There’s a lot to look forward to when you join the University of Helsinki, ranked among the world’s top 1% — #1 in Finland, #5 in the Nordic countries, #37 in Europe, and #101 globally. Programmes here are built on research by leading scholars, and you can even join them in their work. If there’s something you’d like to pursue outside your studies, there is structured support (open to bachelor’s and master’s students) to help you get started.
Pradham Pepakayala and Michał Kwak, two second-year students in the Bachelor’s Programme in Science, joined Helsinki Incubators. Open to all faculties and degree levels and conducted in English, Helsinki Incubators helps aspiring entrepreneurs develop practical skills. Those new to entrepreneurship can start with Pathways, a general pre-incubator programme. If you already have an idea, you can join Journeys.
Over 16 weeks, you’ll learn from experts from Finnish and international companies, investors, and corporate venture capitalists. It ends with Demo Day, where you’ll pitch what you’ve built to investors. This was when Pepakayala and Kwak launched Syllabuss. “Our idea was to build a platform that had all the resources a student prioritises,” says Pepakayala.
With plans for a master’s and a future in astrophysics research, Pepakayala also hopes to keep growing Syllabuss and making a difference for students. Source: Prandham Pepakayala
Pradham Pepakayala
The experience was an eye-opener for Pepakayala. “Pathways did a great job of introducing us to this whole new world and connecting us with like-minded people, which would otherwise have felt incredibly daunting,” he shares. “It taught us a lot about idea and market validation, as well as how to manage a team and avoid burnout.”
He also gained skills he hadn’t expected to learn. “Never in my physics degree was I asked to pitch myself in under two minutes or sell an item to a stranger walking on the streets,” he explains. “Those are skills that are incredibly useful and are something I don’t think any technical degree would help you develop.”
After everything he’d learned through Pathways, Pepakayala was eager to see what the next step – via Journeys – had to offer. This time, they were developing their MVP and meeting with university officials and student organisation representatives. Some meetings left them feeling excited, while others were more discouraging. But regular check-ins with mentors kept them motivated. “There was always this unseen pressure to outdo ourselves from last week to impress them. Overall, it was a big shift, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed,” he adds.
The University of Helsinki’s academic reputation and freedom to choose courses were what drew Kwak from Poland. Source: Michal Kwak
Michał Kwak
Before Helsinki Incubators, starting a business was little more than a passing thought for Kwak. “I didn’t have the resources or anyone around me who could point me in the right direction, so the idea stayed exactly as an idea,” he says.
That changed when Kwak joined Pathways. He credits one mentor in particular with helping his team understand the financial side of running a business, an area none of them had any experience in. That pushed him to think more like someone actually running a company. “It’s easy to get completely focused on the product itself and forget that none of it matters if you don’t understand the basics of running it,” he says.
Between lectures and building Syllabuss, Kwak had plenty on his plate. But looking back, he saw how it pushed him to get better at prioritising. Luckily, his studies and entrepreneurial journey weren’t entirely separate. The Full Stack Open course taught him how to develop an application from start to end, while data structures and algorithms coursework helped him tackle technical challenges. In many ways, Syllabuss became a useful avenue to put what he’d learned into practice.
Just the beginning
What started as an idea is now getting closer to becoming a real product. Integralis, the student organisation for international students at the University of Helsinki’s Kumpula campus, recently gave Syllabuss 500 euros (approximately US$563.44 at the time of writing) in early funding. “I really appreciate various initiatives like Pathways and Journeys because they educate and promote a lot more opportunities that people didn’t know they could pursue,” says Pepakayala. “I’ve had great experiences with them and would definitely recommend!”
Kwak feels the same way. “It’s one thing to have flexible course choices and a good reputation on paper, but it’s another to actually have people around you who take the time to help you figure out what you want to build and push you to take it seriously,” he says. “That’s what’s made the difference for me.”
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