Inter-Country Travel Grantee Loralie Heagy on her collaboaration visit in Finland

Inter-Country Travel Grant

Invite a U.S. Fulbright professional from elsewhere in Europe for a short visit to Finland!

Purpose of the Grant Program

The Inter-Country Travel Grant supports Finnish institutions to invite U.S. Fulbrighters for a short and impactful visit to Finland. The purpose of a maximum of 1-week visit can be lecturing, consulting, workshop, an evaluation/development project or other relevant outreach activity with wide impact. The IC Travel Grant welcomes participation from a wide array of institutions, including higher education institutions, research institutions, non-governmental organizations, government ministries, cultural institutions, and public health-related institutions.

Invite U.S. Fulbright scholars, teachers, professionals and advanced PhD students to Finland. Fulbrighters need to be on their Fulbright grant period during the Inter-Country visit.

Funded by the Fulbright Finland Foundation, the IC Travel Grant covers the invited Fulbrighter’s travel expenses (e.g. flights and public transport connections) from their current host city in Europe to the IC host city in Finland. 

Please note that the grant does not cover additional costs of the visit, such as food, accommodation, local transport during the visit, and other local expenses. The Finnish host and the Fulbrighter are expected to agree in advance on who will be responsible for these additional costs. 

This program has demonstrated the profound impact of international academic exchange, facilitating cross-cultural understanding and professional growth for both our team and the visiting scholar. The tangible outcomes, including the development of new research proposals and collaborations, highlight the program´s effectiveness in promoting academic excellence and global cooperation. - Inter-Country Travel Grantee Host
Inter-Country Travel Grantee Lorrie Heagy with Mirka McIntire, Manager of the Teacher Exchange and Education Programs (left), and Terhi Mölsä, Chief Executive Officer (right). Read about Lorrie's visit to Finland by clicking the photo.

If you are a U.S. Fulbrighter in Europe and looking for an Inter-Country visit to Finland, please continue reading here.

How to Apply

Institutions need to apply six weeks before the planned visit. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. In order to apply for an Inter-Country Travel Grant, Finnish institutions should follow the following steps:

1. Contact the U.S. Fulbrighter you would like to invite to Finland

If you don't have a specific Fulbright scholar in mind, you can consult the list of U.S. Fulbright scholars in Europe for the academic year 2024-25. You can search this list by academic discipline and specialization. Please note that this list includes only U.S. scholars in the Fulbright commission countries in Europe. 

Please contact us if you can't find a fit for your purposes from the list.

2. Agree the details of the visit with the U.S. Fulbrighter

  • Purpose and impact of the visit
  • Program day by day
  • Local costs such as accommodation, meals, and other resulting expenses
  • Transportation from the airport/bus or train station in Finland

If the host has not had previous contact with the Fulbright professional, the Foundation may initiate contact on the host's behalf.

3. Role of the Host

The Finnish institution is responsible for taking care of all practical arrangements related to the U.S. Fulbrighter's visit at the host institution and in the host city. Please read important information on the role of the Finnish host institution in making the visit successful.

We expect the host institution to take charge of planning the visit and organizing the following practicalities:

  • Making arrangements and schedules for the visiting Fulbrighter.
  • Helping to arrange accommodation for the visiting Fulbrighter.
  • Picking up the Fulbrighter from the airport/train station and taking them to the accommodation
  • Agreeing on local costs and who covers them. The breakdown of these costs needs to be included in the application.
  • Arranging possible work space and necessary equipment.
  • Helping the visiting Fulbrighter to make important local professional contacts. Introducing the scholar to the host institution faculty and staff and showing them around the university.
  • Helping to organize the Fulbrighter’s daily schedule
  • Completing a host report form that will be sent to the host after the visit, and submit it to the Fulbright Finland Foundation.

The host can also contact the Fulbright Finland Outreach Ambassadors at the institution to introduce the visiting Fulbrighter to a local contact and Fulbright Finland alumni. See the list of ambassadors here.

