This prestigious appointment in the Fulbright Scholar Program is available for scholars and specialists for visits of 3–9 months in the areas of expertise within any of the following themes:
For the academic year 2026-2027, the Fulbright-Aalto University Distinguished Chair provides U.S. scholars with the opportunity to conduct research and teach at Aalto University:
The grant is jointly funded by Aalto University and the Fulbright Finland Foundation (the Finnish Fulbright Commission).
The Fulbright-Aalto University Distinguished Chair will lecture and conduct research. The award emphasizes projects that highlight active research work but the Chair is expected to do some teaching as well. The position can be awarded for any field but the applicant‘s area of expertise should fall within the interdisciplinary themes mentioned above.
Aalto University strives to provide a very friendly and collegial atmosphere to pursue a variety of professional activities in research, teaching and lecturing. Collaboration is encouraged such as research and writing joint publications with Finnish colleagues and mentoring student research at the master's and doctoral levels. In addition to teaching at Aalto University, the Fulbright-Aalto University Distinguished Chair has the opportunity to network and create linkages throughout Finland and give occasional guest lectures at other Finnish universities.
The Fulbright-Aalto Distinguished Chair is available for visits of 3–9 months. It includes:
* amounts are subject to change due to currency fluctuations.
** should be confirmed in the letter of invitation.
Read about Professor Peter Hans Matthews' visit to Finland as a Fulbright-Aalto University Distinguished Chair!
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. Send your self-assessment with a description of the disability and the specific accommodations requested to the Foundation ([email protected]) by the grant application deadline.
Please note that disclosing the need for disability accommodation does not affect the review and selection process.
Distinguished Chair eligibility guidelines and review criteria are published on the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program website.
In Finland, the applications are evaluated according to the evaluation criteria set by the Fulbright Finland Foundation Board.
Applicants residing in Finland are not eligible for a Fulbright grant.
Aalto University was founded in 2010 by merging three leading Finnish institutions - Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki - as a societally embedded, innovative research university for a better world.
Today, the university has six schools, 12,000 full-time equivalent degree students from over 100 countries, and a staff of about 4,000, of which 400 are professors. The share of international academic faculty is close to 50%. Aalto University is one of Europe’s most international universities.
The campus in Espoo's Otaniemi supports Aalto University's vision for building an innovative society. The campus has turned into a world-class collaboration hub combining high tech, art and design and business in a unique way and driving one of Europe's leading start-up ecosystems. Otaniemi is about 15 minutes from the city center of Helsinki. The campus and its immediate vicinity is the site for many of Finland’s largest companies’ headquarters, not to mention home to a great number of smaller companies.
The U.S. program partner in the Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program is the Institute of International Education IIE. Applications are submitted through IIE and forwarded to discipline-based peer review committees in the U.S. Applications that pass this initial peer review in the U.S. are forwarded to the Fulbright Finland Foundation in Helsinki to be reviewed by the Fulbright Finland Foundation’s review committees. The Fulbright Finland Foundation makes the funding decisions and final selections of grantees.
Additional information and detailed application instructions are available from the Fulbright Finland Foundation and the Fulbright Scholar Program websites.
Applicants are required to include a letter of invitation from the relevant unit at Aalto University. Before applying, the applicants are strongly advised to contact Jérôme Rickmann ([email protected]) to facilitate the internal process at Aalto University. The letter of invitation must be signed by the Dean of the respective school, and include information on the agreed teaching and research plan, length and dates of the proposed visit, and confirmation that the host institution will fund the monthly grant payment and pay for and arrange housing (for the scholar and accompanying family) during the visit (Finnish host institution should refer to these instructions).
NOTE: Late June, July and early August are traditionally summer vacation months in Finland and responses to inquiries may be delayed. Applicants are advised to contact the Finnish host institution well ahead of time to solicit an invitation letter for their application. Please note that the Fulbright Finland Foundation office observes the summer Finnish holiday season and is closed in July. If you have urgent inquiries, kindly contact us prior to July.
Contact Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulbright Finland Foundation (overall program related questions) | Aalto University (host institution related questions) | ||
| Karoliina Kokko Senior Program Manager +358 44 5535 268 [email protected] | Dr. Jérôme Rickmann Senior Advisor, Global Engagement Leadership Support Services +358 50 430 5770 [email protected] | ||
TIMELINE | |
|---|---|
| Application period start: | February 2025 |
| Application period end: | September 15, 2025 |
| Earliest possible starting date: | August 2026 or January 2027 |
| Mandatory orientation: | TBC (expected to take place in mid-August 2026 and mid-January 2027) |
Useful links:
The Fulbright Finland Foundation is a private, independent, not-for-profit organization based in Helsinki, Finland. The Foundation’s aim is
Fulbright-Aalto Distinguished Chair program is part of the global Fulbright program operating in over 160 countries worldwide.
