, or ‘fuzzing
tools’ as they are also called, Codenomicon
helps companies discover their security flaws
and be prepared if a real cyber-attack ever
comes their way.
With ‘automated hackers’ customers can
expose their systems to simulated cyber-attacks that help them discover previously unknown weaknesses. The solutions are also able
to expose vulnerabilities in a more thorough
manner than a human tester could.
„
www.codenomicon.com
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
5
06 insight interview
6
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
A fresh
approach to
programming
With Rails Girls, Linda Liukas has introduced
software programming to thousands of women
around the world.
TEXT: JAMES O’SULLIVAN PHOTOS: MARKUS SOMMERS
lthough the weather outside is glum, the prevalence of thick grey
clouds seems to have no effect on Linda Liukas. Bursting through
the door, a bundle of energy, her smile is a permanent fixture
during our conversation. The reason is simple: she has recently
returned to live in Helsinki. After a year-and-a-half working at Codecademy in
New York city, the online-start-up aimed at teaching people how to program for
free, Liukas is happy to be back home.
“Finland is such an amazing place to be right now,” she enthuses. “When
I talk about Helsinki to people in New York, they are like, ‘Wow, what is this
wonderland where you have free education, can leave work at 5 pm, still do
meaningful stuff on a global level, and have a family life and enjoy nature – with
zero bureaucracy?’”
Growing up in Espoo, in the Greater Helsinki region, Liukas first became
interested in software programming when she was a teenager. However, her role
model at the time was somewhat unorthodox amidst her friends’ love of pop
stars and movie idols.
“My path to programming was born with Al Gore,” she recalls, flashing another smile. “I was 13 and super in love with him. He was so inspiring. I would
build websites and did all sorts of tinkering around the Web.”
This initial spark for programming eventually faded, however, replaced
by an interest in philosophy, French and boys. Ten years later, whilst studyTEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
7
08 insight interview
ing at the ME310 course at Stanford – a
project-based design engineering course
conducted in collaboration with Helsinki’s
Aalto University – the buzz returned.
“I took part in a rails class and felt the
same crazy expressive enthusiasm I had
when I was 13. I wondered why on Earth
did I lose ten years not programming?”
Another question arose soon
afterwards: How she could harness
similar fervour in other girls?
“When I think about teenage girls, whatever
their passion is, whether it is Mark Jacobs
high heels or Justin Bieber, their energy is
one of the most unused resources we have,”
Liukas recalls. “At university, my guy friends
would fight over who would do the laundry.
They would build an app for it, a laundry
“Software
development is a
21st century way
to express yourself
personally, build
something that’s
meaningful in itself
and influence society
on a profound level.”
app. But online the majority of girls are just
clicking, retweeting, using Tumblr and so on
– curation, not creation, per se.”
So, at the age of 23, Liukas sought to
channel this creative energy towards the
uncharted terrain of software engineering
from a female perspective. With this as her
goal, Rails Girls was founded in 2010 with
Karri Saarinen.
On the rails
The first Rails Girls event was a big success.
Organised for a group of their friends,
Liukas and Saarinen simply wanted to show
8
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
them that “hey, programming is cool”. Igniting an unexpected flurry of tweeting around
the globe, before long they were invited to
Singapore to conduct a workshop there.
Shanghai soon followed, and in March 2012
the extent of their popularity saw them
open-sourcing a guide to organising a Rails
Girls course. The floodgates opened. To date
the courses have been organised in over 160
cities around the world.
Rails Girls attracts a wide range of
ages, from 16 to 65, and the events are
flourished with cupcakes, champagne and
posters of heartthrobs adorning the walls,
offering an avenue for participants to feel
girly amidst the technology.
“Software development is a 21st
century way to express yourself personally,
build something that’s meaningful in itself
and influence society on a profound level,”
Liukas explains. “It is changing our society
faster than anything else: faster than law
and large corporations. Girls bring a fresh
perspective to problems and solutions. Just
by the virtue of having different people
with different experiences, we will end up
having different kinds of software.”
Liukas sees software overarching many
aspects of modern working life, with people
encountering engineers, updating websites
and using software applications daily.
Similarly, Rails Girls has also transcended numerous political and geographical borders.
“We have had events in Jerusalem, Tel
Aviv and Palestine. At first I wondered if it
was possible to connect the neighbouring
rails developers. And yes I can. We had the
same situation in Pakistan and India, where
the Indian organisers helped the Pakistan organisers. Technology is somehow
removed from cultural conflicts.”
Getting with the program
Participants feel empowered after attending a Rails Girls event, even though
one captures a mere glimpse of software
engineering. The overriding feeling is that
of solidarity, as women who are equally excited about programming find themselves
in one another’s company. Their main
obstacle has been simply taking the first
step, Liukas states.
“I understand that programming
alone can be intimidating and scary, but
that’s why there are other people around
to help out. It’s about the way that people
approach technology – whether they own
the technology or whether the technology owns them. Programme or be programmed. People feel very empowered
after the event.”
Given the wide reach of the Internet,
the Rails global community remains tightknit, with Rails Girls refraining from doing
any promotion other than via Twitter.
“Everybody knows each other,” Liukas
explains. “Programming is about problem
solving, working in teams. There are a lot
of graphic designers, programmers and
business people involved. People build
stuff together. The whole backbone of the
Internet – companies like MySQL, SSH,
IRC, Skype, Git and Linux – all of these
technologies that power the world right
now were built right here in northern Europe. Somehow this is because of our social
democratic way of thinking. Similarly, we
wanted to build our stuff for everyone’s
benefit, to open-source it for everybody.”
“It’s about the way that people approach technology – whether they own
the technology or whether the technology owns them,” says Linda Liukas.
Youthful programming
Now that she has introduced the world of
programming to many women around the
globe, Liukas’ focus has recently shifted to
youngsters.
“Nobody’s talking about technology or
engineering in the children’s book world.
Kids at a very young age could be learning
to think like a programmer and seeing the
possibilities.”
“Nowadays,
software is changing
our society faster
than anything else:
faster than law and
large corporations.”
Liukas envisions Hello Ruby as a
bedtime story being read by a father to
his daughter, introducing all the exciting
things in his programming world that he
has no other way of sharing with her.
“It’s a human connection instead of
a computer connection, where the child
would be alone and looking at the computer. There is so much to programming that
doesn’t happen in front of the computer,
the concepts can be taught with different
mediums.”
These include altering the traditional
school curriculum.
“Whether having Python programming be a part of maths lessons, or building user interfaces at arts school, why not
have kids grow up paper prototyping,
for example? One of the big challenges is
that technology moves so fast. Whatever
structure we create is going to be outdated, so we also need to empower kids to be
teaching one another, as they learn fast.”
Amidst this flurry of enthusiasm,
one begins to wonder whether Liukas has
“We wanted to
build our stuff for
everyone’s benefit,
to open-source it for
everybody.”
mapped out a complex algorithm of future
plans to embellish her programming revolution. So, what lies ahead? After a long
pause, her answer is refreshingly modest.
“The best things in my life have
happened by accident: getting involved in
Stanford, Rails Girls, the book. I’m waiting for another happy accident to come
along.” n
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
9
10 young and innovative
10
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
SkySQL finds growth in
BIG DATA
AND
THE CLOUD
SkySQL, one of the champions in Tekes Young Innovative
Companies programme, profits from profound
technological changes.
TEXT: DAVID J. CORD PHOTOS: MARKUS SOMMERS
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
11
12 young and innovative
“The cloud revolution is only
starting, and with the cloud
comes open-source.”
seems so simple. You go
to a travel website, enter
your home city, destination and travel dates
and receive a list of results to choose from.
It is completed in the blink of an eye. The
process appears to be easy and painless, but
you didn’t see everything that happened
when you clicked the ´search´ button.
“Think of all that data,” says Patrik
Sallner. “You have all those hotels, all those
prices, all those customers. A lot happened
when you made that query.”
Sallner is the CEO of SkySQL, a
software and services company based in
Espoo, Finland. SkySQL specialises in an
open-source relational database management system called MariaDB. Their clients
are companies and organisations which
need to manage enormous amounts of
data, such as Google, Harvard University, and the travel website Booking.com.
Only three years old, SkySQL is growing
explosively.
