Using Multiple Fulbright Finland Grants for Partnership Building: A Haaga-Helia Success Story

Through Fulbright Finland, we have found ways to begin and sustain a partnership between our two universities that has resulted in journal articles, conference presentations, a short student mobility experience, a collaborative online international learning (COIL) opportunity, and a joint memorandum of understanding between our universities.

The work together began when Chris came to Finland as a Fulbright-Haaga-Helia Scholar Awardee, and then Sini pursued the Fulbright Finland Travel Grants for Institutional Partnership Building, to visit The Ohio State University, then Chris returned to Finland as the Friends of Fulbright Finland (FoFF) Alumni Enrichment Awardee.

The support we have been provided by Fulbright Finland to build relationships between our two universities has been instrumental in forming our partnership, and it could not have been developed otherwise.

We continue to look for new ways to collaborate. We are currently working on a joint research project comparing the professional development needs of vocational education teachers in Finland and the U.S. 

We have also had conversations between our two university programs in hospitality management, to determine if that is another area for partnership development. We are also looking for ways to expand the a collaborative online international learning (COIL) opportunity to include other partner institutions.