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DEVELOPER. BUILDER. CURIOUS MIND.PERSONAL INDEX / 2026

18 YEARS OLDBASED IN FINLAND
10k+ app downloads

I turn curiosity
into things that work.

Writing code since 12. Shipping since 14.
Exploring the space between software,
physics, and the real world.

Explore my work ↓
SCROLL TO DISCOVER ↓
01 / SELECTED WORK

Built for the
real world.

SMALL BUDGET.
BIG PROBLEMS.
TEAM LEAD & DEVELOPERINDOOR NAVIGATION

OtaMaps✳

A big building. A thousand students.
One less thing to get lost in.

THE ACTUAL PROJECT / OTAMAPSVisit otamaps.fi
20,000+ m²BUILDING AREA
1,000+STUDENTS
< €1,000TOTAL BUDGET

I lead the team developing an indoor navigation platform for over 1,000 students. OtaMaps helps them find the right classroom in a 20,000+ m² building, with classroom-level accuracy and a budget under €1,000.

Behind the project +

The challenge: make a large school building easier to navigate for over 1,000 students while keeping the entire project affordable.

My role combines leading the development team with building the platform. The focus is practical: help students get to the right classroom with room-level accuracy.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE / HEALTHTECH2 YEARS

Built. Released.
Used by thousands.

Two years working at a healthtech startup. I developed two released applications with more than 10,000 combined downloads.

2RELEASED APPLICATIONS
10k+COMBINED DOWNLOADS
02 / RECOGNITION

Curiosity,
put to the test.

CODE. CALCULATE.
BUILD. REPEAT.
01
PHYSICS

Finnish Physics Competition

Finnish national competition

6th nationally
02
PROGRAMMING

Datatähti

Finnish Programming Competition · Finalist

20th nationally
03
ROBOTICS

VEX V5 Robotics

Finnish national competition · Technical achievement

Finalist + Think Award
04
SPACE & ENGINEERING

ESA CanSat

ESA CanSat satellite competition

Finland finalist
05
RECOGNITION

Technology stipends

Recognition for work in technology

Multiple awards
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

17 years old.
One month.
San Francisco.

At 17, I spent a month building OtaMaps in San Francisco as part of Neighborhood, an international youth hacker house program. Surrounded by other young people who just wanted to build. Now, I’m working on a new project.

FINLAND / SAN FRANCISCO / A NEW PROJECT
HEL / SFO
01 / SAN FRANCISCOSUMMER 2025
02 / AROUND THE CITYYOU CAN JUST SHIP THINGS.
03 / GITHUBBUILDING TOGETHER.
03 / THE PERSON BEHIND THE CODE

Still learning.
Always building.

I’m Rene, an 18-year-old developer and final-year student at Otaniemi Upper Secondary School in Finland.

I study on the LUMA track, with an emphasis on physics and mathematics. I’m drawn to problems that connect those subjects with software, and to the moment an idea becomes something someone can use.

Better when built together.

I’ve taken part in game jams and hosted two of my own. I’ve also participated in two hackathons hosted at GitHub, including Undercity, a hardware hackathon.

SOFTWAREMATHEMATICSPHYSICSROBOTICS
AGE 12

The first line of code.

Started programming. Kept going.

AGE 14

From code to launch.

Released my first application.

AGE 17

A month in San Francisco.

Neighborhood. An international hacker house. Building OtaMaps.

NOW / AGE 18

More to figure out.

Building a new project. Final year at Otaniemi. Physics and mathematics.

NEXT / SOMETHING INTERESTING

Let’s build
what’s next.

Good problems. Ambitious ideas. Interesting people.

IMAGE INDEX / RENE SAARIKKO
San Francisco skyline with palm trees and skyscrapers

01 / 05 · San Francisco / Summer 2025