Fulbright-University of Vaasa Scholar Award

Purpose of the Grant Program

The award is intended for conducting high quality research, but some lecturing at the graduate or doctoral level during the visit is also welcomed. The award can be offered for any field represented by the following four schools or the three multidisciplinary research platforms below. Applicants are encouraged to contact the host schools and the research platforms to plan their grant activities.

The University of Vaasa has four schools for research and teaching:
•    School of Accounting and Finance
•    School of Management
•    School of Marketing and Communication
•    School of Technology and Innovations

In addition, the University of Vaasa has three multidisciplinary research platforms, which combine their strong disciplinary knowledge with prevailing global trends, and advance multi-, cross- and interdisciplinary research:

• Vaasa Energy Business Innovation Centre VEBIC provides international research infrastructure to serve both academic and industrial needs. It brings together know-how from the research and business communities responding to the global needs of efficient energy generation, distribution, and consumption, as well as energy business operations and sustainable societal development. It includes cutting-edge technical laboratories and a program for energy and sustainable development research projects which focuses on the wider business and societal impacts of new energy technologies.
• Digital Economy focuses on interdisciplinary research on innovations enabled by new technology and digitalization, as well as their impact on individuals, organizations, industry and society. Research objects include AI, machine learning, automation and the impact of digitalization on ways of working, communicating and building business.
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship InnoLab focuses on open innovations, user innovations, entrepreneurship, and public sector innovation and renewal. InnoLab also encourages the application of citizen science, open science and design thinking. The goal of InnoLab is to create innovative and unique research, and to promote new ways of doing science through inclusion, creativity, reduced hierarchies and active citizens.

The award is jointly funded by the University of Vaasa and the Fulbright Finland Foundation.

Benefits

The award is available for visits of 3–12 months. It includes:

• Monthly grant of 4,000 EUR  (approx. 4,500 USD*), paid out in euro in monthly installments.
• One-time travel allowance of 1,800 USD.
• Residence permit allowance based on the actual permit fees (incl. grantee and accompanying family members).
• Housing for the scholar and their accompanying family arranged and paid for by the host university.
• Work facilities and administrative support.
• Orientation and support services provided by the Fulbright Finland Foundation in Helsinki. For example, the Foundation will arrange a four-day arrival orientation in Helsinki for all U.S. Fulbright grantees at the end of August each year (orientation is also arranged in January for grantees arriving for the spring semester).
• Fulbright Finland mid-year activities and networking opportunities (such as the American Voices Seminar at the University of Turku) each year.
• The grantee will also be eligible, free of charge, to participate in a Fulbright Finland pre-approved summer school in Finland consisting of courses on Finnish language, culture and society, pending availability of suitable programs.

* amounts are subject to change due to currency fluctuations.

Eligibility

A candidate for the Fulbright-University of Vaasa Scholar Award must hold a Ph.D. degree and should have several years of research and teaching experience in their field. The candidate must be a U.S. citizen.

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.

U.S. Scholar Program eligibility guidelines and review criteria are published on the Council for International Exchange of Scholar (IIE/CIES) 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.

The University of Vaasa

Through high-quality research and education, the University of Vaasa creates sustainable solutions for the needs of the future. Their community supports individual development and creates the framework for success – today and in the future. They offer high-quality and relevant education in the fields of business, technology, administration and communication. Their multidisciplinary research programmes and strong disciplinary expertise provide an impactful research and learning environment that serves society and brings together business, management and technology experts.

An excellent working environment for research

The University of Vaasa has been awarded the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ award in recognition of its development work and commitment to the European Commission's principles regarding the implementation of fair and equal opportunity in the recruitment and appraisal procedures for researchers. By endorsing the principles, the University of Vaasa wants to contribute to the development of the European researcher area (ERA) and an open labor market for researchers.

At the university, researchers have access to two laboratories, which are equipped with modern and latest scientific instruments for conducting experiments and constructing models or prototypes.

Technobothnia - Research and development laboratory

Technobothnia is a wide-ranging laboratory unit which serves as a channel of cooperation between educational institutions, enterprises and other research institutes and technology centers in Finland. It has 25 specialized laboratories of different expertise in a total area of approximately 8000 square meters. Some of the laboratories include e.g. the following:

• Construction Engineering laboratory
• Energy Technology and Smart Grid laboratory
• Environmental laboratory
• Electrical laboratories
• Information Technology laboratories
• Mechanical Engineering laboratories
• Virtual and Augmented Reality laboratory

VEBIC laboratories

As VEBIC aims at applied solutions, piloting and testing new concepts are vital in this process. For this purpose, a unique infrastructure has been built up. The fuels, engine, smart grid and PAC laboratories are an essential part of the academic and research activities at the University of Vaasa. Important actors such as manufacturers of engines and power plants, automation companies and electrical engineering enterprises are located in the region and the laboratories allow close collaboration with the university and its research teams.

Bloomberg Lab

The Bloomberg Lab at the University of Vaasa gives students, teachers, and researchers the opportunity to use Bloomberg financial software tools, also known as the Bloomberg Terminal. The Bloomberg Terminal provides privileged access to economic, financial, and business real-time data, world news, analyses, and reports from the world’s biggest financial organisations.

Inspiring Community

The 5,000 students and 550 employees of the University of Vaasa thrive at the maritime campus located close to the city centre. The University of Vaasa embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities for all staff members. 30 percent of the university’s research and teaching staff come from outside of Finland. The students, researchers and other staff members represent more than 80 different nationalities.

The core values of the University of Vaasa are courage, community and responsibility. The university pays special attention to the wellbeing and personal development of the personnel, providing them comprehensive support services. Occupational wellbeing surveys show, that the strengths of the university are the work of the supervisors and communiality in particular.

The University of Vaasa is well positioned to interact actively with the surrounding society – internationally, nationally and regionally

The university is important to its region, just as the region is important to the university. The university operates at the heart of EnergyVaasa, the leading energy and environmental technology competence center in the Nordic countries. EnergyVaasa includes over 160 companies, several of which are global market leaders and employs over 12,000 experts from over 120 nations. Important partners in the surrounding region also includes the business community and municipalities, other universities and polytechnics, and the university consortiums in Seinäjoki and Kokkola.

In the Vaasa region, beautiful nature and urban city life can be easily combined. Everything in the Vaasa region is close by, and moving from one sort of atmosphere and experience to another is effortless. Vaasa has excellent connections and it is easy to reach. The airport is only 10 minutes from the centre of Vaasa.

How to Apply?

The application period for the academic year 2023-24 closes on September 15, 2022.

The U.S. program partner in the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is the IIE/CIES (Institute of International Education/Council for International Exchange of Scholars). Applications are submitted through IIE/CIES 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 IIE/CIES website.

Resources for Hosts

• Instructions for writing invitation letters and a checklist for a U.S. scholar's host

Timeline

Further Information

NOTE: July is traditionally a summer vacation month 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.

Useful links:

University of Vaasa
Guide for incoming researchers
University of Vaasa Visitors
Vaasa Region
This is Finland

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 Program 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.

Fulbright-University of Vaasa Scholar Award program is part of the global Fulbright program operating in over 160 countries worldwide.