Meet the team behind Elina, the AI-powered assistant for early childhood educators
Interview with Taina Mikkola, founder and CEO of Elina Education. This article is part of a series introducing the teams and their solutions from the 2024 edition of the Digital Education Accelerator.
Elina is a generative AI assistant that empowers early childhood educators to improve their students’ learning outcomes.
Elina simplifies educators' daily work and makes individualised learning more accessible using features that include customisable activity planning, photo analysis for assessment, and a vast library of resources.
By simplifying processes and providing meaningful insights, Elina helps educators deliver more dynamic, personalised and effective learning experiences.
Meet Taina Mikkola
Taina is an education and technology enthusiast from Finland who is passionate about empowering early childhood educators who are shaping the next generation of change-makers. With a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in business, Taina brings a unique blend of expertise to her work, focusing on innovative solutions that support educators and enhance learning environments.
Who else is in your team?
- Heini Mäntynen - Pedagogical Expert (Finland)
- Filipe Wesley de Souza - Co-founder and Head of Product and Operations (Brazil)
- Mayra Alejandra Hoyos Girón - Marketing Specialist (Colombia)
What are the biggest challenges in digital education?
It is the time-consuming and complex process of planning personalised educational activities, especially in early childhood settings. Educators often struggle to create individualised learning experiences that meet the needs of each child.
Another major challenge is the lack of high-quality and easily accessible digital resources, which makes it difficult for educators to find inspiration and adapt to digital teaching methods.
Also, the adoption of digital tools in early education can be daunting, especially for educators who are less familiar with technology, making it harder to integrate these solutions confidently.
What challenges in digital education does your solution address?
Elina provides an intuitive platform that simplifies personalised activity planning, saving educators time and effort. Elina offers a rich library of ideas, making it easy for educators to find inspiration and adapt activities to their classrooms.
The user-friendly interface ensures that even educators with limited technology experience can confidently integrate digital tools into their teaching, overcoming the barrier to digital adoption in early education.
Elina is more than just a tool: it’s a transformative experience that empowers educators to tailor activities to each child's unique needs, making early childhood education more inspiring, efficient, and accessible.
Taina Mikkola, CEO and Founder of Elina Education
How can the Accelerator programme support you?
The Accelerator programme and Hub offer invaluable support by providing resources, mentorship and networking opportunities that are critical to scaling Elina’s impact in early childhood education.
Through expert guidance, the Accelerator helps us refine our business strategy, enhance product development and overcome the challenges of expanding into new markets. The Hub’s extensive network of industry leaders and potential partners also opens doors for collaborations that drive innovation and growth.
What are the next steps for your team?
The next steps for our team include expanding the capabilities of our solution and reaching a broader audience of educators.
We plan to enhance Elina’s current features by integrating more advanced analytics and AI-driven tools to provide deeper insights that further simplify educators’ work.
We are also planning outreach campaigns to connect with early childhood educators and institutions and highlight the unique benefits that Elina offers.