Human at the heart of technology Ksenia Avetisova moves around the virtual world as part of her job, but what brought her to Finland was a live rock gig.
T
his spring certainly was demanding,’ Ksenia Avetisova agrees in Helsinki’s Lapinlahti Park on a late summer day. Avetisova, who heads TietoEVRY’s Enhanced Reality centre of excellence, has, like so many others, worked remotely from her home office while simultaneously overseeing her children’s schooling. Interestingly, her work also involves exploring how people could work more efficiently and be more present virtually. ‘The change to full-time work from home was substantial. Conventional online meetings became more arduous, and provided little variety. That’s one of the key areas where immersive technology opens up new ways to be more present and collaborate on a deeper level while being physically distant,’ says Avetisova. Immersion refers to the user feeling completely present in the world of an application, such as a game.
Virtual spa is always open
The coronavirus spring also taught Avetisova how important the work-life balance really is, and how much harder it is to maintain it when both work and life take place from one location for a prolonged time. These insights are very relevant as input for a project she is working on. It focuses on the mental wellbeing of people engaged in expert work, and the aim is to research the use of technology in measuring stress and lowering or pre-
Text: Heidi Hammarsten Photos: Aleksi Poutanen venting it. Funded by Business Finland Avetisova’s team is analysing the effect of immersive experiences on employee’s productivity with the aid of virtual reality glasses and biofeedback sensors. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to take a break and recharge at an exotic island, or in the mountains? Virtual reality offers limitless opportunities to take you to a different place – right when you need it the most. “Stepping out” of the workplace can really take your mind off the stressful atmosphere for a while and ultimately help you perform better,’ Avetisova says. However, the technology is still relatively new and the effects of virtual reality on the human brain are not yet sufficiently studied. ‘I see immersive technology as a tool to empower people and enhance their performance. By training with support of VR, our aim is to recreate a focused and calm state without any technology. And this makes us more resilient in any situation – we can meet it with a smile,’ Ave tisova points out. After all, research has shown that smiling has a positive influence on productivity and promotes the ability to cooperate.
Career path influenced by grandmother and HIM Avetisova comes from the city of Taganrog in the south of Russia. Her family has distinguished itself academically over several generations and in many different fields. ‘My grandmother founded the English department at a local university, and my grandad was a pioneer in remote learning
decades before it became mainstream. My mother specialised in maths and fuzzy logic, a field we’d today call artificial intelligence, while my father worked on advanced medical technology.’ Inspired by her grandmother, whom she greatly admires, Avetisova set on the path of excelling in linguistics and intercultural communication, however she did not stop there. She was among a few students from the Russian Federation awarded a scholarship for a study program at Stanford University. Surprisingly, her first contact with Finland happened thanks to the rock group HIM: she and her friends travelled to see the band’s New Year’s Eve gig in Helsinki and she fell in love with the northern city. It prompted her to choose Finland as a place to continue her academic journey. ‘Helsinki is a small city when compared to the major urban centres of Russia or the USA. It allows to connect more intimately with people and nature. Seamless blending of technology into everyday life in Finland made a lasting impression on me,’ she says.
Human elements of technology In the early 2000s, Finnish universities offered only a few English-language Master's level programmes. Luckily, the exact programme that felt right for Avetisova was one of them – the New Media Master’s programme at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. By the time she completed the degree, the school had become part of Aalto University. AALTO UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE 27 \ 21