Into the cloud
SkySQL’s roots are in MySQL, a popular
open-source relational database system, often described as the fundamental building
blocks of the Internet. When the corpora12
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
tion developing the system ended up in the
hands of Oracle, some employees left to
start a new company in 2010.
“About 80 per cent of our employees
are from the MySQL company,” Sallner
says. “We had a very strong start because
there were dozens of customers who wanted to move to an independent vendor.”
From the beginning the company
focused upon ´the cloud,´ hence ´Sky´
in their name. The cloud is a network of
virtual servers, some of which run applications and some of which store information. Cloud applications often involve ´big
data,´ extremely large and complex data
sets. All the text and images of SkySQL’s
client Wikipedia is an example of big
data. SkySQL is developing MariaDB to
address the needs related to big data and
the cloud.
“Data was structured in tables, but
new data is unstructured,” explains Sallner.
“Instead of having one huge mainframe
computer you have a thousand servers. The
nature of the data and hardware changed,
and this gave us new opportunities.”
Help from Tekes
When SkySQL was founded they discovered strong demand for their services and
specialised expertise, but they knew they
needed to expand in new directions.
“SkySQL knew how to deliver services
around the MySQL database, but pure service delivery won’t take a start-up company
far,” says Kaj Arnö, the company’s vice
president of collaboration.
“There were several directions into
which products around MySQL could
be taken, and most interesting was how
to map databases onto the cloud. We
approached Tekes in order to help us take
SkySQL in two directions; from a services
company to a product company, and from
a software company to a cloud company.”
Tekes provided both research and
development loans and a grant through
the YIC (Young Innovative Companies)
programme, where Tekes funds the most
promising start-ups.
“Tekes required a good plan,” interjects Sallner. “We had to set objectives
and track our progress. Tekes has so much
experience with start-ups, so they knew
what to do. They are very professional and
know their stuff.”
“If we hadn’t benefited from the help
provided by Tekes, we would have had a
hard time transitioning anywhere from a
pure services company,” Arnö continues.
“This would obviously also have negatively
influenced our access to venture capital.”
Spreading virally
SkySQL had seed funding from venture
capitalists, but with their impressive early
track record they raised €3 million in a
Series A round in April 2012. Investors
included Spintop Ventures, Open Ocean
Capital and the publicly-funded Finnish
Industry Investments.
One year later, in April 2013, SkySQL
announced a merger with Monty Program Ab, the creators of the open-source
database technology MariaDB. Monty
Program was founded by none other than
the famous Michael ‘Monty’ Widenius,
one of the architects of MySQL. Widenius
joined the board of directors of SkySQL
and became the chief technical officer of
the MariaDB Foundation.
“MariaDB is a fork of MySQL, but it
is becoming a different product,” Sallner
The most promising
start-ups
from Finland!
Tekes’ Young Innovative Companies funding is intended for Finnish start-ups
seeking rapid international growth.
Companies younger than six years old can apply for funding for Young
Innovative Companies (YIC). This funding is meant for the comprehensive
development of their business activities.
YIC funding can be up to one million euros, granted in several stages.
Before granting a new funding phase, Tekes sets new and challenging goals
for the company, such as acquiring new customers, accelerating growth
or attracting more investment from venture capitalists. Companies which
complete the YIC funding programme will get a YIC Champion title. In 2013
there were 22 new YIC Champions.
YIC CHAMPIONS 2013
Faron Pharmaceuticals
Grey Area
Faron has three major drug development projects focusing on acute
traumas, metabolic syndrome-related vasculopathies, inflammatory
diseases and cancer metastasis. The
company sources its innovations
from academia.
Grey Area is a Finnish gaming
company best known for their
location-based mobile games. Grey
Area has received investments
from London Venture Partners, and
Lifeline Ventures - who also invested
in Supercell.
Merus Power Dynamics
Merus Power offers clean technology
to improve power quality, energy
efficiency and environmental performance in several business sectors.
Merus’ sales are in a rapid growth
phase.
Medeia Therapeutics
Medeia Therapeutics Ltd. is a private
biotechnology company dedicated
to discovering and developing new
therapeutic approaches to diseases
with high unmet medical needs.
Medeia’s focus areas include the discovery, preclinical research and early
development of novel therapeutics.
Netcycler
Netcycler is an online service for
consumers that facilitates the
exchange, giving away and trading
of pre-owned goods between users.
The service is currently available in
Finland, the UK and Germany.
In4Mo
In4Mo’s solution is based on the
concept of integrating the latest mobile and internet technologies into
the property damage claim handling
process. Its customers are mainly
insurance companies.
Goodmill Systems
Goodmill Systems Ltd. is a global
market leader in critical broadband
connectivity for vehicles. This
ensures uninterrupted connectivity,
even on moving applications, such as
in emergency services vehicles
Magisso
Magisso is a production house for
design and innovation. The company’s products include cake servers,
cutting boards, magnetic kitchen
cloth holders and the award-winning
Magisso Tipping Teacup. Magisso’s
products are available in over 20
countries.
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
13
14 young and innovative
YIC CHAMPIONS 2013
Onbone
Moldtech
Onbone Oy is a Finnish medical
technology company which develops and markets innovative and
user-friendly products for orthopaedic and traumatology use. Onbone’s
main product is an orthopaedic
wood cast which is manufactured
from wood chips and biodegradable
plastic.
Moldtech’s product Bridgecare will
revolutionise the way we build, and
repair, edge beams into the future.
Instead of traditional, time- and
space-consuming structures, the
Bridgecare solution offers a more
durable, safer, and efficient platform
for edge beam repair work.
Valkee
Valkee Bright Light Headset is the
world’s first pocket-sized device that
channels bright light via the ear canals into the brain. Valkee’s product
is used as a cure for winter blues
(Seasonal Affective Disorder).
Greenlux Finland
Greenlux Finland is an LED lighting
technology company and Scandinavia’s leading manufacturer of LED
luminaries for parking garages.
SkySQL Corporation
Analyse Solutions Finland
Analyse Solutions provides custom-made solutions for retailers and
shopper segmentation for suppliers.
DealDash
DealDash operates solely in the US
market. It is one of the largest providers of pay-to-participate auctions
in the world. The company’s net
sales last year was €34 million.
Oncos Therapeutics
Oncos Therapeutics are developing
next generation oncolytic viruses for
cancer therapeutics.
See main article.
Nervogrid
Optomed
Nervogrid helps service providers
become the cloud services brokers
of the future. Vendors and service
providers increase their revenue by
creating and entering marketplaces
with a global reach.
Optomed Oy is a medical technology
company which specialises in digital
imaging devices both for human and
veterinary medicine. Optomed’s key
product is Smartscope, a modular hand-held retinal camera for
screening and diagnosis of various
eye diseases.
Tuxera
Tuxera Inc. develops and sells filing
systems software. Tuxera’s customers include a number of consumer
electronics manufacturers of mobile
phones, tablets, TVs, set-top boxes,
automotive infotainment and storage
markets.
Sensinode
(acquired by ARM)
Finnish company Sensinode was
acquire by Brittish ARM in August
2013. Sensinode was a provider of
software technology for the Internet
of Things, which means that physical products will be connected to
Internet.
14
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Pegasor
Pegasor Oy was founded in 2008 to
commercialise breakthrough innovations in fine- and nanoparticle-sensor
technologies. Pegasor’s particulate
matter sensors are intended for
continuous real-time monitoring in
applications like engine emissions,
stack emissions, indoor air quality and
ambient air quality.
P2S Media Group
P2S Media Group’s product Scoopshot is a photo crowdsourcing ecosystem, helping thousands of media
companies and millions of brands
engage with their customers while
sourcing relevant content.
says. “In 2013 MariaDB was adopted by
Linux distributors, so when you download
the open-source Linux operating system it
comes with MariaDB.”
MariaDB is exploding in popularity
due to its open-source distribution model,
its scalability and its interoperability with
other databases. On the back of this huge
growth SkySQL raised almost €15 million
in new funds from venture capitalists in
October 2013.
“The software is free, and open-source
is an effective way to virally spread new
technologies,” Sallner explains. “But companies need support and tools. They hire us
for technical support, to test performance,
or optimise the way the database runs.
They need a vendor for when things go
wrong.”
The fundamental revolution
One of SkySQL’s key strengths is that it is a
virtual organisation. It maintains an office
in the high-tech hub of Otaniemi, but the
majority of employees work from their
homes around the world.
