Year in Focus

1.10.2023-30.9.2024
Headshot of Timo Korkeamäki, member of the Fulbright Finland Foundation Board
Timo Korkeamäki
Chair of the Fulbright Finland Foundation Board of Directors

Letter from the Chair of the Fulbright Finland Foundation Board of Directors coming soon.

Highlights 

  • Over EUR 1,7 million awarded as grants, co-sponsored grants included. 
  • Total of 114 grantees (37 grantees to the U.S., 77 U.S. grantees to Finland). 
  • 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Finland Foundation. The anniversary year was celebrated e.g. at the receptions hosted by the Governments of Finland (in May) and the United States (in August), as well as at Mystic Seaport, CT with over 60 alumni, grantees, partners, and friends of the Foundation.
  • President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb is Patron of the Foundation’s anniversary year.  
  • Ambassadors’ Circle Scholarship, initiated by the Foundation’s Honorary Chair, the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland, Douglas T. Hickey, was created by donations from Finnish and U.S. companies, as well as private philanthropists. 
  • Tampere University was recognized as the “Top Producer of Fulbright Awards”, having sponsored 32 long-term research and degree-study awards during the past 10 years. 
  • A new pilot program expanding collaboration with the Nokia Foundation to offer awards for Finnish postdoctoral researchers in ICT fields to conduct research at U.S. universities. 
  • Commitment from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture to fund grants for Fulbright U.S. doctoral students to Finland (through the Finnish National Agency for Education). 
  • In partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the Foundation organized a Fulbright-Hays Seminar in Finland in the summer 2024, bringing 16 K-8 educators to Finland for a 3,5-week study tour. 

Grant Programs 

  • Altogether 26 grant programs to the U.S. for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, teachers, and other working professionals.  
  • Altogether 35 grant programs to Finland for graduate students, researchers and lecturers, teachers and other working professionals, specialists, and alumni of the Fulbright Finland Foundation programs.  
  • The first Finnish Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Awardee and first recipient of the Fulbright Finland Centennial Award were announced.  
  • Three Finnish scholars were selected to participate in the fourth cohort of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative to address key research and policy questions to support Arctic security.   
  • Fulbright Leaders for Global Schools Travel Grantees were invited to join the International School Leaders Association (ISLA) meeting in Minneapolis with a focus on Reimagining Schools and Support for Immigrant and Refugee Students. 

Alumni 

  • Over 6 200 alumni since 1949 (over 4 000 from Finland and over 2 200 from the U.S.); 
  • The first combined alumni message was sent to the whole alumni community across the globe. 1599 alumni receive the message. 
  • In Finland, 958 alumni are on the Fulbright Finland Foundation’s Alumni Message list; total of 75 members in the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association in Finland; 36 alumni participate in the Fulbright Finland Outreach Ambassadors program in Finland; and 38 alumni participated in the Buddy Program in Finland serving as friends and mentors for U.S. grantees. 

Statistics 2024 

  • Over 5100 client contacts in total, event participants included. Approximately 20 % of all contacts, event participants included, were international educational professionals. 
  • Over 90 information sessions, seminars, conferences, and Fulbright Speaker Program sessions online and around the country. For example, the Foundation collaborated with the Finnish Ministry of Education in featuring both U.S. and Finnish Fulbright Leaders for Global Schools Fellows at EDUCA (with 15 800 participants on two days). 
  • Website: over 245 000 pageviews and over 134 000 website visitors. 

Core Funding (partnership awards not included)  

  • 58,2 % from Finland (Trust Fund, Finnish government allocation, private foundations, Finnish universities, other)
  • 41,8% from the United States (18,8 % U.S. government allocation; 21,8% one-time project grant for 2024; 1,1 % other)

Impact Statements 

"The opportunity to complete a semester at one of the top universities in my field globally alone was incredible. As a Fulbrighter, not only was I surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the game, but viewed as a peer and as a valuable member of the community. Through Fulbright and my host university, as well as at various trainings, events and over countless lunches and coffees, I got to meet and exchange ideas with so many fascinating people from different fields and backgrounds. I know that I will bring these lessons back to my home university and my research, but I will also carry them with me throughout my life." 

- Ulla Henttonen, 2023-24 ASLA-Fulbright Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow, George Washington University

"My time in Finland has not only contributed to my scholarly development with an avenue to do more meaningful research with valuable Finnish colleagues that would have otherwise just been acquaintances in conferences, but also enriched my overall perspective in life in a way that will allow me to evaluate and process experiences with newly acquired cultural lenses and skills." 

- Mujde Yuksel, 2023-24 Fulbright-University of Vaasa Scholar Award

"The Fulbright stipend facilitated a highly fruitful and productive collaboration with a distinguished expert in our field. The extended visit enabled more comprehensive planning, as well as detailed work on data collection and modeling. Most importantly, it fostered deeper scientific discussions." 

- Host of a U.S. Fulbright Scholar

See previous years