The Good Life the Good How Tolive 2 EDITORIAL ANDCONTENTS T Innovations Meet Our Reputable Social and Health Services
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FINLAND on the economy and technology 2013 The business of creativity Cures for a sick planet Wowed by wood How to live Ideas of simple genius the good life EDITORIAL AND CONTENTS c FOCUS FINLAND 2013 Green is the new blue raditionally, Finnish expertise rested with a handful of large corporations. But the tables have now turned with the rise of growth enterprises. These SMEs are driven by know- T how and capabilities based on networking, connecting and collaborating – they are the success stories of today, and especially tomorrow. The greatest technological innovations stem from a profound understanding of both nature and science. Small wonder, then, that Finland is already a global leader PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO PHOTO: in environmental sustainability. With an annual growth estimate of more than 10 per cent, the cleantech sector Simply brilliant offers innovative and state-of-the-art technologies that provide return on investment. And although our flag boasts Trailblazing ideas for better work and play blue and white, our mentality is shifting towards green and white – where sustainable technological and service innovations meet our reputable social and health services. Business aside, Finland offers good life, happiness and wellbeing for both its inhabitants and visitors alike. We are lucky to have direct access to green spaces and a healthy physical environment. This unique heritage provides fruitful breeding grounds for an unrivalled skillset geared towards problem solving. And that is what our growth enterprises are all about: they are problem solvers, just like our skilled workforce. ERKKI VIRTANEN ISTOCKPHOTO PHOTO: Permanent Secretary Ministry of Employment and The science of beauty the Economy Arctic ingredients take skincare to new heights 2013 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nicola Lindertz EDITORIAL BOARD Minna Hakaoja, Laura Häkli, Mika Hammarén, Johanna Hermans, Salla Kosunen, Tiina Kairistola, Markus Kokko, Mari Lehtonen, Mervi Liukkonen, Peter Marten, Maarit Piippo EDITORIAL STAFF Sanoma Custom Media PRODUCERS Tytti Mård, Shelly Nyqvist ART DIRECTOR Antti Kangassalo MANAGING EDITOR Kimmo Holappa ENGLISH EDITOR Silja Kudel COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY Riitta Suppari / Keksi PRINTED BY Libris Oy PUBLISHERS Ministry for Foreign Affairs Department for Communications and Culture formin.finland.fi Ministry of Employment and the Economy www.tem.fi Tekes www.tekes.fi Sitra www.sitra.fi Invest in Finland www.investinfinland.fi Finnfacts TAT Group www.finnfacts.fi ISSN 1797-3287 Focus on the economy and technology is available in English, Chinese, German, Russian and Spanish. To read the magazine online or order paper copies, please visit the Focus website at www.focusmagazine.fi. For paper copies you can also contact the nearest Finnish embassy. 2 PHOTO: ANTTI KANGASSALO PHOTO: ILLUSTRATION: JUSSI LEHTINIEMI ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: HEIDI STRENGELL PHOTO: The ground beneath his feet Movie madness Dancer Tero Saarinen gets down to business Crowdsourcing is the future of indie filmmaking PHOTO: MARKO HUTTUNEN PHOTO: PHOTO: VUOKKO SALO PHOTO: Smart architecture Why Finns are smiling Eco-innovations and wooden wonders from the North 10 ways to make yourself happier News & Updates Celestial magic Open innovators Research opens new gaming frontiers Saving the world – one metal at a time Work up a sweat with Angry Birds Sensitive solution for a sacred city Laser-sharp pocket projector Turning pollution to stone Second life for MeeGo Biodiesel fuel from the forest Talking navigator for the blind The return of T-rex Unleash the riff in you Cleaning it up Fishy business Breaking the language barrier Clever cures for our ailing planet Language of dance The good life is not for sale Fans as filmmakers Happening Helsinki Wonder wood Better births Rethinking timber Stop the school bully Fight fire with fog Who wouldn’t want to work here? Going modular Silver surfer city Balancing the energy equation What’s behind the Finnish smile? Eco-efficiency on the rise Natural beauty Easy does it 3 NEWS & UPDATES c'0$64'*/-"/%bCOMPILED BY KATI HEIKINHEIMO n the quest to find eco-efficient sources of energy, wave energy is a promising Riding I option. The kinetic energy harboured by oceans is massive, clean and renewable. the waves It just needs to be harnessed. One of the innovators in this field is Wello, a Finnish company known for its Penguin vessel currently floating off the coast of Scot- land. During one year, the device captures and converts enough kinetic energy to power up to 400 households. Finland’s largest energy company Fortum has also been exploring wave energy conver- sion since 2007. They have several ongoing development