“As a virtual organisation we are able
to recruit the best talent anywhere,” says
Sallner. “If a client has a problem, we can
work on it twenty-four hours a day in a
follow-the-sun support model, passing it
from one group of employees to the next.
By the time the client wakes up in the
morning, hopefully the problem has been
resolved.”
Having started with twenty people,
SkySQL now has seventy. Some are in
Espoo, while others are in London, the
San Francisco Bay area and all points in
between. In 2013 about two-thirds of their
business was in Europe. For the immediate
future, the US is a priority because it is the
largest market.
“The cloud revolution is only starting,
and with the cloud comes open-source,”
Sallner concludes. “When something
begins to change, people overestimate the
short-term impact and underestimate the
long-term impact. We are riding the wave,
just like MySQL rode the internet wave.
This will fundamentally revolutionise IT
and there will be a new world.” n
Column 15
Gordon Kelly
The writer is a UK-based freelance journalist and
media consultant specialising in the tech sector.
Through English Eyes:
the Finnish
start-up ecosystem
hat about Finland?” Ask me this two years ago and I would
assume you were talking holiday destinations, cross country
skiing or improbable military successes. Today I know better.
Nine times out of ten the question now relates to the success of the Finnish startup ecosystem.
This perception stems from a few obvious tent poles: Angry Birds, Clash of
Clans and a much lauded education and welfare system (we loved the baby box
delivered to William and Kate!). Ask us again after a few swift drinks and we’ll
also praise Finnish start-ups for their international outlook, though we think it
stems from the same reason your English is so good: population size.
Still this is a radical change over a short period of time and it borders on
miraculous considering it has occurred during the very public fall of Nokia. Not
many have linked the flood of (well-supported) Nokia talent into the job market
as actually being a key driver in Finland’s start-up growth.
Fewer still know Tekes, but they really should. After a slow start, English
entrepreneurial progress is gaining momentum, but it would’ve occurred far faster
had my government focused on supporting start-ups with assessed grants and loans
rather than incentivising multinational corporations to nurture start-ups through
tax breaks. This nurturing often leads to early buyouts or competitions where the
winning start-up exchanges mentoring for an equity stake.
Still the UK has a good crop of start-up heroes these days. Swiftkey
(ingenious soft keyboards), GoCardless (PayPal for ongoing payments), Hailo
(taxi tracking/ordering service) and Moshi Monsters (children’s game with 87m
users) lead the way. Language learning system Busuu should be next. It has
attained 40 million users with just a single €3.5m round of funding. None match
the size of Rovio or Supercell (though Moshi Monsters beat Angry Birds to
cinemas with an – admittedly terrible – film) but heart is taken from their variety
of industries.
By contrast Finland gets stereotyped as a mobile games specialist, something
the imminent and seemingly inevitable success of Grand Cru may perpetuate.
That said this should be tempered in time with the rise of Finnish gems like
Holvi, Kiosked, Indoor Atlas, Mendor and ProtoGeo.
And yet it seems Finland is still not the model other countries choose
to copy. Some might say its lower profile is to blame, but I suspect more
fundamental differences in education and government funding systems are the
more likely factors that keep it unique. I wouldn’t be too disheartened. Finns have
never enjoyed being the centre of attention. n
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
15
16 Tekes at your service
Present your
idea!
Would you like to take your
idea further and make it a
successful, growing business?
Or do you want to improve
the management practices of
your company? What about
investigating your target
markets before launching your
product? Let us know your
plans for the future.
Exploring a new business area
We have been a customer of Tekes since 2012. Our goal is to triple our company’s
turnover in a couple of years’ time. We have a new product that will take us to a totally
new business field – risky, but the potential for success would be huge. We have money
for simple R&D work, but Tekes will help us to achieve even better and bigger results. At
the moment, we are developing our products and analysing our potential customers and
their needs. We have been also encouraged to focus on the IPR (intellectual property
rights) questions at this early stage. We are putting a lot of effort into developing a new
business model, with a help of one of our good customers. They really are a key player in
our project.
Did you know?
Companies seeking for
international growth can apply for
innovation funding from Tekes.
The most ambitious and rapidly
growing companies may take part
in the Tekes Young Innovative
Company funding scheme.
Looking for new ideas and contacts
We would like to know how gaming companies are able to grow in such
a fast and creative way. Maybe there is some secret to learn from them
and use to develop our business model. That’s why we are following the
Tekes programme called Skene - Games Refueled. A few weeks ago we
participated in their workshop and got some inspiring thoughts and contacts.
I had a really interesting talk with a scientist from the local university. We
may even start planning a common project together.
Did you know?
Tekes currently runs 16
programmes, which offer funding
for research and development
projects and network companies,
and research groups in chosen
thematic fields. The programmes
are an excellent platform to
follow-up and influence the
developments in their area of
business.
16
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Getting ready for global markets
We just got a call from Tekes that our funding application has been accepted.
Now we can begin the market surveys we need and start testing our concept with
potential customers. During our negotiations with Tekes we got advice on the
next steps. For example, we had to improve our business concept quite a bit. Also,
our team was evaluated, in order to make sure we have the right people to reach
our ambitious goals – create a global business from the starting point.
Did you know?
Tekes offers a variety of services
for small- and medium-sized
growth companies to widen
their knowledge of business
opportunities in different parts of
the world.
Investing in people
We have recently renewed our company strategy and chosen the personnel’s
motivation as our most important goal. We think it is the best way to improve
our results and the quality of our work. We are running a development project
partly funded by Tekes. The work will help us to implement new tools for sharing
knowledge and increasing interaction between different units. Our organisation is
rather big, and constantly changing, so we have also engaged external experts to
help management and personnel to together develop the way we work.
Did you know?
Science meets business
Our research team has received funding from the Tekes Green Growth Programme. We
cooperate with three companies that are partly funding our research project. The business
perspective gives us insight into the companies’ needs and challenges and encourages us
to focus on questions that will be important when our results will be commercialised. We
have presented our work at a few international conferences and have had interesting talks
with other top experts in our field.
As a part of the R&D
project, Tekes can fund
the development of
an organisation and
management.
Did you know?
Research projects are
encouraged to include
international cooperation.
Around 40 per cent of
Tekes funding is targeted
towards research work at
universities and other research
organisations.
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
17
18 Tekes at your service
Tekes funding
and services
in a nutshell
Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation - offers
funding for research and development projects carried out by
companies and research organisations working in Finland. We are
here to help you to find the best way to take your research and
development work further. All our services are free of charge.
Company
funding
Research
organisations
Test
your idea
Tekes funding can be used in
numerous ways to develop better
products, services, a business model,
and methods or for example the
organisation’s competence and
management. Often companies carry
out their research and development
project in collaboration with a
university or research institute. Tekes
will fund part of the project’s costs.
The company funding options
include a low-interest loan and a
grant. Tekes’ share of the project
costs can vary between 25–75 per
cent depending on the nature or
the project. Most of our corporate
customers are small- and mediumsized companies developing their
business to grow into global markets.
Universities and research institutes
can apply for project funding from
Tekes, when they want to cooperate
with companies and carry out
research that will have an impact in
business life. Tekes funding covers
generally 60 per cent of the project
costs.
Most research organisations’
projects are connected to Tekes
programmes that open application
rounds for research organisations.
The programmes have had
a major impact on the innovation
cooperation of companies,
universities and research institutes.
Before applying for funding, it is
advisable to talk to our experts. They
know the programmes and networks
that may be of use to your work, and
they will suggest the best way of
funding your project. Tekes experts
can also propose other development
paths for your company if our funding
is not best suited for you right now.
Companies can submit a funding
application at any time. Research
organisations can submit funding
applications on application dates
published on the Tekes website. The
funding application is done through
Tekes’ online service. If you are
dealing with us for the first time, it
is advisable to start with our Feeler
Form accessible at Tekes website.
www.tekes.fi/funding/companies
18
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
www.tekes.fi/funding/research
www.tekes.fi/test
PHOTO: MARKUS SOMMERS
Teaming up
with the best
We encourage international research
cooperation in all R&D projects.
To facilitate international
collaboration, Tekes has made
several agreements with partner
organisations in different countries,
such as the United States, Russia,
China and India.
Tekes programmes
Tekes has specified focus areas
in which Finnish companies and
research organisations have
significant potential on the horizon.
