The University of Helsinki Innovation & Entrepreneurship team is a multi-disciplinary group of seasoned doers and knowers, ready to support professionals, students, researchers and alumni who are looking to embark on their entrepreneurial journey.
While we all work hard together to bring you our many programmes, each campus' team has the lead on the activities taking place at their location. Therefore, if you're looking to find out more about a specific programme or wish to work in collaboration with us in making the programmes even better, don't hesitate to reach out to one of the team members at that campus.
Irina Blomqvist has over 20 years’ experience in building global value networks, be they ecosystems, platforms or partnerships. She has worked in a startup, a large US technology company, and in the public sector building corporate and public ecosystems, corporate accelerator and growth programs for startups (VC meetings & discussions, innovation and though leadership events, internationalisation programs).
Irina has a sound understanding of management, strategy, innovation ecosystems, and processes in addition to displaying remarkable foresight and excellent planning skills. She is also a disciplined business leader: think big, start small, fail fast, scale quickly.
Irina has engaged with several national and international development projects and organisations in the areas of technology, digital transformation, innovation, foreign direct investments, and sustainability. She has also established a European Digital Think Tank activity for lobbying purposes and understanding weak signals with innovation & regional development agencies in seven European countries (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK).
Contact details:
+358 29 41 23206
Ari Huczkowski is the Programme Manager & Deputy Team Leader for Helsinki Incubators. A seasoned and experienced innovation ecosystem professional whose career spans four decades and multiple successful companies and incubators, Ari brings with him not only world-class expertise in start-ups, coaching and mentoring, developing FDI, and much more, but also a global network consisting of thousands of academics, professionals, and global visionaries.
With his T-shaped nature, broad range of skills, and extensive network, he is perfectly suited for helping build and run top-tier incubation programs at the University of Helsinki.
+358 40 52 15642
An experienced veteran from the ICT industry, Pete Karumo's experience spans several decades working in notable technology giants as well as a co-founder in VC-backed startups. He is passionate about helping clients with commercialisation efforts, digital transformation, building scalable, easy-to-use solutions and increasing productivity. Before joining Helsinki Incubators Pete worked the past decade in Singapore helping companies to enter and expand in the APAC region and mentoring Asian impact startups. He is fluent in Finnish, English and French.
Pete runs the TREMOR incubator programme, manages the participating teams and is developing a network of experts, mentors and programme collaborators.
+358 29 41 21208
Andrès Peña Archila is the Project Lead for the Kumpula-based NEXUS incubator. With working experience within European multidisciplinary innovation ecosystems as well as B2B sales, matchmaking, commercial partnerships, consulting services, market penetration strategies and product localisation, Andrès is well suited for designing the incubator and building a solid mentoring network to support it. He is also responsible for the running of the incubator, as well as finding suitable teams to join its activities.
+358 29 41 21201
Santeri Tuovila is the Project Lead for the interdisciplinary, cross-campus pre-incubator Pathways. Santeri is specialised in developing startup communities around the entrepreneurs and supporting ecosystem actors. He was part of the founding team in the Tribe Tampere collective which unleashed a bottom-to-up culture in startup ecosystem development in the Tampere region.
Santeri has lived in several cities in China and helped Nordic entrepreneurs to enter the market. As a serious hobby Santeri is part of the association facilitating the biggest life-planning movement in Finland, Self-Hack.
+358 29 41 21207
Anu Meerwaldt is the SPARK Finland Development Manager at the Meilahti and Viikki campuses for Helsinki Incubators.
Anu is a business-oriented biomedical scientist who holds a MSc in Neuroscience (Utrecht University) and a MSc in Industrial Engineering (Lappeenranta University). She has several years of experience in business consultancy working with large Finnish and European companies. Her biomedical career (UMC Utrecht & Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) focuses on medical imaging and nanotechnology and she is currently finalising her PhD. She works as a business development officer at University of Helsinki Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team and as a Development Manager at SPARK Finland.
Her core responsibilities are in supporting on commercial aspects of the life sciences projects and coordination of SPARK activities in Helsinki capital region.
+358 50 320 4176
My Nguyen is the pre-SPARK Coordinator, as part of SPARK Finland and Helsinki Incubators team. My completed her Master’s degree in Management and International Business at Aalto University, specialising in strategy and sustainability. For several years, My has been working in the field of entrepreneurship education and inspiration, interacting with the startup ecosystem in Finland and around the world.
My's main responsibility at SPARK Finland is coordinating and developing the national Pre-SPARK Concept Discovery Program, as well as facilitating international activities between SPARK Finland members and the SPARK Global communities.
Contact details:
Laura Kaisto is a specialist (architecture) in HEVi-programme and a part of the Helsinki Incubators team. Laura’s background is in architecture and graphic design. In the HEVi (Helsinki+Espoo+Vantaa Innovations)- programme "Breaking the silos for unifield health innovations" her focus is on the spatial and concept development for example in rental laboratory facilities and services. She is working closely to the Facilities and Properties sector of the University of Helsinki.
Contact details:
+358 29 41 23165
Mikael Malmivaara is the Head of Communications & Community Relations for Helsinki Incubators. Mikael holds an MSc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management from Aalto University and has already amassed well over a decade’s worth of practical experience during his long and varied career working with – and starting – SMEs in sectors including financial services, sports events, technology, marketing and media, hospitality, importing, consulting, and more.
He is interested in understanding the motivations driving entrepreneurs and innovators in different fields and believes in a holistic and supportive approach to fostering entrepreneurial activities. A keen listener and dogged investigator, as well as a gregarious host and enrapturing presenter, Mikael works hard both behind the scenes and in the limelight to ensure the best outcome for all.
Contact details:
+358 29 41 21204
Lis Vila Rosas is part of the Communications and Community Relations team at Helsinki Incubators. With a background in advocacy and social impact, Lis is passionate about promoting inclusivity, gender equity, and social justice. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Linguistics at the University of Helsinki, focusing on anthropological linguistics and non-binary language.
Lis brings diverse international experience to her role, having worked on policies supporting inclusivity in spaces such as the European Parliament in Brussels. Her previous roles include Chairwoman of Youth for the Scouts of Spain, and advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals through non-formal educational programmes.
At Helsinki Incubators, Lis began her journey with the TREMOR social impact programme as a project assistant. Today, she handles communications by managing social media, organising events, and ensuring our stories reflect the diversity and inclusivity at the heart of our work.
Contact details:
+358 29 41 22960
Yliopistonkatu 3, 3rd floor, 00100 Helsinki
University of Helsinki Innovation & Entrepreneurship Services
P.O. Box 54
FI-00014 University of Helsinki