Who We Are
Our team is a group of experienced professionals in science, technology, art, business, and media.
Scroll down or click here to meet our core team, our other experts, our partner organizations and our sources of funding.
Core team
At the heart of Arador's work is the science and art team. They all have decades of experience of bridging cutting-edge science and society. They all are recognized as sought-out experts in their fields. Passion for developing new, high-quality solutions for a better world is a common theme for the entire team.
Helena Telkänranta
Founder and CEO
Helena has a Ph.D. in animal behaviour science and is one of Finland's leading experts in the science of animal minds. At Arador, Helena's responsibilities include project management, contributing to design and writing, and contacts to our partner organizations. Previously, Helena has worked as a research scientist at the University of Helsinki in Finland and the University of Bristol in the UK, and has planned and directed groundbreaking projects for improving animal management in Finland and abroad, such as piloting capacity-building in animal-friendly methods for training working elephants in south Asia. In Finland, she is also known as a nonfiction writer with multiple awards and a long career in the public communication of science. Alongside her career, Helena has done voluntary work in areas such as environmental protection and human rights. One of her favorite free-time activities is spending time in nature.
Maija Karala
Science writer and illustrator
Maija has a Master's degree in evolutionary biology and a versatile career in public communication of science. She works as a science journalist, non-fiction writer, illustrator, and lecturer. At Arador, Maija contributes to the planning of books and games, collects scientific information, and creates illustrations. The comics for our books The Mind of a Horse and the next one in the pipeline, The Mind of a Dog, are drawn by her, and she also belongs to the development team of the mobile game Lake Adventure and the documentary film Surprising Rats. Maija spends her free time with nature photography and pet rats.
Ville Sinkkonen
Concept artist and 3D artist
Ville is considered among the top in Finland among artists depicting animals with scientific accuracy. His diverse skills include high art drawings and paintings, 3D computer modeling, creating characters and assets for mobile and computer games, and concept art for virtual reality projects. At Arador, Ville contributes to the planning of book, game, and virtual reality projects and produces 3D models and illustrations. Ville belongs to the development teams of our mobile game Lake Adventure and the virtual learning environment for dairy farms. His work includes, among others, the 3D models in Dog's World VR and the concept art for Lake Adventure. For our books of science comics - The Mind of a Horse and the next one in the pipeline, the Mind of a Dog - he has created the cover art, the colors of the comics, and the line drawings at the end of each chapter. Ville has previously worked in virtual reality and game studios and has produced art and 3D models as commissioned work for various domestic and international organizations, such as the BBC.
Other experts
Arador's pro bono experts are professionals with substantial skill and expertise in their own fieds. They work full-time in their own professions, and in their free time, they provide their expertise free of charge to advance the development of Arador.
In addition to the people below, our projects are carried out in cooperation with experts from our partner organizations: Teatime Research, Armenta Benessi, Veterinary Clinic Askel and the University of Helsinki.
Taina Tengvall
Expert in administration and marketing
Taina has a Master's degree in economics and business administration, specializing in marketing, communications, and management. Taina has been involved in the development of Arador since its inception and is a member of the Board of Directors. Taina participates in planning Arador's strategy and communications, runs part of the administration, and participates in developing our medical innovations. With more than ten years of work experience in various companies, including in the legal and IT sectors, she has acquired a wide range of professional skills. Taina is interested in the well-being of people and animals, and one of her favorite free-time activities is spending time in nature.
Joonas Gustafsson
Expert in service design and usability
Joonas has a Master's degree in computer science. He is an experienced IT professional specializing in service design, usability, and concept design. During his IT studies, he also completed a course in zoology and is now one of Finland's leading experts in reptile and amphibian care. At Arador, Joonas belongs to the development team of our mobile game Lake Adventure and contributes to solutions requiring IT expertise. Joonas has twenty years of work experience in the IT sector. In addition to his daily work, he serves as an expert on the Advisory Board for the Welfare of Companion and Hobby Animals at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland. He is also involved in hands-on animal rescue at his local humane society and a voluntary group specializing in reptiles and amphibians. His remaining little spare time is spent on the upkeep of a countryside home and reading detective stories.