The focus areas are especially
reflected in Tekes programmes, which
are large thematical entities offering
funding and expert services.
www.tekes.fi/en/programmes
FiDiPro, the Finland
Distinguished Professor
Programme
Success in
global markets
Young innovative
companies
We want our customers to be
successful in global markets, but
realise it is not always an easy goal
to achieve. To help especially SMEs
to improve their competence in a
new business area, we offer services
which help companies to plan and
develop their growth strategy for
foreign markets.
Tekes funding for young innovative
companies is intended for the
comprehensive development of a
business. The aim is to substantially
accelerate the growth and
internationalisation of the most
promising small enterprises younger
than six years old.
Market Access
Programme (MAP)
Growth
Track
Is your company interested in
expanding to the USA, China or
Southeast Asia? Tekes’ customers
have the opportunity to develop
their international business
expertise with MBA students from
the world’s top universities.
www.tekes.fi/map
www.tekes.fi/en/niy
Growth Track offers SMEs the best
suited public financing and expert
services for international growth via a
personal Growth Pilot.
www.kasvuvayla.fi
FiDiPro, the Finland Distinguished
Professor Programme, enables
distinguished researchers, both
international and expatriates, to work
with Finnish academic research groups.
FiDiPro provides competitive grants
to projects recruiting highly merited
scientists, who are able to commit to
long-term cooperation with a Finnish
university or research institute.
www.tekes.fi/fidipro
Innovation funding
for international
businesses
Tekes can also finance R&D projects
undertaken by foreign-owned
companies registered in Finland.
International companies with R&D
activities in Finland do not need to
have a Finnish partner to be eligible
for funding. The financed projects
should, however, contribute to the
Finnish economy.
www.tekes.fi/international_
companies
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
19
20 arctic intelligence
TEXT: FRAN WEAVER PHOTOS: ISTOCKPHOTO, EEVA ANUNDI
ARCTIC
EXPERTISE
IN DEMAND
Climatic changes are creating newly
navigable sea routes in the far
north, opening up Arctic regions for
development. Northern know-how,
applicable in icy conditions, will soon
be at a premium.
hough the Arctic is becoming more accessible,
arctic environments
will remain both highly
challenging and highly
sensitive to the impacts
of development. Energy efficiency becomes
even more crucial in cold conditions,
and clean technologies will be needed to
prevent the pollution of pristine arctic
ecosystems.
20
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
“It’s vital to ensure that coming
operations in the Arctic region are realised
as safely, efficiently and sustainably as possible,” emphasises Tekes director Kimmo
Kanto.
Much of Finland lies north of the
Arctic Circle. Winter conditions are harsh
across the country, and the waters of the
Baltic Sea typically freeze over for several
months. This means that Finnish industries have already learnt to cope with ice
and snow, while research centres like the
Finnish Meteorological Institute, VTT
Technical Research Centre of Finland and
the Finnish Environment Institute have
long specialised in ice monitoring and the
compilation and processing of data on
snow and ice conditions.
“In key sectors, from shipping and
energy, to mining and forestry we already
have a wealth of experience, capabilities
and solutions that can be scaled-up for in-
The business
potential in the Arctic
region is estimated to be
approximately
€240 billion
Tekes
Arctic Seas programme
runs from 2014 to 2017.
Overall budget
€100 million
Tekes
€45 million
ternational application around the Arctic,”
says Kanto, emphasising that Finnish firms
must urgently start planning to meet future
demand in arctic markets.
Finnish companies look north
In the beginning of 2014 Tekes launched
a new four-year programme that aims to
channel up to €100 million into Finnish
R&D work with an arctic angle. The Arctic
Seas Programme aims to ensure that
Finnish companies will in future be preferred partners for all kinds of sustainable
activities practised in arctic conditions.
Tekes may provide almost half of the programme’s total funding, with companies
contributing the rest.
“Tekes will play a vital role, especially
when it comes to building up networks that
will link firms with research institutions,
and also with international projects involv-
ing key countries like Russia, Norway, the
USA, China and Canada,” says Kanto.
Kanto emphasises that Finland already
has world-class infrastructure for arctic
R&D: “Research institutes able to form
effective partnerships to develop arctic
technologies together with businesses
include VTT Technical Research Centre
of Finland, Aalto University and Oulu
University,” he says. “At the same time we’re
hoping to establish an EU Arctic InforTEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
21
22 arctic intelligence
mation Centre at the Arctic Centre of the
University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, and
the Academy of Finland is running a major
parallel programme funding basic research
on arctic issues.”
From Baltic to Arctic
Climatic changes around the Arctic Ocean
mean that blue water is appearing in
formerly frozen areas, at least seasonally;
last water treatment systems, and marine
engines designed by Wärtsilä that can
meet tough limits set to reduce sulphur
and particle pollution.
High-tech solutions for
high latitudes
Expertise in information and communications technologies is also an arctic
asset. “In combination with advanced
real-time environmental monitoring, the latest ICT innovations are rapidly creating new
opportunities that simply didn’t
exist 20 years ago,” says Kanto.
High-tech ICT innovations could soon contribute to
pioneering developments in
challenging arctic contexts. The
dispersed local production and
distribution of energy is one
key area. Robotics and mobile
communication technologies
will also be applied to build up services
and infrastructure for remotely operable
autonomous vehicles and facilities.
“Finland also
has a lot to offer in
more people-centred
arctic activities, from
world-class facilities
for the test-driving of
road vehicles in arctic
conditions, to clothing
and equipment for
people who have to
cope outdoors in conditions of extreme
cold and darkness – including increasing
numbers of tourists drawn to the Arctic
by the amazing sights, experiences and
challenges the region offers,” says Kanto.
The construction of buildings and
other infrastructure capable of withstanding extreme cold is another field
where Finland can excel. New ports
are likely to spring up along expanding
arctic sea routes. The Northeast Passage
represents a logistical short cut to Europe
from China and the Far East, as well as
a seaway for the transportation of the
Arctic’s own natural resources.
Ships plying new routes
like the Northeast
Passage have to cope
with the same kinds of
ice conditions long found
in the Baltic.
but ships plying the Northeast Passage and
other new routes will still have to deal with
the same kind of yearly winter ice found in
the Baltic, as well as thicker and tougher
multi-year ice in places.
Finnish ice-related expertise in the
fields of ship design, shipbuilding and navigation should prove particularly valuable.
“This includes the innovative design of offshore facilities, such as drilling rigs, as well
as ice-breakers and other ships,” says Kanto.
Finland already has two state-of-theart ice tanks for testing ice-resistant designs
for ships and offshore facilities, at Aalto
University and at the Helsinki portside HQ
of specialist Finnish company Aker Arctic,
who recently turned ice-breaking technologies around by designing an ice-breaker
that will operate sideways to clear a wider
ice-free lane.
In sensitive arctic environments it is
essential to choose clean technologies that
prioritise pollution prevention. Examples
include innovative equipment designed by
the Finnish company Lamor specifically
to recover spilt oil in icy waters, onboard
wastewater treatment solutions created by
Finnish company Evac, Auramarine’s bal-
22
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
In sensitive arctic
environments it is essential
to choose clean technologies
that prevent pollution.
RUSSIA
“We expect big
business in future
relating to the design and
construction of larger ships
for arctic waters.”
Wrangel Island
ALASKA (USA)
New Siberian Islands
Arctic Ocean
Severnaya Zemlya
Banks Island
Queen Elisabeth Islands
The construction
of buildings and
infrastructure to withstand
extreme cold is another
field where Finland
excels.
Franz Josef Land
(RUS)
Novaya Zemlia
Svalbard
(NOR)
CANADA
FINLAND
ILLUSTRATION: MIKKO AIRIKKA
GREENLAND
(DEN)
Baltic Sea
Northwest
Passage
Looking at the big picture
in the Arctic
“In future we expect Finland’s role as an international hub for arctic expertise to grow
with the help of intensified networked
collaboration between businesses and research institutions, as well as international
partnerships and investments,” says Kanto.
In August 2013 the Finnish Government launched a wide-ranging national
Northeast
Passage
strategy focussing on how Finland can
contribute to all kinds of potential developments in the Arctic Region. In addition
to examining geopolitical, social and
environmental issues, the strategy defines
objectives and actions related to emerging
economic opportunities, emphasising the
key role that can be played by the technologies that Finland has to offer when it comes
to working in cold and challenging arctic
conditions.
