Fulbright Finland News Magazine
The Finnish-American Society in Science, Innovation, and Arts has officially launched!
Initiated by the Embassy of Finland in Washington, DC, this new platform fosters transatlantic collaboration by bringing together individuals across disciplines and borders.
Finland already enjoys robust networks of scientists, researchers, Finnish-American cultural organizations, friends of Finland, university alumni, and international science diplomacy groups in the United States. This initiative seeks to unite these communities under one umbrella.
This broader network is vital for many reasons—not least because of its potential to contribute to solving global challenges.
“In today’s rapidly changing world, no country can innovate in isolation. Global challenges demand global solutions. That is why science diplomacy—building bridges through research and innovation—is more important than ever,” says Ambassador of Finland Leena-Kaisa Mikkola.
It was a full house at the launch event at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, DC, in late May. A third of the participants were grantees and alumni of the Fulbright Finland Foundation.
Connecting Communities
Since the inception of its programs in 1949, the Fulbright Finland Foundation has supported more than 6 300 Finnish and American grantees. Over 2 200 of them are U.S. alumni living in the United States, with the Foundation maintaining regular contact with more than 1 000 of them. The vast majority continue to maintain ties—or active collaborations—with their Finnish counterparts, building on relationships formed during their time in Finland.
“This is a living, active, evolving, and impactful network of experts and specialists,” says CEO Terhi Mölsä. “And I am thrilled that through the new Finnish-American Society in Science, Innovation, and Arts, we now have the opportunity to connect our Fulbright Finland network with the many other U.S.-based communities and networks linked to Finland. There is immense value in connecting people across these communities.”
After the remarks by Ambassador Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, and Fulbright Finland Foundation CEO Terhi Mölsä, the program included a keynote by Antti Pulkkinen, Director of the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Finland’s Honorary Consul in Boston Henrik Tötterman led a lively panel with leading experts from the Washington science diplomacy community discussing different models for diaspora networks and highlighting international examples and best practices.
The Embassy of Finland organized the launch event in collaboration with the Fulbright Finland
Foundation, the Finnish-American Research and Innovation Accelerator (FARIA), and the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA). The initiative was spearheaded by Petri Koikkalainen and Hannakaisa Andersson from the Embassy.
As the network grows, more events and opportunities for collaboration are on the horizon, so stay tuned!
For more information about the Finnish-American Society please contact Petri Koikkalainen at the Embassy of Finland at [email protected]
Read the whole Fulbright Finland News 1/2025!
