biannual magazine published by the fulbright finland foundation
visiting columnist: finnish minister of education
Screenwriter Mikko Alanne and
Stories of Courage
From U.S. Coast Guard to
World's Capital of Icebreaking
Telling Stories that Matter
Promoting Internationalization of
Education and Research
Fulbright Seminar on Cybersecurity
FULBRIGHT FINLAND
THE
ISSUE 67 VOL. 28 SPRING 2018
2 | www.fulbright.fi
Investing in Academic, Scientific, and Professional Collaboration
T he Fulbright Finland Foundation has a spe-
cial mandate to advance the internation-
alization of higher education and research
in Finland and to help Finnish higher education
institutions create linkages and sustainable collab-
oration with U.S. universities. In this issue of the
Fulbright Finland News, we share some of the many
ways in which we fulfill this mandate, including
creating new grant opportunities through strategic
partnerships (p. 4), organizing capacity building
workshops (p. 10), and promoting Finnish educa-
tion and research to key audiences in the United
States (p. 5). As our invited columnist, we are so
pleased to have Ms. Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, the
Finnish Minister of Education, assess the signifi-
cance and impact of Fulbright Finland on the inter-
nationalization efforts from the perspective of the
Finnish higher education and science policy (p. 3).
THE VISION OF FULBRIGHT FINLAND is to
empower the minds that will find global solutions
to tomorrow’s challenges. Today, Fulbrighters are
collaboratively tackling some of the most urgent
issues facing the global community. They recognize
that the challenges we face cannot be addressed by
using the higher education, knowledge, and inno-
vation resources of one nation alone. They must be
addressed together. Therefore, it is imperative that
we invest in academic, scientific, and professional
collaboration. This became powerfully evident in
the discussions and debates of our annual Fulbright
Forum seminar in Helsinki (p. 9). The takeaways
from Fulbright Finland’s special regional semi-
nar on “Making Democracies Resilient to Modern
Threats” were equally eye-opening (p. 6). Among
the many themes of current and global importance,
Fulbright Finland also continues to support Arctic
research, and will host the Fulbright Arctic Initia-
tive scholars in Finland for their mid-term plenary
week again in 2019 (p. 4).
THE TRUE MEASURE OF SUCCESS of any exchange
program is the impact of its participants. Hence it
is our alumni who figure most prominently in this
magazine, sharing their work and experiences, and
plans for shaping the future. I hope you enjoy read-
ing the 67th issue of the Fulbright Finland News –
with the same strategic focus but with a new look!
Terhi Mölsä
Chief Executive Officer
Fulbright Finland Foundation
IN THIS ISSUE 6
810
MAKING DEMOCRACIES RESILIENT TO MODERN THREATSCountering network intrusions and misinformation
NEW FULBRIGHT FINLAND GRANTEES38 New Awardees
WORKSHOP ON SUCCESS-FUL STUDENT MOBILITYSharing practical solutions for creating lasting partnerships
4 News 14 Alumni in Focus: Mikko Alanne 18 Alumni News
FROM THE EDITOR
WILLIAM WOITYRA U.S. Coast Guard officer reflects
on his Fulbright in Finland
Cover photo: Patrik Barck
12
www.fulbright.fi | 3
Fulbright is a Valuable Partner in Internationalization Efforts
I ncreasing international connections at all levels of education is an important strategic goal for Finnish education and science poli-
cies. The Fulbright program plays an important role in our efforts to achieve this goal.
From the very beginning, the Fulbright pro-gram has been a pioneer in developing rela-tions between Finland and the United States. By enhancing academic and cultural co -operation between our countries, the program has enabled students and scholars to build networks, especially personal ones. From its inception, the Fulbright partnership has pro-vided new opportunities for strengthening the interaction between our countries.
The program has aged gracefully, yet is continuing to expand. Over the years, the importance of Fulbright grantees for the Finn-ish scientific community and the training of researchers has been widely recognized, even by corporate management and political leadership.
For example, more than half of all professors at the University of Helsinki in the 1990s were “Fulbrighters”. The Finnish alumni commu-nity of the Fulbright program consists of more than 3,700 scholars and students and includes experts in scientific and cultural fields of study. Among the alumni are two winners of the Fin-landia Literary Prize, and even a Nobel Laureate in Economics. It is clear that Fulbright alumni are making an impact in science, the arts and other sectors of society both in Finland and in the United States.
Over the decades, the Fulbright Finland Foundation has grown an active network of hundreds of alumni also in the United States. In 2017, the American alumni network, Friends of Fulbright Finland, launched a project called Centennial Ambassadors. This initiative is now a permanent part of the Finnish higher educa-tion marketing actions in the United States.
