Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Award

The application round for the academic year 2025-26 closed on October 1, 2024!

Purpose of the Grant Program

This award is designed to enable Finnish professionals and postdoctoral researchers to conduct research or professional projects in any discipline on topics of current and global importance at any appropriate U.S. institution or organization. Please note that non-academic affiliations require special review and separate approval is needed.

The Fulbright Finland Foundation operates under the brand promise “Together Shaping the Future” and its vision is to “empower the minds that will find global solutions to tomorrow’s challenges by fostering academic and professional expertise and excellence in leadership”. The new award was created to support the Foundation’s vision and its strategic objectives.

The award can be applied by professionals and postdoctoral researchers (postdoctoral researchers should have completed their PhD less than 4 years ago at the time of the application deadline) who want to impact the future and make a difference, finding solutions to current and global challenges through their research or professional projects. The proposed project should focus on a timely topic with global importance and produce benefits of significance to a wider community. Projects that are focused at a local level that have the ability to address international and global challenges are considered. Projects aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are encouraged.

Proposals for medical research involving clinical training, patient care or patient contact are not eligible. Please contact the Fulbright Finland Foundation if you have any questions about the eligibility of your project.

Read about the experience of the first Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges awardee, Heikki Hietala, from the Fulbright Finland News!

Project focus areas could include (but are not limited to) the following:

Governance, Peace, and Wellbeing

• Global Health
• Equitable Societies
• Human Rights and Inclusive Societies
• Women in Society
• Preventing Radicalization
• Peace Mediation
• Multilateralism
• Education and Innovation

Shared Environments

• Sustainability
• Climate Change
• Arctic Cooperation
• Circular Economy
• Energy and Resources

Emerging Technologies & Hybrid Threats

• Artificial Intelligence
• Cybersecurity
• Media Literacy, Disinformation, and Societal Resilience

Managing Migration & Humanitarian Crises

• Displaced Persons, Refugees, & Asylum Seekers
• Irregular Migration
• Economic Migrants

Cost of living in the U.S. 

The cost of living in the U.S. has been increasing recently and can be significantly higher than in Finland depending on city. The total costs (including potential host institution fees, insurance, and living costs) vary by institution and city. Living costs (accommodation, meals, and everyday expenses) typically range anywhere between USD 3 200 to 4 850 per month depending on the city. It is important to estimate the total costs of the grant term as accurately as possible and budget accordingly. 

For example, renting a studio apartment in high-rent regions such as San Francisco Bay Area, Stanford University campus, and New York City may cost between USD 2 500 and USD 3 000.

Benefits

• Grant: The grant is max. USD 5 000 per month up to 6 months (maximum total grant amount USD 30 000) for all applicants regardless of the category through which they are applying. If the grantee wishes to stay longer than 6 months, it is possible up to 12 months allowed by the Fulbright visa. If the stay requires additional funding, the grantee is responsible for securing appropriate funding for the entire stay.
• Personal advising and guidance services: Supporting you before and during the grant term. 
• Free visa: J-1 visa for you, and J-2 visa for family members who travel with you
• Orientation training: Extensive orientation training to U.S. culture, the higher education system, and details for the upcoming Fulbright period, including online materials, virtual meetings, and an orientation day in Helsinki.
• Networking opportunities: Enabling you to build connections professionally and internationally in Finland and the U.S. As a Fulbright grantee, you are provided an opportunity to participate in the Fulbright enrichment activities (Fulbright Enrichment Seminars, events, and workshops) allowing you to connect with fellow grantees from all around the world as well as local community members. In addition, you will be joining a global network of 400 000+ alumni as well as the Fulbright Finland alumni community.

You can find the full list of additional benefits and program services here.

Support for Grantees with Disabilities

Extra funding support is available for grantees with disabilities. If you have a disability that would cause additional costs for the grant term, contact the Foundation to discuss reasonable accommodations. Email the Foundation (emmi.jelekainen@fulbright.fi/[email protected]) by the grant application deadline your self-assessment with a description of the disability and the specific accommodations requested.

Please note that disclosing the need for disability accommodation does not affect the review and selection process.

How to Apply?

The Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Award is a special award and it can be granted under either of the Fulbright Finland Foundation grant programs listed below. In other words, there are no separate application instructions for the Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Award but the award name can be selected in the visiting scholar online application. Please note that other relevant applications to the two grant programs listed below are automatically considered for the award as well. There is no set number of available awards. The Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Award may not be given in all the eligible grant categories every year.

To apply for the Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Award, please read the grant details and follow the application instructions in the links below.

Alumni listing and experiences

Hietala, Heikki
Public Policy
Fulbright project: Digital Foreign Policy
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Helsinki
Stanford University, CA
ASLA-Fulbright Mid-Career Professional Development Grant
11 months, beginning August 2023 

Read about Heikki's experiences from the Fulbright Finland News!

Fulbright Finland Outreach Ambassadors are happy to share their experiences from the U.S. Feel free to contact them.

What is the Fulbright Finland Foundation?

The Fulbright Finland Foundation is a private, independent, not-for-profit organization based in Helsinki, Finland. The Foundation’s aim is

• to promote a wider exchange of knowledge and professional talents through educational contacts between Finland and the United States, and
• to support the internationalization of education and research in Finland, and help U.S. and Finnish institutions create linkages.

What Makes the Fulbright Finland Foundation Programs Unique?

• In addition to the grant, the Fulbright Finland Foundation offers the grantees several additional benefits and free support services, as well as an access to a global, multi-professional network.
• We are looking for applicants who want to impact the future and to make a difference – applicants who want to facilitate positive change, develop and advance their own profession or discipline, and find solutions to national and international challenges in their field.
• The grantees also act as ambassadors for the Fulbright Finland Foundation, their home country, and their home organization and, in this way, do their part in sharing their home country and culture and contributing to the relations between Finland and the U.S.