Spring competition - one thing you must do in Finland

I know I complain a lot about not being able to find any extracurricular activities in Finland. It is true. For a high school student interested in psychology like me, there are not many psychology- or academics-related opportunities here. But that is definitely not the case if you’re a student who is passionate about startups, entrepreneurship, and solving world problems. There are tons of events,  entrepreneurship societies, and hackathons for you. I was never into entrepreneurship or starting my own business before because I thought I was not fit for it. That is not right. Entrepreneurship is definitely for people like me who like taking the initiative to solve real-world problems. That’s why today I want to introduce to you a wonderful opportunity for high school students to practice entrepreneurship: This is Spring competition.

Source: Spring website

Spring is a competition where young people all over Finland submit ideas that they believe will change the world for the better and create a hopeful future for everyone. Teams selected for the second round will participate in the Incubator Weekend where they receive guidance on how to develop their ideas. Winners get a summer job and a study trip abroad. The best thing about Spring is that everything from transportation and food to accommodation is totally free of charge. We stayed at a Radisson Blu hotel! I love that the organizer is making Spring accessible for students all over Finland and not just Helsinki.  But, of course, the most valuable things I got from Spring are the advice and opinions from top experts in Finland on how to bring an idea into real life. So, if you have an idea that is ready to change the world, bring it to Spring 2025!

My team was luckily selected for the semifinal Incubator Weekend this April. Even though we couldn’t go forward to the final round, the experience was truly eye-opening. Our idea was Watudu - a random activity generator that generates short, fun, and intellectually stimulating activities for young people to do in their free time (like a healthier version of TikTok). The idea that I submitted to the first round was still very basic. I just thought Watudu was fun and I could see people needing something like that. 

After a Friday of eating, touring the cool Supercell office, and taking pictures, the real Incubator Weekend began. We listened to the guest speakers (Amel Gaily, Mikko-Pekka Hanski, and Lloyd Libiso) share about being a CEO, an entrepreneur, and a TV show producer. We also learned how to validate a problem, come up with a unique solution to it, and then pitch the idea with the help of the producers of Spring and experts in multiple fields. All were new to me, and all were exciting. Preparing for the pitch was pretty nerve-wracking, though. The pitch still came out smoothly and I will never be able to forget the experience of pitching to Jorma Ollila and the jury of experts. 

The atmosphere at Spring was another amazing thing. It was bursting with the energy of people sharing their ideas, making friends, and even arguing (my team). Plus, snacks and drinks were always available 🤤. The producers made sure that everyone felt safe and comfortable. My team could just go to anyone for their opinion and they would be happy to help us. Our coach, Katya, was also there for us during all the steps. Working as a team was much harder than I thought since we all had different opinions and refused to budge. That is definitely what I will work more on.

All in all, I highly recommend Spring to any high school students. I wish that every school day was Spring day; then, I would never skip a lesson again. Well, I did feel dead tired on Monday, though :)