Finnish Fulbright grantees are well-known ambassadors of Finland’s higher education system and research institutions abroad. They have played an important part in supporting Finnish educational and research cooperation and the export of Finnish knowledge, exper-tise and educational innovation. In the strat-egy “Policies to Promote Internationalisation in Higher Education and Research”, drawn up by the Ministry of Education and Culture and Finnish higher education institutions, the exis-tence of such networks is recognized as an asset that needs to be actively fostered.
In fall 2018, Finland will post a permanent “ambassador”, who is an expert in educa-tion and science policies, to Washington, D.C. The expert will be part of the newly launched global Team Finland Knowledge network of educational experts. He or she will promote Finland-U.S. cooperation in the field of higher education, research and science and raise awareness of Finland as a country of high-qual-ity education, research and innovations. This is an excellent new opening to build contacts.
THE FINNISH ASLA-FULBRIGHT PROGRAM was founded as early as in 1949. This means that next year marks the 70th anniversary of the Fulbright cooperation. I do not think there were many people back in the 1940s who could have imagined that Fulbright activities would grow into what they are today: a broad transatlantic bridge between Finland and the United States. However, that is exactly what has happened. This bridge has served us well and has provided a safe and solid route for many Finns and Amer-icans to take part in educational exchanges overseas — and I am convinced that it will con-tinue to do so also in the future.
Sanni Grahn-LaasonenMinister of Education
VISITING COLUMNIST
Finnish Fulbright
grantees are well-known
ambassadors of Finland’s
higher education
system and research
institutions abroad.
4 | www.fulbright.fi
Two New Grant
Opportunities
FULBRIGHT SUPPORTING ARCTIC RESEARCH
NEWS
Soili Nystén-Haarala
Daria Gritsenko
Fulbright Arctic Scholars engage with govern-
ments, NGOs, businesses, and Arctic communi-
ties through individual research exchange visits,
online collaborations, and through a series of group
seminars in Canada, Finland and the United States.
The Fulbright Finland Foundation will organize the
Mid-term Plenary Week for the Arctic scholars in
Finland in late February 2019.
The initiative is sponsored by the U.S. State
Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs and it supports interdisciplinary research for
scholars from Arctic Council member countries. The
Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum that
includes Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Nor-
way, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. Finland
has the chairmanship of the Council in 2017–2019.
www.fulbright.fi/en/fulbright-arctic-initiative
S ixteen scholars from the Arctic Council
member countries have begun their joint
work in the second cohort of Fulbright Arc-
tic Initiative, collaborating on multi-disciplinary
research to advance Arctic nations’ shared inter-
est in building resilient communities and sustain-
able economies. The Fulbright Arctic Scholars are
exploring topics such as renewable energy, fish-
eries management, health and wellness, and tele-
communications infrastructure in the Arctic over
the ongoing 18-month program.
The scholar participants were selected from
the eight member countries of the Arctic Council
and they include two scholars from Finland: Soili
Nystén-Haarala from the University of Lapland and
Daria Gritsenko from the University of Helsinki.
Elizabeth Rink from Montana State University, in
turn, will be visiting Finland through the program.
Master’s Degree Studies in Tampere
The Fulbright-Tampere University Graduate Award
offers a full two-year tuition scholarship for U.S.
Fulbright students entering a Master’s degree
program at the University of Tampere or Tampere
University of Technology. In addition, the awardee
receives a monthly maintenance allowance for
living expenses for one academic year, a travel
allowance, full Fulbright Finland program support
services, and an opportunity to participate in an
introductory summer school in Finland on Finnish
language, culture and society.
The award is targeted primarily for Master’s
degree studies, but academically talented doc-
toral students and Master’s degree exchange stu-
dents will also be considered. Fulbright Finland
Foundation has similar partnership awards with
University of Turku, University of Helsinki and
Lappeenranta University of Technology.
Business Studies in Florida
Fulbright Finland Partnership Award with the
University of South Florida provides the Finnish
awardees with an opportunity to complete a full
Master’s degree or non-degree studies in Mar-
keting, Information Systems/Analytics, Account-
ing or Finance at USF. The awardees will receive a
tuition waiver, a position of a Graduate Assistant
with a stipend of 12,500 USD per year from the
University of South Florida. The benefits include
also Fulbright Finland orientation training and
support services.
This cooperation was launched at the initia-
tive of Professor James Stock, Fulbright-Hanken
Distinguished Chair in Business and Economics.