We kindly ask you to take a careful look at the more detailed Host Check List provided for the Finnish host institutions to help arrange a Fulbrighter’s visit. It is very important to familiarize yourself with the checklist and start preparing for the visit already well in advance before the scholar's arrival to Finland. (While some items included on the check list are geared towards longer Fulbright programs, most issues are relevant to all hosts of U.S. Fulbrighters in Finland).

Please note! Inter-Country Travel Grant recipients are not permitted to receive honoraria from the inviting Commission, post, or sponsoring institution, as per FFSB Policy 645.3b.

4. Fill out the Application

Please note that the application needs to be sent to the Fulbright Finland Foundation six weeks before the planned visit.

Send the application to the Fulbright Finland Foundation by submitting it to this Dropbox-folder.

The Fulbright Finland Foundation reviews the applications on a rolling basis. If the Foundation approves the request, we will contact the visiting Fulbrighter’s local Fulbright commission/U.S. Embassy to request their support for the visit. Once we receive this confirmation, the Fulbright Finland Foundation sends out the official award letter to the visiting Fulbrighter and the host.

Please follow these instruction if you have been awarded an IC grant.

We hope that communication about the visit and the project conveys that the visit has been supported by the Fulbright Finland Foundation.

The list of U.S. Fulbright Scholars in Europe for the academic year 2024-25 

Updated on June 17, 2024

The list includes information provided by Fulbright commissions in European countries that participate in the Inter-Country Travel Grant Program.

Alumni Experiences

  • Fulbright Finland News Magazine: Still Winds in Fiskars
  • Fulbright Finland News Magazine: Joy of Creating
  • Fulbright Finland News Magazine: Short Visit - Wide Impact
  • "In March 2019, I had the opportunity to travel from Amsterdam, the site of my Distinguished Awards in Teaching Inquiry Project, to Finland as a proud recipient of the Fulbright Finland Inter-Country Travel Grant. After attending two outstanding and thought-provoking events organized by Fulbright Finland in Helsinki, I had the opportunity to travel north to Jyvaskyla. I had the privilege of facilitating the ELOPETO Learning Cafe for a group of career and guidance counselors, whereby we examined and evaluated the state of career/guidance counseling and educational pathways in the United States. The conversation that resulted was enlightening, as the participants were able to understand the value of their work not only for the individuals to whom they provide support, but also for the economy and society overall. On my second day in Jyvaskyla, I had the opportunity to spend the day at the Gradia Education Consortium where I was able to take a deep dive into both upper secondary and vocational education systems and structures. I was impressed to learn that within the upper secondary education system in Finland, students have extensive choice in their coursework. Students have the opportunity to create individualized academic pathways based on their strengths and interests, while also obtaining a strong foundation in other content areas such as mother tongue and social studies. I also believe that US high schools should take a close look at how the academic school year is divided. Rather than using semesters or even trimesters, the year is broken up into five periods for eight weeks each. I see tremendous value in making courses more intensive over shorter periods of time." - Fulbright Finland Inter-Country Travel Grant awardee 2018-2019

History and Background of the Inter-Country Travel Grant Program

Worldwide Scholar Directory

Approximately 250 American lecturers and researchers representing a variety of academic fields participate in the Fulbright Scholar Program in Europe. Thus, a specialist fitting your department's teaching may be close by. A list of each year's U.S. Fulbright Scholars Directory is published annually around October.

Fulbright Scholars who are in European countries without a Fulbright Commission can also be found on this list and it is possible for Finnish institutions to apply for an Inter-Country grant for these grantees.

 

For Commission and Post use only: ECA EUR Regional Inter-Country Travel Grant Program

 

List of U.S. scholars in Europe for the previous academic years

  • Total countries listed for 2016-2017: 23/23 + EU. See 
  • Total countries listed for 2015-2016: 23/23 + EU. See 
  • Total countries listed for 2014-2015: 23/24 + EU. See 

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 Finnish higher education institutions.

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.