Juhani Tenhunen, Manager of International Projects and Collaboration, Aalto University Studios

Juhani Tenhunen’s job as a development manager at Aalto University Studios is to develop, design and manage international projects. He has worked for the university (which was originally the University of Art and Design Helsinki and then after 2010 Aalto University) as a producer, researcher, and manager, and maybe also in some other positions since 2002. Before the university Juhani was an entrepreneur, the companies he was one of the founders of produced films and TV programs and digital media content and print media. 

As a researcher, he is interested in the processes and working in media-related projects and productions, he is (still) performing his doctoral studies about the Beauty of Project Work, which includes the studies of project management and virtual or multi-organisational project management.

Prof. Yu Xiao, Associate Professor Dept. of Communications and Networking, Aalto University

I am broadly interested in experimental systems research in the field of mobile computing. My research interests have spanned from energy-efficient mobile computing, to edge computing, to mobile crowdsensing and to augmented/virtual reality. My research often takes the approach of building potentially large-scale prototype systems and then evaluating them experimentally.

My current work contains two parts. One is creating innovative mobile applications to solve real life problems, such as crowdsourced indoor mapping and AR-based assistance for mechanical assembly and maintenance. The other part of my research focuses on solving the performance, energy-efficiency and scalability challenges that the new applications (e.g. video crowdsourcing, autonomous driving) pose to the cloud and network architectures.

Marcus Korhonen, Operative Director, Aalto University Studios

Marcus Korhonen is the director of Aalto Studios, the future media centre of Aalto University. Before Aalto he worked as an executive producer at the Finnish public service broadcaster Yle, where he was involved in international projects ranging from global sports events to drama productions. In addition to Finland, he has worked in different roles in the UK media industry, where he produced, directed, and consulted projects ranging from media art to adverts. Marcus Korhonen combines his creative background and experience with wide knowledge on technology and because of this unique combination he is often invited to industry seminars to talk about the intersection of creativity and technology. 

Prof. Narcis Pares Burgues, Tenured Associate Professor, ICT Dept., Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona

Narcís Parés is a Tenured Associate Professor at the ICT Department (DTIC) of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain). He has 30 years of experience working in technologies associated with Extended Reality. His research is focused on Full-body Interaction based on theories of Embodied Cognition, Human-Computer Interaction, Developmental Psychology, etc. He leads the Full-Body Interaction Lab (FuBIntLab) within the Department. His approach starts from Interaction Design, Interactive Communication and Interaction Models. His background is: PhD in Audiovisual Communication -specialized in Virtual Reality- (UPF), MSc in Image Processing and Artificial Intelligence (UAB) and BSc in Computer Engineering (UPC). He was co-creator and has been coordinator for ten years of the Interdisciplinary Master in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media (UPF). He has been secretary of the Audiovisual University Institute (IUA of UPF, 2006-2010) and head of the Interactive Systems Laboratory (IUA, 2000-2010). He is co-founder and scientific director of Galeria Virtual (1993-2000), where he directed the technological aspects of a number of experimental Virtual Reality productions applied to contemporary art. He is member of the Steering Committee of the ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, and member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Child Computer Interaction, Elsevier, as well as of the Multimodal Technologies and Interaction Journal (MDPI). He is currently the head of the Barcelona Node of the European Media and Immersion Laboratory, the only EU-funded center for eXtended Reality (XR). He is also member of the Innovation and Research network on Mental health and technology (Xarxa TECSAM).

Prof. Volker Helzle, Head of Research and Development, Animationsinstitut, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

Prof. Volker Helzle is in charge of Research & Development at Animationsinstitut of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. After graduating from Stuttgart Media University in 2000 he moved to California and worked at Eyematic Interfaces on the eve of marker-less facial tracking tools and content. In 2003 he joined Filmakademie to supervise Research & Development. He is the senior lecturer for the Technical Director course and FMX program consultant. In 2013 Volker received the honorary professorship of Filmakademie.

During the past 20 years Volker raised funding for a substantial amount of regional and European Union projects in the scope of Animation, VFX, Virtual Production and Immersive Media. The most recent projects are EMIL, the European Media and Immersion Lab (emil-xr.eu) and MAX-R (max-r.eu) . Being a C-64 kid of the 80ties, Volker's life was strongly influenced by video games and early computer graphics. To this day he is a passionate gamer but also finds interest in analog activities like mountain hiking, gardening or yoga. As of January 2019 an improved version of Volker is available that keeps him busy day and night.

Dr. Alexander Kreische, Animationsinstitut, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

Alexander Kreische studied Media Studies and American Studies at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg and at the University of Kansas on a Fulbright scholarship. He received his Ph.D. with his thesis on the concept of presence in Buster Keaton's silent film comedies in 2020. From 2012 to 2019 he worked as research assistant at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Since 2019 he has been working at Filmakademie's Animationsinstitut. His current positions are as project manager for media production as well as for the EU-funded project EMIL in the Research & Development department.

Jonas Trottnow, Software Developer, Animationsinstitut, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

Jonas Trottnow joined the R&D team in 2018. He studied Media Computer Science at the University of Tübingen (BSc), his Bachelor Thesis was already written in cooperation with the Filmakademie. He finished his studies with a Master Degree (MSc) in Visual Computing at the Saarland University. His work focuses on software development in the areas of computer vision, computer graphics and deep learning. The edge between computer science and film productions is his main interest. Besides he was working as camera operator and in different positions in the post production for documentary films.