“This is the most comprehensive
such strategy produced by any of the eight
countries with territory in the Arctic,”
says Kanto. “It gives a clear message that
Finland is open to international arctic cooperation and capable of looking at arctic
issues holistically, considering all the key
aspects of arctic developments including
safety, security, eco-efficiency, and social
and environmental sustainability.” n
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
23
24 arctic intelligence
TEXT: FRAN WEAVER PHOTOS: ISTOCKPHOTO, EEVA ANUNDI
Testing ships for
icy seas
As the Arctic region opens
up, more ice-breakers,
cargo ships and other
vessels will need to be
designed and built to cope
in icy seas. An innovative
collaborative project is
providing welcome new
information about how
different kinds of ice affect
vessels.
hips have operated in icy seas
around the world for more than
100 years, but our knowledge
about the precise load impacts of sea ice on
their hulls and propulsion systems is still
very limited,” says Mikko Niini, managing
director of Finnish ice-going vessel design
and testing specialists Aker Arctic.
Aker Arctic are a key partner in an
ongoing Tekes-funded project that is testing how the specially-fitted polar research
vessel S.A. Agulhas II, operated by the
South African Department of Environmental Affairs in antarctic seas, copes in
different ice conditions. “We’re particularly
looking at the loads caused by ice on the
ship’s hull and propeller shaft, aiming to
calibrate theoretical estimates with the
loads observed in real life conditions,”
explains Niini.
24
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Experts from Aalto University in
Finland and the University of Stellenbosch
in South Africa are meanwhile working on
the practical aspects of the project, compiling measurements taken by shipboard
instruments together with detailed observations of the physical properties of the
ice the ship is sailing through, including
thickness, strength and salinity.
Mikko Niini is convinced that
findings from the ongoing antarctic
research vessel project will be
a valuable asset in the booming
market for ice-going ships.
to discover how they might affect marine
mammals in nearby waters,” explains Niini.
Full-scale ice trials under way
Big business opportunities on the
arctic horizon
The S.A. Agulhas II was launched from
STX Finland’s Rauma shipyards in July
2011. Her first full-scale ice trials were held
in early 2012 in the frozen Gulf of Bothnia.
Aker Arctic had already tested the ice-going capabilities of a detailed scale model of
the vessel in the company’s state-of-the-art
ice tank facilities in Helsinki.
The next phase of the full-scale trials
is already ongoing in Antarctic waters,
where the vessel supplies and assists staff
based at South Africa’s Antarctic research
station. “The South African operators are
pleased to have the ship instrumented for
such trials, as they get useful information
for their purposes too,” says Niini.
The three-year project is also examining the levels of noise and vibrations
caused as the ship grinds through the sea
ice. “The idea is to assess how onboard
noise and vibrations affect the comfort
of the ship’s crew and passengers; but in
this case we’re also uniquely assessing
water-borne noise and vibrations in detail
“We’re very pleased with the hands on experiences and results we’ve gained from the
project so far for the purposes of ice-going
ship design,” says Niini. One key finding
has been that ice can cause higher than expected loads on the rear corners of vessels,
known to naval architects as aft shoulders.
The related design standards for ice-going vessels may need to be toughened in
response to this new data.
Niini feels that the new data obtained
from the 134-metre-long Agulhas II about
how larger vessels cope under different ice
conditions is particularly valuable today.
“We’re on the verge of interesting new developments in the Arctic region. We expect
big business in future related to the design
and construction of larger ice-going ships
for arctic waters that will soon be busy,”
he says. “Ice conditions in the Northeast
Passage north of Russia, for instance,
increasingly resemble the conditions we’ve
long faced here in the Baltic, so Finnish
expertise is very much in demand.” n
Column 25
Bruce J. Oreck
The US Ambassador to Finland
Building success
in the “New North”
n the four-and-a-half years years I have been
privileged to live in Finland, I have witnessed
immense change – global markets shifting,
disruptive technologies and transforming social
patterns around the globe – all having dramatic,
and in many cases adverse impacts on the Finnish
economy.
For those who hold too tightly to the realities or
business models of the past, these tumultuous times
to tend give rise to fear and pessimism. But for those
who are willing to embrace a dramatically different
future, these times, although challenging, can be full
of optimism and extraordinary success. Unquestionably, Finland is poised, not just to share in, but also
to lead in many of the opportunities arising from the
vast social, economic and geophysical transformations of the world in the 21st century.
There is simply no credible science to the contrary: the accelerated climate change being witnessed
around the globe is anthropogenic. Humankind’s
unslakable demand for energy has, and will continue
to alter the biosphere. And nowhere are the impacts
of this more evident today than in the Arctic region.
As the rest of the world is focusing more strongly on
the Arctic, with possible new sea lanes, access to new
resources, environmental challenges and increased
focus on the rights of indigenous people, Finland is
uniquely placed to lead into the future.
These vast changes are creating what I have
described as the “New North” where opportunities
for trade, investment, and innovation as well as protection and stewardship, go hand in hand. Existing
relationships, and new possibilities, between Finland,
Russia, Norway and Sweden have immense potential
in infrastructure development, extractive industries,
research and development, shipping, and more. With
a strong history of experience in these fields and an
extraordinarily well educated population, Finland is
positioned to take full advantage of these opportu-
nities – but to do that, Finns need also to embrace
some internal changes too. The competition for the
future is going to be intense and proficiency alone
will not win the day. Rather than merely acknowledging shortcomings in their marketing prowess, as they
have in other sectors and skill sets, Finns could set
out to be among the best marketers in the world. The
pace of change in the 21st century also beckons Finns
to remake their relationship with risk – to embrace
entrepreneurship at all levels of society.
The United States believes profoundly in Finland’s unique position, leadership and their ability
to once again transform themselves. And we are
committed to an even broader and more successful
partnership. One needs to look no further than our
recent investment of over $100 million in our new
Innovation Center and Embassy. The Innovation
Center offers a physical platform for conducting business and connections in the New North, but it is not
just a building; the work we are doing inside is what
is making the difference.
We are helping to connect American businesses
with Finnish companies and cities who are interested
in partnering for success. A strong US company combined with Finnish experience and know-how in the
region can be a huge advantage for both. Access to
both the Finnish and the broader regional markets in
Russia, the Baltics, and Scandinavia make Finland an
ideal place for trade and investment. The New North
is the place to do business in the 21st century.
Finally, we are looking to connect Finns to
opportunities in the US. We are working to create
stronger networks for trade and investment to flow
both ways between the United States and Finland.
As these opportunities in Finland continue to grow,
it will be up to Finns to ensure that growth and development in the New North is thoughtful, responsible,
and sustainable. The race for the future is well under
way, lets win it together. n
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
25
26 news and publications
Tekes Venture Capital
gives a boost to Finnish start-ups
Order Tekes
publications at
www.tekes.fi/publications
TEXT: TIM BIRD
A new company founded by Tekes will start making investments
in venture capital funds this year.
“We are trying to attract more private money to Finnish start-up companies,” says
Tekes director Jukka Häyrynen.
The new company, Tekes Venture Capital Ltd, will only invest in funds which are
themselves investing in Finnish early stage companies.To make these funds more
attractive for private investors, funds will be asymmetrical. This means that private
investors will get a bigger share of the profits these funds make.
“With this new arrangement we aim to increase the venture capital available
for start-ups, to increase the number of value-adding venture capital managers and
to facilitate the success of Finnish companies.
The new company will help to make terms of private investment in growth-potential start-ups more attractive,” says Häyrynen. The new company will be
launched in July 2014. It can make investments of up to €20 million each year.
In practice, Tekes will decide the company’s investment policy and management.
Investment decisions will be made independently and without requiring the direct
involvement of Tekes.
Team Finland Future Watch
looks at global market opportunities
Innovation funding
with proven impact
The game industry
of Finland
Do you want to know what are the changes in business opportunities and to the development of the operational environments in different countries in next 2 – 5 years? The
Team Finland Future Watch service gives companies access to international foresight
information and helps to develop business operations in the long run.
The service has recently published reports giving insight into the potential growth
paths in China, future opportunities in the Russian waste management sector and the
developing business areas in the arctic region.