Mari Tienhaara
Expert in thermal imaging
Mari has a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine and is the leading expert in Finland in the use of thermal imaging as a diagnostic tool at veterinary clinics. At Arador, Mari is involved in planning and running research projects in the development of thermal imaging methods to improve pain detection and treatment. Parts of Arador's research are carried out at Veterinary Clinic Askel, a leading center in Finland for pain management in dogs, where Mari is a founder and co-owner. Mari works at Askel as a veterinarian, specializing in cardiology, laboratory diagnostics, and thermal imaging.
Johanna Oksanen
Expert in visual communication and international partnerships
Johanna has a Master's degree in visual journalism, and her expertise includes international networking and copyright. At Arador, Johanna is involved in planning and carrying out visual communication and global marketing. Johanna has been working in photojournalism for thirty years. In addition to Finland, she has lived and worked in the UK and Canada. Johanna is particularly interested in communication between animals. She is a member of the board of the Finnish Nature Association. In her free time, Johanna enjoys hiking and activities with her dog.
Our Partners
To ensure high-quality outcomes, we have partnered with several organizations and experts.
Partners of Arador Health Science
Our international research partners work with us via the network of PIGWEB, a research and infrastructure collaboration funded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union.
The international research groups most closely involved with us are those at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, and the Insititute of Agrofood Research and Technology in Spain.
In Finland, our research partners are the University of Helsinki, Helsinki Zoo, and Veterinary Clinic Askel, a leading authority in the diagnostics and treatent of pain in dogs.
Our courses on professional thermal imaging are organized in collaboration with Infradex, the leading importer and technical expertise hub for thermal cameras in Finland, as well as the abovementioned Helsinki Zoo and Veterinary Clinic Askel.
Partners of Arador Productions
Our virtual reality experiences are co-productions with Teatime Research, a leading Finnish virtual reality studio. In the learning environment for the dairy sector, we also collaborate with the cattle auditing organization Armenta Benessi.
The series of online videos is filmed and edited in collaboration with the multiple-award-winning British documentary filmmaker Amanda Feldon.
The documentary Surprising Rats has been planned together with the award-winning Finnish-Sri Lankan documentary filmmaker Susani Mahadura.
Animal training in our productions has been carried out by the professional trainers Miia Kantinkoski and Tommy Wiren.
Partners at work on the indoor scenes of Dog's World VR. Animal trainer Miia Kantinkoski is directing Isla the dog, and Paavo Happonen, the chief technical officer of Teatime Research, is operating the stereo camera.
Our Funding
Parts of our projects are funded by the European Union, government bodies in Finland, and private foundations.
At the heart of our work is the benefit to society at large, including the animals in it. To make a genuine difference, we combine scientific knowledge with the skills of top professionals. Because of this combination of societal benefits and high quality, we have received funding for our projects from several sources of public money and private foundations, as listed below. Most of Arador's projects are partly or fully self-funded. Part of the revenue from our communication products, such as books, goes towards funding our development of thermal imaging methods for better pain detection and measurement of well-being. Therefore, in addition to disseminating knowledge, our communication products also contribute to a better world in this way.
Funding for Arador Health Science
The research consortium PIGWEB, spanning 10 countries and comprising 16 organizations, including Arador, is funded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union.
The research project "Visualizing animal emotions", run by Arador and the University in Helsinki in cooperation with the Helsinki Zoo, is funded by the Kone Foundation.
Funding for Arador Productions
The production of a virtual learning environment for vocational education in the dairy sector, which Arador runs in collaboration with Teatime Research and Armenta Benessi, is funded by the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) program, which operates in connection with the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development of the European Union.
The demo version of the virtual reality experience on dogs, a co-production with Teatime Research, is partly funded by the Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture Finland (AVEK). The series of online videos on farm animals is partly funded by the Committee for Public Information (TJNK), an expert body attached to the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, and by the Finnish Association of Science Editors and Journalists (FASEJ). For the mobile game Lake Adventure, the beginning of development by Siluris Communications and Animal Mind Productions was partly funded by AVEK, by Business Finland with an Innovation Voucher, and by Tieteen tiedotus, a Finnish foundation for advancing public communication of science.