His grant at Hanken School of Economics spanned
multiple visits in 2016 and 2017.
Fulbright Finland launches two new partnerships to benefit U.S. and Finnish graduate students.
SIM
ON
KEL
LOGG
www.fulbright.fi | 5
Emily Olsen
Tiffany Viggiano
NEWS
Roth-Thomson Awards to Olsen and ViggianoFulbright-EDUFI Fellows Emily Olsen
and Tiffany Viggiano received the 2018
Roth-Thomson Awards. The award sup-
ports Emily Olsen’s plan to travel to meet
bullying prevention program KiVa devel-
opers and Finland’s LGBTQ advocacy NGO,
SETA. Emily is currently completing her
doctoral degree on Epidemiology at the
University of Tampere. Her doctoral the-
sis focuses on school violence and bul-
lying disparities among sexual minority
adolescents.
Tiffany Viggiano conducts research
on global responsibility at the Univer-
sity of Jyväskylä. With the award, she
T he unique features of Finnish higher
education and building capacity for
more U.S. students to study in Finland
– these were the focus of a presentation
by Fulbright Finland CEO Terhi Mölsä to
an audience of approximately 250 inter-
national educators at the recent NAFSA
conference in Philadelphia. She shared
the stage on a NAFSA panel with the U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State for Educa-
tional and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce.
In addition, Terhi Mölsä spoke at a work-
shop for nearly 40 U.S. campus advisors
from around the United States who work
with advising U.S. students and scholars
on Fulbright grant opportunities.
Promoting Finnish Education in the United States
Destination Finland: Expanding U.S. Study
Abroad - a briefing paper authored jointly
by the Institute of International Education
(IIE), the Fulbright Finland Foundation,
and the Finnish National Agency for Edu-
cation came out just in time for NAFSA and
was distributed during the conference.
Fulbright Finland alumna Ann F.
Brandt served as the speaker at a separate
Finland brunch organized during the con-
ference. Annie works as Speech-Language
Pathologist at the Greater Latrobe School
District. She participated in the Fulbright
Distinguished Awards in Teaching Pro-
gram in Finland in 2016. Annie spoke to
the audience about her study and research
expands her project to include an element
of sharing the research outcomes with the
institutional and political actors who can
influence policy. She presents her find-
ings with members of parliament and the
educational community around Finland.
Roth Endowment Awards are granted
annually to U.S. Fulbright students in
Finland focusing on the arts, humanities
and social sciences. Fulbright Finland
Foundation has worked with the Lois Roth
Endowment since 1991.
experiences in Finland and the lasting
cooperation and the continuing ripple
effects of her Fulbright term. The event
was hosted by Kristina Mattila, the Finn-
ish Honorary Consul in Pennsylvania, and
organized by the Finnish National Agency
for Education.
An electronic version of “Destination Finland” can be found at: https://bit.ly/2sQJR4A.
Kristina Mattila, Annie Brandt and Terhi Mölsä.
6 | www.fulbright.fi
D emocratic societies, institutions, and
individual citizens are facing entirely
new challenges in the modern era: net-
work-based intrusions, misinformation and ‘fake
news,’ influence campaigns, and many more. These
threats have the potential to disrupt economic
activity and development, threaten the national
security of like-minded nations, jeopardize indi-
vidual privacy, and sow mistrust among citizens
towards their national and collective democratic
institutions.
This regional academic seminar under the
title of “Making Democracies Resilient to Modern
Threats” highlighted a wide range of threats and
provided strategies for institutions and individuals
to understand and deal with them. Presentations
by leading researchers and experts in the field
focused on how to recognize disinformation and
influence campaigns, media literacy and the role
of media organizations and individual journalists,
security in digital spaces, and positive examples of
how democracies are currently countering these
threats.
The keynote address was delivered by Professor
Making Democracies Resilient to Modern Threats
CYBERSECURITY SEMINAR
Richard Harknett from the University of Cincinnati
who was the inaugural U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Scholar
in Cybersecurity in 2017 and the first scholar-
in-residence at U.S. Cyber Command in 2016.
The impressive lineup of panelists also included
Jonathan Albright from Columbia, Matthew A.
Baum from Harvard, Adam Berinsky from MIT,
Briony Swire-Thompson from Northeastern Uni-
versity and Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social
Sciences, and Oskari Eronen from Crisis Manage-
ment Institute. The seminar was moderated by Jed
Willard from Harvard.
