”The summer job has made me very optimistic about my future.”
The winning teams of the second edition of Spring developed their ideas during a unique summer job with the support of industry experts. The knowledge and experiences gained from the idea competition and summer job will carry the young innovators far into the future.
There was a vast amount of inspiration and future belief to be shared at the final festivities of the Spring summer job, as the three winning teams pitched their ideas in front of the founders of the idea competition and invited guests. The youngsters’ ideas aim to make it easier to find hobbies and friends, counter the polarization of debate, and advance the restoration of nature. The founders of Spring, Antti Herlin, Matti Alahuhta, Martti Hetemäki, Sari Baldauf, Jorma Ollila and Bengt Holmström, praised the significance and actuality of the ideas and solutions presented.
During the four-week long summer job the young innovators had the opportunity to work on their ideas full time with the support of leading industry experts. With the right kind of help, the teams and ideas developed incredibly fast, and the youngsters learned essential skills in building your idea into something concrete and teamwork. Further inspiration was offered by the professional offices the teams got to use during the summer job. Matchpoint worked from Startup Sauna in Otaniemi, Kupla had their base at the GimmeYaWallet media production company, and the Ecoinsight office was at Puistokatu 4.
The summer job also offered the teams opportunities for networking and a chance to get to know international forerunners through the study visit to Copenhagen. The amazing experiences and moments together strengthened the belief that we can change the world in the future.
This year’s Spring has come to an end and it’s time to thank everyone who participated!
Read more about the experiences of the Spring-winners below:
Team name: Matchpoint
Team members: Mohsen 17, Elias 18, Salim 17, Valtteri 17, Aleksander 18
Office space: Startup Sauna
Idea in one sentence: An app that unites people with common interests, in order to ease finding hobbies and friends.
What has been the best part of the summer job?
The study trip brought a welcomed change to the ordinary work, and you felt very important, as all this was organized for us! Meeting with experts and hearing the success stories from entrepreneurs was very interesting as well. During the summer job you had the chance to challenge yourself and learn new things. We’ve learned a lot!
Which of the experts do you remember best and why?
Francesca Åstrom from Friidu and the founder of Studio Arhoj in Copenhagen, Anders Arhoj, were memorable. Their stories of how they’ve created an idea and a company around it. Anders Arhoj has started and done it all by himself and now his company has grown into a large startup. That kind of stories are relatable and filled with inspiration!
What was most challenging during the summer job and how did you get past it?
The most challenging part was to get things done on a tight schedule. Assigning roles and deadlines within the team has helped our work. As a team, we’re ambitious, but we’ve tried to remember to have fun, support each other, and occasionally have some free time as well.
What kind of feeling did the summer job leave you with?
The summer job exceeded our expectations! We were very surprised with how much we’ve learned. We learned a lot about each other and how to discuss in a team in order to advance our work. Sometimes it was a bit difficult to give up on a concept or thought related to the idea when we noticed something didn’t work. We worked very unprompted and learned much about entrepreneurial life: it’s filled with varying tasks, meetings with experts, interviews, and travel. We gained a lot of self-confidence from the summer job!
Continue the sentence: After the summer job we are…
More confident and ready for upcoming adventures!
Summer regards:
” Only fools think about losing before they’ve really tried something.” Work hard, rest hard. Awesome!
Team name: Kupla
Team members: Waleed 18, Kate 18, Nella 18
Office space: Gimmeyawallet Productions
Idea in one sentence: A media product, that uses debate to burst the opinion bubbles created by polarisation
What has been the best part of the summer job?
We’ve learned a lot! The meetings with experts have given us the needed support to clarify our idea. They have also offered interesting life-lessons and great contacts for the future. We had a schedule for the summer job, which made our work easier, as things were not solely dependent on us. But we had a lot of independent work as well and we had to take responsibility for developing our idea. We had a good balance!
Which of the experts do you remember best and why?
Sari Baldauf and Matti Alahuhta were both very interesting! The public media broadcasting company DR in Copenhagen was probably the most useful for us. Their work is really creative!
What was most challenging during the summer job and how did you get past it?
When you have a lot of self-imposed work you are faced with the challenge of deciding what to do next. Occasionally, you will get stuck. In those cases, you need to know what you’re aiming for and take small steps towards it. Sometimes the experts gave tips and advice that were conflicting, and we didn’t know how to proceed. We had to discuss in the team what works best for us and which path to follow.
What kind of feeling did the summer job leave you with?
A very good one! We’ve worked at different jobs before, but this has been the best summer job by far. The steering group has been very friendly and easily approachable. Even if this has been an office job, it has never felt boring. It hasn’t been a chore, since we’ve had the opportunity to work with something we’re motivated by. The summer job has made me very optimistic about my future. It has opened a lot of possibilities.
Continue the sentence: After the summer job we are…
… much more educated and clearer in regard to our idea and how to proceed with it. We’re still inspired to counter the polarization of debate!
Summer regards:
Think outside of your own bubble! If you have an idea and you believe in it enough, then finally others will too. Dare to say “yes” to opportunities and have fun!
Team name: Ecoinsight
Team members Lauri 18, Huiseung 19, Aaro 19, Touko 18, Henri 18
Office space Puistokatu 4
Idea in one sentence: We are using data and technology to make restoring peatlands more efficient.
What has been the best part of the summer job?
The payday. Joking! The visiting experts and the study trip to Denmark have been really nice. It has also been fun to get to know the other teams. Through the summer job we’ve gained new friends and new contacts. In general, all the ideas in Spring and the readiness to develop them have increased our own future belief.
Which of the experts do you remember best and why?
Mikko-Pekka Hanski was memorable. His thoughts and topics on branding and communications were very interesting.
We booked a meeting with Jani Anttila, which helped our idea a lot, since he has very good knowledge of peatlands. And then of course our coach from the idea weekend at Supercell, Arno Elomaa, has been a huge support!
What was most challenging during the summer job and how did you get past it?
Clarifying the idea and developing it in a way that suits all the team members has been challenging. It’s essential that every member of the team knows what we’re doing, and we agree on which course to take. We need to make decisions, commit to them, and work for them. We’re taking it one step at a time.
What kind of feeling did the summer job leave you with?
Very good! It was nice to experience working with a larger project like this and see how much we learned and worked with our idea. We got a deeper understanding of teamwork as well. Critical thinking, active debate, and taking different opinions into considerations were themes that lead our work forward.
Continue the sentence: After the summer job we are…
Ready to seek funding, since we want to further our idea!
Summer regards:
Trying and participating is always worth it!