Read reports at www.tekes.fi/futurewatch
Tekes funding for SMEs –
Renew, Grow, Go Global
New strategy for growth
in Finland’s health sector
Finland has a new growth strategy and action plan for research and innovation in the
health sector. The goal is that Finland will be an internationally recognised forerunner in
health research, innovation, and investment. The new strategy identifies segments of the
innovation ecosystem that should be improved to enhance Finland’s competitiveness.
The strategy was prepared by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Education and Culture, Tekes and the
Academy of Finland. Strategy will be available on the Tekes website.
26
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Strategic Centres
to boost innovations
in Finland
PHOTO: SUSANNA LEHTO
Column 27
Minna Hendolin
The writer is Executive Director in Tekes responsible
for the strategic focus area Health and Wellbeing
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
Biobanks advance
personalised health
ersonalised health care is now being
backed up and assisted by genetic-based information, which facilitates
more personalised care and disease prevention measures.
Biological sample collections and biobanks, are becoming increasingly important
to biomedical research, as disease diagnostics
and treatments are becoming ever-more
individualised.
Finland has a fantastic opportunity to
become an early adopter and pioneer in this
field; leading the way in personalised health
care.
A new law on biobanks came into force
in Finland in 2013, the aim of which was
to establish the ground rules for biobank
operators. The law provides researchers with
improved prerequisites for utilising human
sample collections and better protects the
rights of sample donors. The first clinical
biobank, Auria Biobank, was established last
year in conjunction with Turku University
Hospital, with four new clinical biobanks being established over the course of this year in
other cities with university hospitals. These
biobanks are part of the BBMRI network
(Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources
Research Infrastructure), which functions as
a platform for international cooperation.
For several decades, Finland’s public
health care system has collected millions
of human tissue samples that can be linked
to data from hospital patient records and
national health care registers. This combination of samples and data creates a unique
research and innovation platform for both
academic investigators and companies. In
addition, Finland has expert level know-how
in several therapy fields in pharmaceuticals
research and in healthcare technology; for
example in imaging and diagnostics. Taking
into consideration Finland’s size, we also have
strong ICT know-how and a robust technological industry.
Biobank operations are continually
being developed, with the aim of standardising practices and launching pilot projects
designed to test operational models and processes. Instead of static sample collections,
biobanks should be seen as bio-information
banks, operating with systematic and professional processes that cover the collection of
samples and associated personal information,
their safe storage, and characterisation (e.g.
genomics).
Researchers should be provided with
advanced ICT user interfaces to handle data
sets and be offered clear operational principles for cooperation with other biobanks, and
for commercial activity.
Citizens must be able to rely on biobanks
respecting their rights. For their part, biobanks need to keep donors at the very heart
of their operating principles, guaranteeing
that decision-making powers regarding samples reside with the donor and that information on the conducted research is available.
In order to be successful, bio-information banks need to advance high quality
research, promote public health, and increase
industry-wide competitiveness. n
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
27
28 human spare parts
TEXT: JAMES O’SULLIVAN ILLUSTARATOR: KARI LEHKONEN
A
multi-parts
project
The Human Spare Parts project is exactly that: the
creation of tailored, living body tissue that draws on
the innovations of cutting edge biotechnology.
he advances in human tissue
engineering can be summarised
by a single photo. A man holds
a polymer model of his skull
out in front of him; a gaping
hole exists in its right side. This is his skull
after undergoing surgery to remove a
tumour in his jaw, a procedure that would
result in a drastic change to his facial structure. However, the face of the man holding
the skull now shows no sign of any trauma.
The model was made before he had his
jawbone repaired, using a piece of bone
engineered from his own stem cells in a lab
in Tampere, Finland.
“Altogether, we have had approximately 30 patients that we have treated,”
explains Hannu Hanhijärvi, director of
BioMediTech (BMT), the joint institute of
biomedical technology of the University of
Tampere and Tampere University of Technology. “It is already available as a service;
it’s been extremely interesting.”
At BMT over 250 researchers engage
in basic and applied research in biosci28
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
ences and medical technology, and in
related development. A unique educational
environment that acts as an innovative epicentre for both biosciences and technology,
its Human Spare Parts project is its most
prominent innovation hub. Combining
high-standard research on biomaterials,
sensory technology, biomedical engineering and stem cells, the programme
is currently developing a variety of tissue
technology-related products.
The project seeks to find new therapies
with bone, neural, ophthalmic (retinal)
and cardiac cells. Such is the scale of their
achievements that if the work is rolled out
on a larger scale these therapies have the
potential to become the third alternative
form of treatment alongside surgery and
pharmacotherapy.
Humble beginnings
After a long career in the pharmacology
industry, in 2010 Hanhijärvi was asked by
both Tampere universities to take a closer
look at the work they were doing in Tampere.
He immediately felt that they should be looked
at as one entity.
“There already was kind of an early stage
collaboration between the two universities related to cells
and tissues,
particularly
stem cells,”
he recalls.
“They asked
if there was
anything I could put together that will create
extra value. I wondered if there some way we
could make 1+1 equal more than 2. I realised
I could not achieve this unless we did things
absolutely differently.”
Hanhijärvi soon introduced the idea of
translational research to the researchers, focussing on developing new concepts with certain
milestones in mind. The end result would no
longer just be about producing a final publication – it had to be something more substantial.
And so, the group leaders embarked on a
training course at Stanford Research Institute
in the autumn of 2010, in order to understand
what innovation is and plan their own project
with longer-term milestones. Their enthusiasm
was immediate. The Human Spare Parts project
was away.
“Innovation is a daily
bread of everybody.”
Innovation the key
In a short period of time, the project has gone
on to pioneer significant innovations. These
include using stem cells derived from patients’
own fat tissue to individually treat cranial bone
defects and urinary incontinence.
“We are in a continuous process of making
new discoveries, and are patenting new things
practically on a weekly basis,” Hanhijärvi states.
“It is now quite the machine that is producing
lots of stuff. It’s really moving along.”
Aside from moving towards the landmark
goal of creating new therapies Hanhijärvi has
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
29
30 human spare parts
been pleasantly surprised by the subsidiary
successes accumulated along the way.
“If you want to differentiate stem cells
and make them neural, ophthalmic, bone
or cardiac, you have to somehow be able
to manipulate them for those purposes.
Also you need biomaterials so that they
live somewhere and start to move in the direction you want them to go. New growth
environments for cells are currently being
tested. If they are good, we will start selling
them, creating quick business: the cell
culture business.”
Another important achievement has
been the diagnostic tools that are
emerging.
“In the cardiac area we can take a small
biopsy of your skin and translate the cells
to your heart cells. Our cardiac group, led
by Professor Katriina Aalto-Setälä, can
identify if you have a defect in the electronic current in your heart, for example. The
cell tells us if you have a problem. We can
inform you in advance to please don’t play
football, or strain yourself too much, to
avoid sudden death.”
In addition skin-derived cardiac cells
will be of great value for the pharmaceutical industry. New, potential drugs – both
cardiac and non-cardiac – should not
have adverse cardiac side effects, such as
arrhythymias, and this could be tested in
the cell laboratory, eliminating any risk to
people. Similarly if cells are derived from a
skin biopsy of a patient with a cardiac disease they can be used as a disease platform
for drug discovery.
The new diagnostic and treatment
methods are thus also directly influencing
the creation of personalised therapies. They
will also assist in personalising medication
for patients with certain genetic diseases
who are especially prone to severe cardiac
side effects.
Wide reaching innovations
Finland is regarded as being a forerunner
in developing bone tissue engineering on
a global scale, with expertise in the field
concentrated in Tampere.
“We have had a strong background in biomaterials in Finland since
the 1980s,” states Adjunct Professor
30
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Susanna Miettinen, BMT’s Group Leader.
“Specifically, bioresorbable materials for
bone and, generally, orthopaedic applications and bone tissue engineering using
the combination of cells and materials are a
natural continuum for this development.”
Miettinen attributes the project’s success as a whole to their multidisciplinary
approach, whereby clinicians, engineers
and cell biologists collaborate with the
development and testing of different kinds
of techniques.
Moreover, Hanhijärvi sees this collaborative working method as distinguishing the
project from other institutions around the
world that are working in the same field.
“Universities typically have a research
service department, located somewhere
far away from the researchers,” Hanhijärvi
explains. “This is wrong, you can’t do it this
way.”