The seminar was organized by the Fulbright
Finland Foundation in cooperation with the Finn-
ish Prime Minister’s Office, the Finnish Ministry
for Foreign Affairs, and the United States Depart-
ment of State. It was hosted by the Metropolia
University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. The
seminar attracted over 190 government officials,
academic researchers, senior field experts, tech-
nology experts, corporate advisors, journalists and
media professionals. Over 30 of the participants
came from abroad representing all of the Nordic
and Baltic countries and the United States.
Seminar program, presentations, photos, and further readings: www.fulbright.fi/en/making-democracies-resilient
Network-based intrusions, influence campaigns, misinformation and ‘fake news’ were the focus of
a recent Fulbright Finland seminar in Helsinki.
Text TERHI MÖLSÄ Photos STUDIO TERHO PHOTOGRAPHY
www.fulbright.fi | 7
CYBERSECURITY SEMINAR
Richard Harknett concluded his keynote by stressing the importance of an active civic culture, critical thinking, and face-to-face cultural exchanges in building democracies more resilient to digital threats. “Fulbright got it right. The alternative to digital tribalism is face-to-face cross-cultural exchange.”
Briony Swire-Thompson presented on cognitive approaches to the correction of misinformation.
Jonathan Albright (left) spoke about how social media platforms are used to interfere with democratic processes, in a panel with Matthew A. Baum, and Jed Willard.
FULBRIGHT ALUMNI FROM NORDIC AND BALTIC
countries met in a special event organized by the
Fulbright Finland Foundation in conjunction with
the public seminar.
The Foundation sponsored the participation
for alumni and grantees from the region to attend
the meeting and participate in the seminar. The
purpose was to create new networks in the region,
discuss the theme of the seminar, and to talk about
ways in which Fulbright as a program is responding
to current and global challenges. Close to 30 Ful-
bright grantees and alumni attended the meeting.
The participants also had an opportunity to meet for
a small-group in-depth discussion over lunch with
the keynote speaker Dr. Richard Harknett, and the
day concluded with an invitational reception for fur-
ther networking with the invited experts attending
the seminar.
Many of the participating Fulbright alumni from
the Nordic and Baltic countries currently work in
government or private sector positions in which
the theme of the seminar is highly relevant and
they can apply the takeaways from the seminar
directly in their day-to-day work. However, irre-
Fulbright got it right. The alternative to digital tribalism is
face-to-face cross-cultural exchange.
spective of their professional occupation, all found
the topic to be of importance to them as individual
citizens. U.S. graduate student Chitti Desai flew to
the Helsinki seminar from Norway, where she cur-
rently works as a Fulbright U.S. Student Research
Fellow. “It is incredibly important for everyone to
be critical of the threats to democracy brought on
particularly by the internet and social media, and
I laud Fulbright Finland for organizing the sem-
inar around this pressing theme,” she says. Lat-
vian Fulbright alum Olevs Nikers agrees: “Media
literacy is a key. My personal takeaway was double
checking my own definition of democracy which is
all about compromise and thoughtful engagement
by members of our society.”
“The terrifying take home message for me is
that the recent attacks are just the beginning,”
says the current Fulbright-Aalto University Distin-
guished Chair, Dr. Joshua M. Pearce from Michi-
gan Technological University. “We need to follow
Finland’s example and inoculate the public from
‘alternative facts’ with high-quality public edu-
cation that produces citizens capable of critical
thinking,” Dr. Pearce concludes.
8 | www.fulbright.fi
NEW AWARDEES
New Fulbright Finland Awardees
A ltogether 38 new Fulbright Finland schol-
ars, teachers, students and professionals
received their grants at the annual Ful-
bright Finland Award Ceremony at the Helsinki
City Hall in May.
The grantees represent a wide range of disci-
plines and research topics from gender pay gap to
sustainable energy and international relations. Two
scholars were selected for the special 18-month
Fulbright Arctic Initiative program focusing on
multidisciplinary research in Arctic issues. This
year, there is also an exceptionally high number
of awardees going to the United States to advance
their PhD research.
The awards are made possible by support
from the Finnish and U.S. governments, the Fin-
land-America Educational Trust Fund, Fulbright
Finland’s partners from the higher education and
private sectors both in Finland and the United
States, as well as individual donors.
The 2018–2019 awards to the United States are
Iida TikkaASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant Iida is going to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. to complete a Master’s degree in Security Studies. She is a foreign news reporter at YLE and former Moscow correspondent for MTV3 and STT.
