Talented students take over Sydney

It’s been an amazing year with all kinds of crazy events and activities. I’ve met so many talented students who are passionate about what they do and are ready go the extra mile to share their skills.. let’s say for example through 24h hackathons Now I’m in Sydney, Australia with the top 3 teams from Finland, these guys and gals are really something else! I realized that these teams have a few things in common!

We’re attending Imagine Cup with 3 teams, Matalapaine (Turku), Aaltovation (Espoo) and G3A (Lappeenranta). I’ve been working with these teams through various activities and seen them evolve over the year.

Team Matalapaine – The rockstars from Turku

With team Matalapaine I’ve been working on a huge amount of different events. The guys from this team have been organizing some of most successful hackathons in Finland and have been sharing their knowledge through their local Student Tech Clubs in Salo and Turku. The team took part in Imagine Cup with Pregnancy2Baby, won our local Finnish finals and earned their place in the Imagine Cup 2012 worldwide finals as the Finnish representatives in Software Design. I’m so excited to see their presentations here! [Check the video]

Aaltovation – Drive, energy and attitude

I still remember the first day I met team Aaltovation. It was during a EBEC Aalto 24h hackathon at Aalto Venture Garage. The team consists of 3 gals and one guy, they truly blew my mind with their dedication, energy and positive attitude. They worked on their project “Mothercare” from the first hackathon and pushed through 24 hours, winning the 2nd place in the hackathon. After that I met them several times in different events, for example they totally dominated the Nokia hackathon! I was so excited when I heard that they had made it to Top 3 in the worldwide Windows Phone Challenge… now we’re just waiting for the final results! [Check the video]

Team G3A – Experience and innovation

I’ve know the guys from team G3A for some time now. They took part in Imagine Cup last year, they’ve been in the Microsoft Student Partners program and as you might now Lappenranta University of Technology is one of the best codecamp organizers in Finland… and these are the students are the masterminds behind them. Their project TinyCircle is definitely something that can change the world, ensuring freedom of speech all around the globe. [Check the video]

What makes a winner?

When I look at these 12 individuals from these top teams, I see a few things in common. As you know, they all have the courage, drive and passion to go and do something completely new and put themselves on the line. But actually I think there is one more important thing to notice..

All of these teams share their knowledge and are excited to help others. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen these people teach, help and mentor other students around different technologies. It’s not just about learning for yourself, for them it’s about sharing that knowledge and making sure students have access to new technology and training. Clearly helping others pays off

I couldn’t be with a more amazing group of people in Sydney. I’m really looking forward for this event and celebrating their amazing success!