On the cold and dark winter morning of December 1, 2021, I woke up with a strange feeling. As I was getting ready to leave my apartment, nervousness and excitement both dawned upon me. While waiting for the bus to Messukeskus center, Helsinki, I kept checking the time on my phone with the fear of being late. After nearly 2 years since the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, big public gatherings were beginning to feel like remnants of the past. The thought of being in one place with thousands of other people, made this day unique. I was on my way to volunteer for the Y science, an official side event of the Slush.
Slush is the largest startup and tech event in the Nordics, with thousands of attendees every year coming to Helsinki to join the main event and its many side events, including Y Science. Y Science focuses on bringing top-notch researchers and their science-based startups into the world of business to create products and services that have a significant contribution to society.
With a hot cup of coffee and opening words by Olli Silvennoinen, Director of HiLIFE, the event kick-started with an inspiring keynote by Sanna Lauslahti, who is a managing director of Pharma Industry Finland (PIF). During her talk, she told a very interesting story regarding COVID-19 vaccines. Recently, the world news media has often pointed out the speed at which COVID-19 vaccines were developed. It almost tempts us to think of it as an “overnight success story”. Seldom do we hear about the true story that spanned 30 years in the making. The one which involved hundreds of researchers around the world, their efforts to understand mRNA and their vision in realizing its potential in medicine. Sanna reminded everyone that research is a slow and lengthy process that requires strong collaborations between academia and industry and most importantly long-term funding. Often through a series of failed experiments and no sight of realizing the impact of our everyday research, it is easy to lose enthusiasm. For all of us, Sanna reminds us to keep persevering with long-term impacts in sight and not short term goals. Finally, she pointed out the evils that lurk ahead of us, for which we need to gear up and keep fighting- antibiotic resistance, chronic diseases, and of course, cancer.
Following Sanna’s presentation it was time for the most exciting part of Y Science, the pitching competitions. Being part of The Science Basement, learning to communicate science to the non-scientists has been my long-term goal. However, if I was challenged to explain my research to the general audience, including its potential in a few minutes, I would be perplexed. At Y Science, it was intriguing to see fellow researchers explaining both the science and the business sides of their innovations in the most captivating way – a 3-minute pitch! The ability to present your idea clearly to a diverse audience, to convince everyone why it matters in the end, with a ticking clock in the back, is a wonderful skill to have. This is exactly what makes witnessing these pitches truly exhilarating. The pitching competitions were divided in 3 categories- Health, SynBio and Foodtech. I was curious about how the jury would end up picking one winner in these three different categories. To me they all seemed simply too good.
With my 3rd cup of coffee in hand and time passing by as quickly as the Finnish summer, I realized that I had managed to learn about 15 different technological innovations in a few hours. Not once did my mind wander. I heard about a unique solution to tissue biopsies, the importance of the metabolic balance of NADs (vitamin B3 derivatives), personalized and targeted therapies for high cholesterol, efficient way of growing tall plants in vertical farms, tasty fiber-rich grain-based food products from a by-product of the brewing industry, a way to recycle plastics and much more. Did you know that it is possible to produce natural dyes and leather from fungus? Yes- with the power of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology involves redesigning organisms by engineering them to have new abilities. I was introduced to the world of synthetic biology in 2017, as part of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM team, representing Finland in the world’s biggest synthetic biology competition. If you are interested in working towards sustainable solutions for a better world or merely curious, iGEM or SynBio are definitely the perfect place to get started.
University of Helsinki, like many other academic institutions, supports the translation of research into innovation with the help of its tech transfer office (aka Helsinki Innovation Services) and other incubator programs like the newly established Viikki Food Design Factory. Other ecosystem players, like Health Capital Helsinki, can then help early-stage founders to grow their business, sharing their innovation with the world. Events like Y Science can really help to expand one’s network, providing a platform to researchers and founders to take an innovative idea further.
Throughout the years I have considered myself a moderately social person. However, I am noticing that these past two years, and the lack of in-person networking opportunities, have had a profound impact on me. Today, while helping attendees at Y Science and talking to people during the networking breaks, I felt uneasy. But despite my initial reservations, I was glad to be able to share and exchange ideas with people in person rather than through the 15-inch screen of my laptop. It was the perfect opportunity to break the ice!
Just like a swift breeze, the event at last came to an end. The pitching competition winners were announced and the Director of HiLIFE gave closing words. I was standing near the last row of seats facing towards the stage. As I saw people taking pictures and winners celebrating, a smile spread across my face. It was a perfect day, and I was glad to have been part of it. Getting inspired on a cold winter morning, learning about wonderful technological innovations, witnessing science communication at its finest, networking with like-minded people, and having the opportunity to be a helpful volunteer at this event, what a wonderful wholesome package, isn’t it?
About the author:
Ushanandini Mohanraj (MSc), a graduate from the Translational Medicine programme, is now doing her PhD at the University of Helsinki in Clinical and Molecular Virology. Apart from research, Usha is passionate about science communication and is an active member of the Blogging Science team, part of The Science Basement. She has been a member of the Aalto-Helsinki iGEM team and xEdu startup accelerator and has a keen interest in novel technologies and innovations working towards a better future.
Y Science 2021 volunteers- (from left) Giuliano Didio, Ainhoa Hernandez, Elena Kremneva, Rhiannon Newman, Flavia da Silva, Iftekhar Chowdhury, Aleksandra Dobrego, Man Xu, Me (Ushanandini Mohanraj), Emmi Olkkonen, Swagat Pradhan and Swapnil Potdar (We did put our masks back on immediately!)
USEFUL LINKS:
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Y Science, https://www.y-science.org/
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HiLIFE, https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-institute-of-life-science
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Pharma Industry Finland, https://www.pif.fi/
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The Science Basement, https://www.thesciencebasement.org/
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The Aalto-Helsinki, https://www.aaltohelsinki.com/
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The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation, https://igem.org/Main_Page
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Synbio Powerhouse, https://www.synbio.fi/
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Helsinki Innovation services, https://www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-innovation-services
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Viikki Food Design Factory, https://www.helsinki.fi/en/viikki-food-design-factory
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Health Capital Helsinki, https://healthcapitalhelsinki.fi/