Tuomas LihrASLA-Fulbright Graduate GrantTuomas is going to Yale University to complete a Master’s degree in Global Affairs. Currently he is working as a Specialist at the Finnish Prime Minister's Office.
supported, among others, by KAUTE Foundation,
University of Turku, University of Oulu, University
of Helsinki, University of Tampere, Aalto Univer-
sity, Technology Industries of Finland Centennial
Foundation, Vanderbilt University, and University
of Colorado Denver.
The event was hosted jointly by the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs of Finland and the City of Helsinki.
The Fulbright Finland Foundation announced the 2018–2019 grants to the United States
at the Helsinki City Hall in May.
Text EMMI JELEKÄINEN
STUD
IO T
ERH
O P
HO
TOGR
APH
Y
To learn more about Iida, Tuomas and all other grantees,
see the full list of Fulbright Finland grantees 2018–2019
www.fulbright.fi/en/fulbright-finland-grantees-2018-2019
www.fulbright.fi | 9
FULBRIGHT FORUM
“Fulbright Forum seminar was an eye-opening
experience. I was deeply intrigued by the diverse,
comprehensive range of topics and discussions
that the Fulbright grantees had to offer,” says Ful-
bright-Lappeenranta University of Technology
Graduate grantee Thinh Truong.
Truong among 28 other U.S. grantees presented
on their Fulbright projects during the fifth annual
Fulbright Forum seminar.
The seminar attracted students and lecturers
from the University of Helsinki and the capital area
as well as teacher trainees from China and Malay-
sia, Fulbright Finland alumni, and guests from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore.
Theresa Dietrich, an English Teaching Assistant
grantee flew in from Norway. She encourages other
teacher grantees to attend the seminar: “The Ful-
bright Forum is an excellent opportunity for educa-
tion related grantees to learn about the innovative
practices and policies that make Finnish education
unique and, in many ways, exemplary.”
Collaborative DialogueIn addition to Education related themes on the first
seminar day, the program covered research in Eco-
nomics, Health and Epidemiology, Arctic studies and
Engineering. Aalto University was a natural location
for the second, multidisciplinary day. “At Aalto Uni-
Learning Across Disciplines
Inspiring presentations at the Fulbright Forum seminar promoted cross-
disciplinary dialogue and collaboration.
Joseph Talarico visiting from GreeceFulbright Finland sponsored the seminar participation for Inter-Country Travel Grantee and Fulbright Teacher from Greece Joseph Talarico. The Fulbrighters’ projects and presentations impressed Talarico immensely. “My visit to Finland changed my entire perspective on education and I cannot wait to bring my findings back to Greece and the United States”, says Talarico.
Thinh Truong
versity, science and art meet technology and busi-
ness. We are building an innovative society through
high-quality, transdisciplinary research, teaching
and artistic activity,” Vice President of Education
Eero Eloranta stated in his opening remarks.
Thinh Truong, Fulbright-Aalto Distinguished
Chair Joshua Pearce and Fulbright-VTT scholar Yun
Ji presented together on Keeping Coal in the Ground.
“Our panel discussion regarding the current global
energy challenge was one of many examples show-
ing a passionate, yet collaborative, dialogue from
different fields of study: nuclear, solar and bio-
energies. Despite our different fields of research,
we were interrelated through the dialogue and
brought together unique opinions and innovative
ways to help achieve a clean, sustainable and reli-
able future supply of global energy,” Truong says.
“Fulbright Forum was intellectually stimulat-
ing and personally rewarding,” Fulbright teacher
Samuel Northern notes and highlights the aspect
of learning across disciplines: “This is one of the
things that makes the Fulbright program so great.
I have been able to explore my own research inter-
ests and learn more about the world from fellow
Fulbrighters,” Northern concludes.
Seminar programwww.fulbright.fi/en/fulbright-forum
Use your hands! Fulbright-VTT scholar Miiri Kotche and Fulbright teacher alumna Tarja Mykrä participating in a problem-solving classroom activity.
Text MAIJA KETTUNEN
10 | www.fulbright.fi
F ulbright Finland brought together close to 40
Finnish higher education institution (HEI)
representatives from 27 different institu-
tions to discuss successful partnership building
with U.S. universities. The workshop was organized
as a follow-up to the 2016 Fulbright Finland Capac-
ity Building Workshop on Recruiting U.S. Students
to Finland.
A long-term specialist in the field of interna-
tional education, Assistant Provost Heidi Grego-
ri-Gahan from the University of Southern Indiana
and Regional Educational Advising Coordinator
Peter Baker from the U.S. Department of State
shared the U.S. institutional perspective on inter-
national partnership building. Successful Finnish
examples on U.S. university mobility cooperation
and utilizing the Fulbright program in the insti-
tutional partnership building were presented
by University Lecturer Hanna Vehmas from the
University of Jyväskylä as well as Senior Lecturer
Marina Wikman from the Satakunta University
of Applied Sciences. Current U.S Fulbright fellows
shared their insights in a panel discussion on mar-
keting Finland for U.S. students.
