AI awards presented to Elements of AI course, Serendip game and Professor Petri Myllymäki

Organised by AI Finland and Business Finland, the AI Gala, held on Wednesday, 23 October, brought together business leaders, experts and innovators to celebrate and award significant Finnish AI achievements and future prospects. 

The 10 award categories featured a total of 139 nominees, of whom 32 had been selected as finalists. The University of Helsinki was represented in the final in three distinct categories. The eight-member judging panel was chaired by Risto Siilasmaa. 

The online course Elements of AI, developed by MinnaLearn and the University of Helsinki, won the category AI Venture of the Year. The panel deemed the course one of the biggest AI achievements in Finland in the past decade. Over 1.4 million students from around the world have participated in the course. The panel praised the course for democratising AI expertise globally and making Finland a key player in the international field of AI teaching. 

The sustainability game Serendip won the category Creative AI Implementation of the Year. Serendipis a new virtual game enabling students to explore spectacular landscapes while learning about sustainability. Students examine sustainability from the perspective of several disciplines and complete assignments with narrative AI characters. The game is suitable for both higher education and staff training. Serendip was developed in the University of Helsinki’s Global Campus project.

University of Helsinki Professor Petri Myllymäki secured the top spot in the category AI Opinion Leader of the Year. Myllymäki has a long career in research on AI. He is vice-director of the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI) and director of the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT). 

In addition, the FCAI, in which the University is involved, was one of the finalists in the category AI Venture of the Year.  

“Congratulations to the winner and all the finalists! It’s so important that universities play a major role in informing society about the effects of AI and finding ways to use it in both teaching and research,” says Vice-Rector Kai Nordlund of the University of Helsinki. 

Established in March 2024, the AI Finland network connects businesses and others interested in AI. The network seeks to increase the application and development of AI in Finland.  

Congratulations to the winners and finalists! 

This news item was originally published on the University of Helsinki website on 23.10.2024