Theme: Who are we?

TEDxHelsinkiUniversity is an event organized by a group of dedicated PhD students from the University of Helsinki supported by faculty and personnel. The purpose of the event is to give the stage to local ideas worth sharing and to engage the local and international community in discussing them.

The theme of our TEDx will revolve around the question “Who are we?”. Our aim is to address the question from the perspective of individuals as well as groups. The “we” can in fact mean different things such as a cultural, ideological or social group, humans or even the broader concept of living beings and, artificial intelligence. We are also planning to select talks discussing the theme from an introspective point of view and, at the same time, exploring the relations between the self and the environment.

Gloria
Pieni Roobertinkatu 12
Helsinki, Uusimaa, 00120
Finland

Anu Wartiovaara

Academy Professor and Group leader of the Molecular Neurology Lab at the University of Helsinki

Anu Wartiovaara (Suomalainen in publications), MD PhD, Academy Professor and Chief Physician in Helsinki University Hospital, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki. Mission in science: to cure a patient with progressive, previously incurable mitochondrial disease, using the molecular knowledge we have created in our lab. Curious to discover mechanisms how the ancient endosymbiosis – a collaborative primordial deal between anaerobic cell and aerobic bacteria – provided the means for survival for all the living organisms in oxygen-containing environments, and how this ancient event still modulates our everyday life, health and disease.

Emma Taulo

Scriptwriter and Director

Emma Taulo is a Helsinki-based scriptwriter and director who works with fact, fiction and new ways of storytelling. She is constantly fascinated by topics and themes related to national identity, collective myths and the stories from history we rarely hear. Recently Emma has been working mostly for Yle documentary department, with documentary series for young adults. Her first big production “Operaatio Mannerheim”/”The Marshal of Finland” (2012) raised a big national debate about our shared values and national identity, and was nominated for Kultainen Venla award.

Frank Martela

Post Doctoral Researcher in Philosophy at the University of Helsinki

Frank Martela is a researcher at University of Helsinki focusing on compassion, prosocial behavior, well-being and meaning in life. He explores these themes through psychological methods and conceptual work, both within the context of social psychology and philosophy. Frank received his Ph.D in Applied Philosophy and Organizational Research from Aalto University after which he has worked at University of Rochester, USA before returning to Finland. Frank is a popular speaker and author having written several books for general audience. He is also one of the founders and current chairman of the board of Filosofian Akatemia Oy, a company that is specialized in measuring engagement and motivation at work, and consulting organizations on how to improve them.

Kai Huotari

Managing Director at Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo, Helsinki

Dr Kai Huotari is the Managing Director at Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo, the largest cultural centre in Finland. He brings an interesting perspective to our theme ‘Who are we’ by maintaining that our interaction with the world determines who we are. This stems from his doctoral research on social media and effects of human interaction. True to his inquisitive nature, Kai has crossed many professional boundaries such as film making, IT and academia, resulting in MA degree in Film directing, MSc in Computer Science and a PhD in Business administration (marketing). Additionally, he has also published scientific articles on gamification.

Kevin Deegan

International Consumer Insight Specialist in the Smart Data team at Valio Head Office, Helsinki

Dr Kevin Deegan is working on how and why consumers make the decisions that they do. He is especially interested in how we are subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) persuaded to make such decisions by our surroundings, experience and senses. Kevin received his PhD in Sensory Science from the University of Helsinki in 2014 and leads consumer insight projects around the world in his current role in Valio. Prior to this, his academic career evolved from Chemistry to Food Science through to Sensory Science and eventually Consumer Insight. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys collecting rare antique ceramic ducks.

Lauri Reuter

Senior Research Scientist in Food Science and Technology at VTT

Imagine a post-agricultural world where biotechnology and synthetic biology allow the mankind to coexist in harmony with the green planet. These are the dreams of an enthusiastic young scientist, a bio-geek and a beekeeper, Lauri Reuter. Lauri claims that “Food is a fundamental part of our core identity” and challenges you to re-define yourself: “We used to be hunter-gatherers, until we became farmers. What will it be next?”

Stephany Buenrostro Mazon

PhD student in Atmospheric Science at the University of Helsinki

Stephany Buenrostro Mazon is a Mexico City native and a PhD researcher in the field of climate and air quality (University of Helsinki). She has a passion for story-telling that inspires her to find alternative platforms for the science around her. With the aim to foster interdisciplinary scientific communication, she founded and currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the ATM Newsletter, a bi-weekly newsletter sent out to the Center of Excellence in Atmospheric Science coordinated by the University of Helsinki. In 2016 Stephany became the Communications Officer of the Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) project, an international effort to tackle environmental challenges through research–policy–society interactions. Stephany advocates for the importance of science communication as a way for researchers to provide the society with the tools useful for making informed decisions.

Susanna Hast

Post Doc at the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies, Helsinki

Imagine if art can be seen as a political witness. A body can be seen as the site of emotion or knowledge. And songwriting can be viewed as a research practice. Dr Susanna Hast, a multitalented artist and researcher, believes in this theory. She is currently working at the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Russian Studies, Aleksanteri Institute, Helsinki and is the media producer of Politiikasta Journal. Dr Susanna Hast is particularly focussing on dance in the project InHaLe - InHabiting Language, funded by the Kone Foundation.

Vincenzo Cerullo

Assistant Professor and Group Leader at Laboratory of Immunovirotherapy of the University of Helsinki

Vince, is a tenure-track professor of University of helsinki and Head of the Drug Research program at the faculty of Pharmacy. Vince got his PhD at Centre for genetic Engineering (CENIGE) at University of Naples, Federico II in 2004, then he returned to Houston Texas (USA) for a postdoc. In 2009 he moved to University of Helsinki where he worked as senior researcher until 2012 when he was awarded the tenure-track professorship and started the ImmunoViroTherapy Lab (IVTLab, www.ivtlab.org). In these years IVTLab has raised more than 4 million Euros for research, has produced tens of scientific papers and patents and has co-fouded a multimillion spin-off company together with the University of Helsinki. Vince has been awarded the Outstading Young Investigator award in 2014 by the European Society of Gene and cell Therapy and the Excellence in Research award by the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy in 2015.