How to Establish Successful Student Mobility with U.S Universities?
The Fulbright Finland Foundation supports the internationalization of Finnish higher education institutions. The Foundation organizes workshops and training seminars that address different themes relevant to the internationalization of Finnish higher education.
The latest workshop was organized in March 2018 and it focused on best practices and key factors for building student mobility partnerships with U.S. universities.
www.fulbright.fi/en/internationalization-services
INTERNATIONALIZATION SERVICES
Invited experts and workshop participants shared best practices and coached each other on practical solutions
for student exchange partnerships with U.S. universities and on attracting U.S. students to Finland.
The workshop helped me to think out of the box
and dare to develop new forms of collaboration.
Attracting U.S. Students a Top ChallengeThe pre-workshop survey, conducted among the
participants, revealed that the most crucial chal-
lenge that Finnish HEI’s face in establishing and
maintaining partnerships with U.S. universities is
attracting U.S. students to Finland. Identifying a
suitable partner university in the U.S. was another
common challenge for Finnish HEIs as well as the
Finnish and U.S. institutions’ different interests
in the length of the student exchange periods. The
cost and practicalities of the Finnish residence per-
mit process was also often pointed out in the survey
as a hindrance for Finnish–U.S student mobility.
Text KAROLIINA KOKKO
www.fulbright.fi | 11
The Fulbright Finland Foundation wants to thank USA Study Abroad and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture for their support for the workshop.
All the workshop materials including the agenda, presentation slides, and pre-workshop survey results can be found at www.fulbright.fi/en/capacity-building-workshop-2018
Tips for Improving the Promotion of Finnish HEIsTo improve the promotion of Finn-ish HEIs, the Fulbright U.S. student panelists and other workshop par-ticipants encouraged the institu-tion representatives to consider the following measures: . Invest resources on the
communication with prospective students. Prompt replies are very important in the competitive markets of international education. . Highlight the great support systems international students have in Finland as well as the ease of getting things set up in Finland as a new resident of the country. . Offer U.S. students an option for volunteer work in a local organization. It is attractive for students. . Make the research grant awarding process more transparent in Finland. . Highlight “the fun local student life”. . Promote students’ opportunities for involvement in current research. This is very appealing to U.S. students.
In Finland the students in Biology are doing the coolest research in the forest! – Andrew House, U.S. Student panelist
Untapped ResourcesIn the workshop discussions it became evident that Finnish HEIs could take better advantage of the U.S. students and faculty at their campus and the institution’s U.S. alumni for promotional purposes. . Ask recruitment ideas for U.S.
markets, make a promotional video with them, and use them as a springboard for student exchange partnership discussion with their U.S. institution. . Begin an Ambassador Program and integrate it to your student and faculty mobility processes as a standard element. Task and train your students and faculty members going to the U.S. as ambassadors. Visiting students and scholars are also excellent promoters of your institution.
I got inspired to look for study opportunities in
Finland after getting to know Finland through a
Finnish exchange student at my home campus in the U.S. Personal
connections make a great difference!
– Thinh Truong, U.S. Student panelist
Partnership’s ultimate beneficiaries are the
students. It’s an effective argument in discussions
with any party.
– Hanna Vehmas, workshop presenter, University of Jyväskylä
Key Factors for Successful PartnershipThe workshop presenters from Finnish HEIs had recently signed student exchange agreements with U.S. universities and highlighted the following factors as key ele-ments in a successful partnership building process: . An active and committed
faculty member is an asset “Faculty Champions”. . The partnership cannot depend solely on personal connections. Invested institutions and committed key actor/s are both needed. . The biggest challenge is often hesitation and resistance of people. Take time to persuade and convince all important parties: institution heads (resource allocators), colleagues, and international office personnel. . At the beginning, make sure there are real possibilities for the institutions to work together. Institution representatives need to meet face-to-face, get to know each other, the institutions, and to learn about the underlying goals and motivations. Institutions interested in working together should have enough common disciplines, subjects and even individual courses so that the visiting students and faculty can find natural choices for classes to take or to teach. There shouldn’t be a need to figure out syllabus contents in a forceful way. – Hanna Vehmas, University of Jyväskylä . Ensure credit transfer and make it clear for the students before the exchange (for example produce a credit transfer fact sheet).
