Episode I: Future is Made in Finland

Linda is a bright new voice on global technology education. With her Hello Ruby books and philosophy she brings a Nordic playful perspective to the sometimes serious world of computer science.  

Translated into over 30 languages, this children’s picture book series asks: What else is there to technology education than “Learn to code”? If computer code is the Lego block of our time – a tool of creation – how do we teach curiosity, joy, and wonder to our kids? 

Linda is a well loved speaker around the world on technology, creativity and education and her clients include Nokia Networks (FIN), Schibsted (NO), Mahindra (IN),  (FR), CIO City (NE), Danone (FR), Rakuten (JP), National Gallery in Victoria with Telstra (AU), New York Department of Education (US) and many others. She is also the founder of Rails Girls, a global phenomenon teaching the basics of programming for young women in over 400 cities around the world.

Mr Pekka Sivonen is the Executive Director of Business Finland since June 2018. He is responsible for the Digital Transformation of Finnish Industries.

Previously, Mr Sivonen has held an Executive in Residence position at Aalto University Center for Entrepreneurship as the Head of AppCampus; a three-year global acceleration program funded by Microsoft and Nokia, then heading health-tech startup accelerator VERTICAL in collaboration with Samsung and Sonera. He is also a co-Founder of HealthSPA –ecosystem and IndustryHack, an open innovation accelerator of Industrial Internet.

His other career accomplishments include for example raising second to most private equity funding in Finland, 38 million Euros – and being selected as the Entrepreneur of the Year in Services in Finland by Ernst & Young in years 2004, 2005 and 2006. Mr Sivonen is also the founder of Digia, a publicly NASDAQ OMX -listed mobile sw-company. He took the company from 1 person to 1.600 persons.

He has 20 years experience in mobile software and 35 years as entrepreneur.

Ms. Li Andersson was appointed Minister of Education in Finland in June 2019. She is the chairperson of the Left Alliance party, former chair of her party’s youth organization and current member of the City Council of Turku. She is serving her second term as a Member of Parliament. She was elected in Parliament in 2015. She was born 1987 in Turku.

Before and during her political career, Ms. Andersson has had numerous responsibilities in civil society organisations and trade unions. She has been a steady advocate for human rights, equality, civil society, as well as social and ecological sustainability.

She holds a Bachelor degree in Social Sciences (international law) from Åbo Akademi University, which is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland.

Rasmus Halme is the Chief Operating Officer at Slush, responsible for the business & strategy side of the global not-for-profit movement. Slush's mission is to create and help the next generation of groundbreaking entrepreneurs, originally founded to change attitudes toward entrepreneurship in Finland. In the last few years, Slush has grown from a single startup event in Helsinki to a one-of-a-kind community and series of events organized all around the world. This year, Slush adapted by launching two new online ventures; the community platform Node by Slush and the startup media Soaked by Slush.

Prior to joining Slush, Rasmus gathered some classic business acumen from short stints in investment banking, strategy consulting, and private equity. Despite spending several years of his life in Luxembourg, South Africa, Hong Kong, and the US, Rasmus is still most excited about the opportunities that the Finnish startup ecosystem, in particular, has to offer.