Start UP!
MY Camp is about innovation and dreams, and who better to share their knowledge on how to make those dreams come true than start-up entrepreneurs who have already made efforts to make their innovations reality.
“Your brain is on fire”, said Henri Penttinen from MusicLogg to the MY Campers at the start of Startup Workshop Day. However, “You have to train you brain”, added Reidar Wasenius from Briim.
Henri and Reidar along with three other start-up entrepreneuers Niko Järvinen from Fresh Effect, Jarkko Tiainen from Wish Bros, and Kimo Boissonnier from Tuliotus, presented their innovations to the youth, offered them some sound words of advice on how to start making their own dreams come true and encouraged them to discuss aspects and issues related to interest, motivation, financing, and audience.
As creativity was demanded, the brain trainer Wasenius from Briim, gave the campers a brief class on Aivobic, his innovation that is aerobics without body movements, but movement in the brain instead, that, according to him, would help them to become more focused.
Sleeping? No, this is what Aivobic looks like. Photo: Jussi Nygren.
In the workshop by Wish Bros, Tiainen encouraged the youth to think of a problem and try solving it in an innovative way and produce a prototype of their innovation from play dough.
Tiainen himself has designed a commercial product Wishbhone, a product for solving a simple but annoying problem with tangling headphone cords.
Innovating with play dough. Photo: Jussi Nygren.
But the Campers did not lack innovative ideas of their own, or how does a headband with laser to repel mosquitoes sound like? Innovated by the Applied Mathematics group.
Henri Penttinen from MusicLogg encouraged to discuss about the ways that would help them stay motivated and increase creativity. Relaxation, when you get stuck, finding even more difficult problems to be solved, feeling good about yourself, and stepping out from your comfort zone where among the answers that provided something to think about for all of us.
The main organisers of Millennium Youth Camp are Finland’s Science Education Centre LUMA and Technology Academy Finland.
Who are the MY Campers? Read the group introductions from MY Camp profiles. Read also the Camp news, look at photos in Flickr, and watch videos in Vimeo.
Elisa Lautala works as web editor for University of Helsinki's Faculty of Science. Elisa likes all kinds of cultural events, good books, warm weather, and aqua-jogging.