The Fulbright Finland Foundation and the University of Eastern Finland have been cost-sharing grants for Finnish students and researchers to visit and conduct research at universities in the United States already since 1987. The partners celebrated the 30th anniversary of their collaboration at the Saastamoinen Foundation in Helsinki on November 21.
Key representatives from both foundations, the U.S. Embassy, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, together with past and current leadership of the University of Eastern Finland as well as alumni of the joint grant programs participated in the celebration.
- The partnership model created by the University of Eastern Finland, the Saastamoinen Foundation and the Fulbright Finland Foundation is quite unique among the Fulbright programs internationally and an excellent example of seamless cooperation in the advancement of internationalization of higher education and research, says Terhi Mölsä, Chief Executive Officer of the Fulbright Finland Foundation.
- The Fulbright Finland Foundation is one our most long-standing partners. The tripartite collaboration between the university, the Fulbright Finland Foundation and the Saastamoinen Foundation has also significantly contributed to the internationalisation and development of our research, says Jukka Mönkkönen, the Rector of the University of Eastern Finland.
During the event, the Fulbright Finland Foundation, the Saastamoinen Foundation and the University of Eastern Finland also renewed their cooperation agreements for the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Distinguished Chairs and Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Grants. Through these awards many American researchers in health and environmental sciences have been able to conduct pioneering research and lecture at the University of Eastern Finland.
Ossi Lindqvist, Rector Emeritus of the University of Kuopio and former Fulbright Finland Board Member, and Anitta Etula, Head of International Relations of the University of Eastern Finland, were both recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation for their three decades of dedicated service for the benefit of Finnish-American academic exchanges.
Already more than 60 researchers and students from the University of Eastern Finland have had the opportunity to broaden their networks, share their knowledge and learn from their colleagues in the United States through this collaboration. Respectively, the collaboration partners have supported many American scholars engaged in health and environmental sciences to work with colleagues at the UEF.
Approximately 60 American scholars and students have already visited the university through the Fulbright program.
Additional information:
Fulbright Finland Foundation, www.fulbright.fi, tel. 044 5535 286
Chief Executive Officer, Terhi Mölsä, tel. 050 570 5498
The University of Eastern Finland, Head of International Relations, Anitta Etula, tel. 050 590 5012