“We are in a
continuous
process of
making new
discoveries, and
are patenting
new things
practically
weekly.”
Keeping things in close proximity,
the project has an IPR and legal advisor,
along with representatives from business
development, quality and regulatory project management and communications on
hand at all times.
“They are not somewhere off to the
side, they are at every project meeting,” he
explains. “They constantly ask what’s going
on, what’s cooking? Who are you dealing
with? What kind of agreements do we
have? Who has the rights?”
By having such a range of experts in
close proximity looking at various aspects
of the process, the project has been able to
assess the commercial viability of their innovations and evolve ideas at a rapid pace.
“I’m absolutely sure that nowhere else
has such a structure in place in order to
help the scientists move forward,” Hanhijärvi enthuses. “We are intimately inside
the development process. We monitor you
as a researcher all the time and take care of
your rights. Innovation is a daily bread of
everybody.”
Regulating their value
The project has been adamant in maintaining sound ethical standards when carrying
out its work, and its resultant business
practices. The Human Spare Parts project
stringently follows the regulations and
requirements of the Finnish Medicines
Agency, and US Food and Drug Administration. Keeping their progress within
these strictly confined parameters is seeing
Hanhijärvi’s original goal with the project
becoming a reality.
“One benefit that age and experience
brings, is that I only do those things where
I can bring value to other people,” he states.
“The value of a university comes from
having three equally important jobs: first is
education, the second is research and discoveries; the third is the social impact. It is
extremely important. We have to give some
return for those who pay. Our community
has to get something back.” n
PHOTOS: SAMI HELENIUS
Strategic research
openings build entirely
new business areas
he Human Spare Parts research project is funded by Tekes
under the funding scheme for strategic research openings.
Strategic research openings are bold, visionary projects aiming
to make serious breakthroughs that will lay the foundation for
entirely new areas of business.
Another Tekes funded strategic research opening is looking to revolutionise medical treatments. The 3i - Innovative Induction Initiative run by
the University of Helsinki, the Aalto University and the Helsinki University
Central Hospital seeks to enhance regeneration of heart and brain cells by
utilising stem cell technology and innovative pharmaceuticals and drug
delivery systems. If successful, this will revolutionise the treatment of
heart and brain diseases and impact on therapeutic markets.
Tekes programmes in the field of the bio and health
Finland has internationally high standards of biomedical research and
world-class companies in the healthtechnology and biopharmaceutical
wellness sectors. Tekes targets 25 percent of its funding via programmes, which also serve as a platform for cooperation and networking for companies, universities and research institutes.
BioIT – Solutions for Biological Information programme aims to
help small and medium enterprises in the biosector to develop their
business activities and build new value networks and cooperation between traditional ICT players and experts such as biologists, geneticists
and environmental scientists.
Innovations in Social and Healthcare Services programme funds
projects that develop effective, customer-oriented health and social
services and more extensive preventive actions. The projects involce
diversified partnership and cooperation. n
www.tekes.fi/en/programmes
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
31
32 innovative business
TEXT: AMANDA SOILA PHOTOS: MARKUS SOMMERS
Testing
Testing
A start-up boom is thriving in Helsinki.
Our reporter wanted to test out a
few of the new innovative
services now available.
32
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Getting to ´check in´
a climbing session in
HeiaHeia adds to the
after-sport exhilaration.
Sports tracking for
the casual mover
ike so many office workers, I
too suffer from the modern-day
ailment of sitting at a desk way too
much and exercising way too little. Lack of
any real routine is one of my key problems
and the constant nagging guilt has done
nothing to improve my fitness motivation.
Let’s see if popular wellness motivator
HeiaHeia, with its promise of low threshold, easy usability and a sociable online
exercise environment, could give me that
extra little push I need.
While many sports tracking systems
are aimed at fitness enthusiasts or calorie
counters, HeiaHeia takes an earthier
stance; targeting people interested in what
they call “casual well-being”. With 400
different activity types
supported – from household cleaning to triathlon
– the service helps track
your physical activity and
gain motivation through
peer-support.
Founders of HeiaHeia, Jussi Räisänen,
Olli Oksanen and Ivan Kuznetsov first
developed an online training diary, a precursor to HeiaHeia, for their own use back
in 2008. Now HeiaHeia has users in 150
countries and is the number one online
exercising service in Finland.
“We have users from all sorts of sports
backgrounds; some are beginners and
others former professional athletes - many
are something between. It’s for people
who think exercising should be fun and
diverse,” says Jens Alderin, Marketing
Manager for Heiaheia.
Getting back out there
One of the best things about HeiaHeia is
that you don’t need an expensive gadget or
to go through irksome user-manuals to get
started with it. Just create an account and
start logging-in your exercise details. What
sport did you do, for how long, how is your
mood afterwards?
After couple of weeks I understood a
few things about my fitness habits. Having
bullied myself for not exercising enough, it
comes as a surprise to see how much casual
fitness my everyday life actually involves.
But I just don’t get enough of the crucial
sweat-breaking, muscle-aching, heart-rate
raising exercise.
“HeiaHeia is for people who
think exercising should be
fun and diverse.”
Actively creating more time for
training does seem a lot easier when you
can see a whole week’s worth of training at
one glance, and getting to ‘check-in’ that
hockey game or climbing session adds to
the after-sport exhilaration.
For now I have used HeiaHeia just
as a fitness diary, not sharing my training
information with friends in HeiaHeia, or
on Facebook or Twitter, but maybe some
healthy peer pressure or a team challenge
could be the next step.
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
33
34 innovative business
When math is
fun and games
he screen fills with a map of the
world and a steering wheel. It takes
9-year-old Sara Sundquist only
few seconds to understand the object of
the game and start navigating the pirate
ship from London to Mombasa, solving
mathematic addition problems along the
way. After a while, a treasure chest with
Math Ahoy has been used during lectures
for practicing basic skills, or as a reward
for efficient work. There has been positive
feedback from both students and teachers
– a rare occurrence according to Linnanen.
“Children have also wanted to play it at
home with their parents,” he says.
Sara’s mother Suvi Sundquist sees
math games as useful support
to what children already learn
at school, particularly when
it comes to the motivation for
repetition.
“The repetition of learning
routines with parents can result
in mutual grinding of teeth, but a
fun game like this can really help
make progress.”
“Math is used in real-life
to resolve situations,
and this should be
the case in a game too.”
golden coins pops on the screen - reward
for a game well-played.
“It’s a lot of fun, and quite easy too,”
she chuckles, as she starts a new round.
The pirate-themed Math Ahoy is
the flagship game of the four-man strong
company Eduplus, who combine gaming
excellence with pedagogical know-how.
Jere Linnanen, CEO of Eduplus, got
the idea for Math Ahoy when working as
a teacher. A game enthusiast himself, he
realised that the games available for teaching just weren’t a match for the commercial
games available.
“We wanted to create a game that
really is a game, and not just an electronic
textbook.”
Apart from teaching addition, one of
the core ideas of Math Ahoy is for children
to learn creative problem-solving skills,
whilst evaluating situations and learning to
make decisions.
“Math is used in real life to resolve
situations, and this should be the case in a
game too,” Linnanen explains.
Primarily aimed for use at schools,
34
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Learning by peer teaching
A spectacled owl stands behind teacher’s
podium teaching fractions to an eager
-looking mouse. Sara presses the correct
one of three options, making the
mouse throw up its paws in delight.
SmartKid Maths is a familiar game to
Sara, but with a 100 different levels
planned according to school syllabus,
there are many more fun exercises yet
to be discovered.
SmartKid Maths, one of the
newcomers in the field of math gaming
has already won several notable gaming
prizes in Finland and made it the number one downloaded app in ten countries.
Based on the idea of peer learning,
the game has a firm foundation in research
in pedagogy, educational psychology and
neural computing.
“When working as a teacher I realised
that regardless of the grade, children learn
best when teaching one another,” says Harri Ketamo, the creator of SmartKids.
With this realisation in mind he started developing the game, in which children
teach cuddly animals math skills while
learning in the process themselves. Aimed
at 4- to 9-year-olds, SmartKid Maths starts
from the very basics and then moves on
to the more complicated tasks of fractions
and division, aiming to cover the age-appropriate syllabus. For parents, SmartKid
Maths offers analytics of their children’s
progress, as well as feedback on where they
need more support.