It is very important to get all the course credits from the exchange period accepted into the home university degree, particularly for the U.S. students (and their parents who fund the studies) in order to avoid expensive gap years. – Hanna Vehmas, University of Jyväskylä . To build partnerships, you need to market Finland and your institution successfully. This depends on how you package it!
What Works Well?Workshop attendees wanted to share their own well-proven practices for negotiating student exchange part-nerships with U.S. institutions. . Provide short-term opportunities for U.S. students
in Finland, for example a winter school, in exchange for longer term placements for your own students in the U.S. Offer integrated classes with the local students. . Use the Fulbright program, for example the Fulbright Specialist program, to bring a member of a U.S. institution staff or faculty to your campus to initiate partnership discussions. . Test cooperation with a U.S. institution first in the form of a joint online course or project. This is a great way to see how the faculty and student cooperation functions. . Participate in the U.S. Higher Education Partnership Fair at the annual NAFSA conference in the U.S. . When you have accomplished a partnership agreement, be sure to nurture it!
12 | www.fulbright.fi
ON THE COVER
H aving devoted my career to icebreaking, I
could think of no better place in the world
to study icebreakers and icebreaking than
Finland. Helsinki, after all, is the world’s capital for
all things icebreaking. This should surprise no one,
as Finland is the only country in the world whose
ports all freeze in a typical winter. More than 90%
of Finland’s trade arrives via maritime means, and
the Port of Helsinki is consistently first or second
among the ports in Europe, as ranked by passenger
arrivals and departures. These factors all under-
score the urgency that motivates the efficiency and
effectiveness of Finland’s winter navigation system.
I applied for the Mid-Career Professional Devel-
opment (MCPD) grant in Finland for two reasons.
The first was Finland’s incredible depth and concen-
tration of experience and knowledge in icebreaker
design and operations. The second was the nature
of the program. As a professional mariner and Coast
Guard officer, other Fulbright programs (as a scholar
or student) were an imperfect fit for me. The MCPD
offered an incredible opportunity to step away from
my routine duties with the Coast Guard on a four-
month sabbatical. In doing so, I would immerse
myself in the culture of Finland, and learn first-hand
from the world’s experts how icebreaking is done.
I WAS ALSO INSPIRED by how the program is able
to deliver outsized returns on a small investment.
By identifying and developing professionals at the
core years of their careers, the MCPD program,
through its graduates, has an immediate and lasting
impact. The MCPD grantees have an opportunity to
turn their Fulbright experiences into leadership in
their fields as soon as they return home. This focus
on the practitioners and professionals, rather than
academics, ensures that the impact of the program
will be felt in months, rather than years or decades.
My choice of Finland for the reasons above
turned out to be quite fortuitous. As I navigated
the application process, made preparations for my
grant, and attended the orientation in Helsinki,
I was very impressed by the staff and leadership
of the Fulbright Finland Foundation. They lead a
highly efficient and extraordinarily professional
program. I cannot imagine a better run Fulbright
program anywhere else in the world.
SOON AFTER MY ARRIVAL I met my host, Markus
Karjalainen, at the Finnish Transport Agency
(Liikennevirasto). With his expert assistance I was
able to take meetings with all the stakeholders
from the winter navigation system. These included
the winter navigation team at FTA, and other parts
of the government, as well as private entities. At
every turn I was impressed by the skill, experience,
and professionalism of the individuals who all con-
tributed to the safe and efficient execution of the
winter navigation system.
At the end of January, I met the Arctia icebreaker
Polaris in Katajanokka. We sailed north to assist
vessels in and out of Kemi and Tornio. The world’s
first liquefied natural gas (LNG) icebreaker, Polaris
features technology and design elements that set
the entire icebreaker world ahead by a decade. The
master, Pasi Järvelin, and his crew were excep-
tional hosts. It was extraordinary to watch them
working only meters away from huge vessels to
free them from the ice, and escort them to and from
port. Chilling winds up to 20 m/s and temperatures
dipping to −25°C kept the team on their toes, but
their skill, experience, and deft execution ensured
the safe and efficient movement of traffic.
I am very lucky to have this opportunity and I
am entirely grateful to the Fulbright Finland Foun-
dation for making it possible.
Mid-Career Professional Development Programwww.fulbright.fi/en/professionals-specialists-and-teachers-various-fields/mid-career-professional-development-program
William WoityraU.S. Coast Guard officerMCPD Grantee 2018
William Woityra reflects on his Fulbright in Finland.
The MCPD program, through its graduates, has an immediate and lasting impact.