and wave power park projects with international partners in France, Portugal and Sweden. www.wello.eu www.fortum.com PHOTO: STEFAN SJÖDIN STEFAN PHOTO: emperatures as low as minus supplied by the Finnish Meteorological 128 degrees Celsius, thin air and Institute. They measure the relative humidity T lethal ultraviolet radiation, fierce and the air pressure prevailing on the planet. sandstorms that sweep across the The same technology, developed by Vaisala, planet. How could there be life on Mars? has been previously used in space projects Perhaps the Martian environment wasn’t exploring Mars and Titan. always so hostile. That’s what the Mars Curiosity has about one Mars year, Science Laboratory aims to find out. The MSL equalling approximately 687 Earth days, to rover Curiosity, operating since August 2012, collect data on the local conditions. It will has become an eagerly followed celebrity also extract and analyse the soil’s minerals. among space enthusiasts. The Rover Envi- If chemical elements – nitrogen, sulphur, ronmental Monitoring Station is a measuring phosphor or oxygen – are found, we may instrument compromising two devices have to revise our conception of life on Mars. www.cab.inta-csic.es/rems www.vaisala.com NEWS& UPDATES www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi Anybody out there? NASA PHOTO: 4 Human spare parts in the making opulation ageing The technologies will also leads to a significant benefit the development of P increase in bone eye medication as well as the SAMI HELENIUS PHOTO: injuries and diseases, research of the cardiac side such as osteoporosis – already effects of various drugs. affecting more than 200 The programme combines million people worldwide. A top-level expertise in bio- joint research programme materials, sensor technology, by the Tampere University of biomedical engineering and Technology and the University stem cells. Partners include of Tampere is now looking into private companies and medical finding new solutions for help- researchers from several ing these patients. The aim is countries. to develop tailored transplants, “spare parts”, for bone damage www.biomeditech.fi and neural tissue in cases such as spinal injury. UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE IBT, HEIDI HONGISTO, PHOTO: erry cruises on the Baltic Sea are a popular weekend getaway F for residents of the Baltic rim. The latest addition to the Viking Line fleet, M/S Viking Grace, represents the quietest and most environmentally friendly ferry in the world. GRACE The revolutionary Liquified Natural Gas fuel system built by Wärtsilä enables the ferry to use alternative fuels and cut down on emissions. The hull of the vessel is on the sea hydrodynamically optimised to minimise fuel consumption and wells, which is particularly important when passing through the narrow archipelago. Noise levels are kept low by innovative new soundproofing technology. Viking Grace was constructed at STX Europe’s shipyard in Turku, and features interior design by the award-winning dSign Vertti Kivi & Co. agency. www.vikinggrace.com 5 In an ideal world, people do the things they really enjoy both at work and leisure. According to Linus Torvalds, father of the Linux operating system, technology can bring us closer to this goal. TEXT JORMA LEPPÄNEN PHOTO AKIPEKKA SINIKOSKI Technology on a silver plaer innish-born Linus Torvalds Even though the driving principle respects technology not as behind development is “more capacity an end in itself, but rather at relatively lower costs”, in many F its instrumental value in the areas – from information technology to service of people. water treatment – high prices often deter “Overcoming the big challenges that deployment of the latest technology. society faces requires collaboration on “Our individual needs and interests are many levels, including technological the driving force behind technological collaboration. Linux, too, is based on this advancements, and we are facing chal- notion,” says Torvalds, an advocate of the lenges at all levels of the hierarchy of open development philosophy. needs – from survival to social interac- Linux is one of the world’s most recog- tion and entertainment.” nised open source code products. One of How does Torvalds, recipient of the the advantages of an open development 2012 Millennium Technology Prize model is that product quality remains in Helsinki, Finland, see the future high since the users also do the testing. of the sector? Torvalds regards openness as a great “I am not a visionary, but I am motivator in managing complexity. interested in how the computer industry “Modern technology is so complex that will react when Moore’s Law is no longer not even huge companies can develop it by valid. The number of transistors on a themselves. For instance, basic software is a silicon chip can’t double every couple critical infrastructure that cannot be man- of years – the size of atoms becomes the aged