Ketamo is also pleased that the game
has helped children to become interested
in math, especially those who previously
dreaded it.
In the Sundquist family, math has
always been a well-liked topic, but mother
and daughter think the cute characters are
adding to the fun of learning.
Targeted primarily at consumers
rather than classrooms, Ketamo sees the
game as a good fit for those idle moments
in every child’s life such as waiting for a
The game has helped
children to become
interested in math,
especially those who
previously dreaded it.
hobby to begin or their lift back home.
“The optimal learning results are
gained with 5-10 minute time slots several
times a day,” he says. “With five minutes
of active concentration a child can learn
surprisingly much.”
Sara’s gaming time is up. She solves the
last one of the fractions with a pleased smile
and hurries off to play with her friends. n
It takes 9-year-old Sara Sundquist
only few seconds to get started
on navigating the pirate ship from
London to Mombasa, solving
additions on the way.
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
35
36 innovative business
Smart transit
on demand
elsinki’s public transport - which
has several times been voted as
the best in Europe - saw a new
addition joining its ranks this year. Along
with the metro, bus, tram and rail services,
‘on-demand’ bus service Kutsuplus has been
greeted with excitement and, if comments
on Twitter are anything to go by, users have
been positively surprised with the smoothness of the service.
Having lived in Helsinki most of my
life, I know the downtown transport with
my eyes closed. But going to the neighbouring town Espoo always gives me headache.
bus stop and takes off as soon as me and
my colleagues have climbed on board and
presented the reference code. Twenty minutes from departure the driver drops us at
the closest stop to the campus and waves
us goodbye with a big smile.
Pioneering software
The Kutsuplus service is based on a
research project at Aalto University. The
service is now in a three-year pilot stage
and operated in cooperation with Helsinki
Region Transport and Ajelo – the company
behind the pioneering software of the fully-automated
service.
“The urban transportation system is eventually going to suffocate on its own
impossibility if it continues
to rely on private cars,” says
Teemu Sihvola, CEO of
Ajelo. “Just reducing rush
hour traffic would have an
enormous effect on the environment and
citizens’ general well-being.”
With a flexible, personalised service,
one of the long-term goals of Kutsuplus is
to try and tempt people to make the leap
from behind the wheel of their private car
towards public transport. For their future
plans, Ajelo are looking to go global.
On the way back from Aalto we nearly
miss the minibus at its stop. But happily
on board, we are thankful for not having
to stand at a bus stop waiting for the next
regular connection when it’s so cold outside.
Even though we picked the worst
evening rush hour time, both trips worked
like a dream. n
Kutsuplus wants to tempt
people to make the leap
from behind the wheel of
their private car towards
public transport.
So, when travelling to a work-related
meeting at Aalto University, I didn’t want
to take any risks. It is the time to try out the
much-hyped Kutsuplus.
Smooth ride and bonus smiles
Designed to be the missing link between
the bus and taxi services, Kutsuplus
minibuses can be requested online and
passengers can choose the pick-up and
drop-off points, as well as between the
slower, cheaper option and the direct,
slightly more expensive one.
After creating an account and uploading money to a virtual ‘trip wallet’, I place
the order choosing the cheaper option:
which means that the probability of picking other passengers on the way is higher.
The car is five minutes early at the nearby
36
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
The writer is a Finnish journalist living in
Helsinki, who likes independent movies
and cross-country skiing.
For work trips Kutsuplus
minibuses are a useful
alternative to a taxi or bus.
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
37
38 contact us
Tekes - the Finnish Funding
Agency for Innovation employs approximately 400
people in Finland and abroad.
Tekes’ headquarters are
located in Helsinki. Part of the
personnel in Finland work at the
regional Centres for Economic
Development, Transport and
the Environment (ELY Centres),
located around the country.
Tekes offers funding for research
and development projects carried
out by companies and research
organisations working in Finland.
Internationally Tekes works as a
part of the Team Finland network
promoting research, development
and innovation cooperation
between companies and research
groups around the world.
Tekes also facilitates international
business operations and
investment in Finland and helps
to understand global innovation
signals and market changes in
different areas.
United States
Tekes is an active partner
collaborating with local start-ups and
entrepreneur ecosystem in the ares of
for example learning, eHealth, gaming
and digital solutions and big data. We
also cooperate with local universities
in various research topics.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Jukka Salminiitty
Counselor, Innovation
Tel. +1 202 203 8001
[email protected]
PALO ALTO, CA
Tiina Tanninen-Ahonen
Head of Office, Silicon Valley
Tel. +1 (408) 893 8237
[email protected]
Hanna Artman
Manager, Innovation Cooperation
Tel. +1 (408) 464 2988
[email protected]
www.tekes.fi/usa
38
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
Helsinki, Headquarters
Russia
Address
In Russia, Tekes provides funding
for small and medium-sized
companies with FASIE (Foundation
for Assistance to Small Innovative
Enterprises) and the Skolkovo
Foundation. The Finnish participant
is funded by Tekes and the Russian
party by FASIE or Skolkovo.
Kyllikinportti 2, Länsi-Pasila
P.O.Box 69
FI-00101 Helsinki
Tel. +358 29 50 55000
Find Tekes personnel
www.tekes.fi/en/search
ST. PETERSBURG
Virpi Herranen
Head of Office, Tekes Russia
Tel. +7 921 942 1216
[email protected]
MOSCOW
Pavel Cheshev
Advisor
Tel. + 7 495 280 0287
GSM +7 925 125 3414
[email protected]
www.tekes.fi/russia
China
Tekes has bilateral agreements with
key science and technology bodies in
China. The agreements have created
excellent collaboration in areas such
as ICT, nanotechnology, Cleantech
and urban development.
Brussels, Belgium
Tekes’ liaison office for the
EU interaction between Tekes
programmes and the EU’s research
programmes and maintains contacts
with EU bodies, especially the
European Commission and the
European Parliament.
Esa Panula-Ontto
Councellor, Research
and Innovation
Finnish Liaison Office for EU R&D
Tel. +32-2-287 1239
[email protected]
www.tekes.fi/brussels
India
In India, Tekes promotes innovation
cooperation in the areas of health,
cleantech, learning solutions, smart
cities, digitalisation and resource
efficient frugal innovation.
BEIJING
Kari Hiltunen
Counselor, Science and Technology
Tel. +86 1391 1874 947
[email protected]
NEW DELHI
Riku Mäkelä
Counselor, Innovation
tel. +91 88 6060 0627
[email protected]
SHANGHAI
Sari Arho Havrén
Consul, Innovation
Tel. +86 1381 6232 371
[email protected]
Jarmo Heinonen
Consul, Science and Technology
Tel. +86 1366 1878 400
[email protected]
www.tekes.fi/india
www.tekes.fi/china
TEKES VIEWS MAGAZINE 2014
39
Tekes
key figures 2013
€228
million to universities
and research
organisations
€349
million to companies
and public
organisations
million
fastest-growing
technology companies
in Finland are Tekes
customers
150%
2€
€577
9/10
Annual growth of
young innovative
companies funded by
Tekes was
For every € invested
by Tekes, companies
increase their R&D
expenditure by
Tekes R&D funding
in 2013 total
65%
of well-known
Finnish innovations
67%
of company project
funding to small
and medium-sized
companies
1,860
funded projects
Views Magazine is published once a year
by Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency
for Innovation - the main public funding
organisation for research, development
and innovation in Finland. Tekes has a
wide-ranging impact on the creation of
innovations, company growth and research
quality in Finland.
www.tekes.fi/en
Tekes has
partly funded
Over
80%
of Tekes customers state
that the Tekes funding
was a significant factor
in their success
Projects completed
in 2013 generated
1,270
products, services
or processes
Order Views Magazine and other Tekes
publications at www.tekes.fi/publications or by
sending an email to: [email protected]
If you don’t wish to receive Views Magazine
in the future, please email us at:
[email protected]

English - unfccc

氷海域プロジェクトの生産施設関連技術課題 - JOGMEC Techno Forum 2014

The structure and the topics of the Panorama 2015: 1. Euro

schedule - The Newkirk Center for Science and Society

14 不定詞

Young Blood Donation percentage, by country

Scanorama Asia - DG Media

Fact Sheet - SF Tomajczyk

here - Woodlands School

Climate change research beyond limits (Issue 50)