PATR
IK B
ARCK
From U.S. Coast Guard to
World's Capital of Icebreaking
www.fulbright.fi | 13
CURRENT GRANTEES
T his past academic year in the U.S. has been
inspirational, engaging, and reframing.
I’ve worked with an amazing mentor in an
outstanding group, met brilliant people from the
U.S. and all over the world, and have crossed paths
with friends that I wish to know for the rest of my
life. I’ve also seen disillusioning examples of how
even in this land of opportunity there are popula-
tions who find themselves disadvantaged, and how
the ideas of health unequivocally shared in my aca-
demic environment are not reflected in reality.
In a different culture, I’m looking at everything
from a distance. I’ve become less naïve and pre-
sumptuous, realizing much of my own ignorance
stemmed from the lack of prior exposure to a soci-
ety as different and diverse as the U.S. I’ve also
seen such kindness, compassion, gratitude and
hospitality that I’ve not seen before – in the form
of utensils my colleague donated to my new apart-
ment, a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner with my
professor’s family, as well as sudden, invaluable
conversations with people who live on the streets.
A very defining part of my experience is that
I’m here through the Fulbright program. As a Ful-
brighter, and the recipient of the ASLA-Fulbright
Alumni Ambassadorial Award, I’ve been thinking
about my involvement, affiliation with the pro-
gram, role as a representative – and eventually, I
think my most crucial task, a privilege, is to live
this experience, discover its value and pass it on.
We’re beating back the frontiers of ignorance – as
my mentor sometimes jokingly says. Scientifically,
of course, but for me also personally. It’s at those
weird intersections of feeling like a stranger but
still like home, knowing so little and yet given such
precious opportunities to learn, forming bonds
that are based on differences, where very valuable
things in life may take place. I believe these inter-
sections define the powerful vision of the Fulbright
Program. I’m privileged and grateful to take part.
Kaisla KomulainenASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant 2017–2018Department of Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston
Read the full article at www.fulbright.fi/en/kindess-compassion-gratitude
Kindness, Compassion and Gratitude
Richard McElvain performed his one-man play The
Chess Player twice at the National Theater in Hel-
sinki this spring. On one of the nights, Fulbright
Finland grantees and alumni had a unique oppor-
tunity to talk with Richard McElvain about the
play and about his work as an actor and playwright
during a special backstage moment.
McElvain’s The Chess Player was a success at the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and he has performed it
in many theaters in Finland. McElvain will continue
collaboration with the Finnish National Theater.
Backstage MomentRichard McElvainFulbright-University of Turku scholar,award-winning actor, director and playwright answering audience questions after the play.
I think my most crucial task, a privilege, is to
live this experience, discover its value and
pass it on.
14 | www.fulbright.fi
ALUMNI IN FOCUS
M ikko Alanne has always been fascinated by
true life stories. “I’ve always been drawn
to stories of survival, and I’m fascinated
by lone crusaders for justice, stories about who
people become under extreme circumstances. We
expect ourselves to be heroic, but we never know
what we are capable of until we are put into that
kind of situation.”
Born in Espoo, Finland, in 1972, Mikko went
to the U.S. with a Fulbright Finland Foundation
undergraduate grant in 1993, and has since built
a remarkable career in screenwriting for feature
films, documentaries and television, focusing on
stories of courage and adversity often based on
real-life events.
Named one of Variety magazine’s top global cre-
atives to watch in 2018, Mikko has transformed
from screenwriter to showrunner in his latest proj-
ect, the National Geographic television series about
the Iraq War, The Long Road Home, which began air-
ing in late 2017. Adapted from Martha Raddatz’s
book of the same name, the show explores the
trauma of war on both sides of the conflict, por-
traying the real life experiences of a newly-arrived
platoon of U.S. soldiers and their Iraqi translator
who were ambushed in Sadr City in April 2004, as
well as that of their families and ordinary Iraqi
people.
“My journey to making the show began with
Martha Raddatz’s book, which I literally read in
Mikko AlanneFulbright Finland undergraduate grant 1993 to Ithaca College in New York to study Film.
Text LOUISA GAIRN Photo LYNSEY ADDARIO
Screenwriter, showrunner and Fulbright Finland alumnus Mikko Alanne talks about his journey from
Finland to Hollywood, and the stories of courage and endurance that continue to inspire him.
that matterTelling stories
www.fulbright.fi | 15
one sitting,” Mikko recalls. “It was one of the most
astonishing pieces of reporting I’d ever read. What
made it so different is that Martha captures the ter-
ror and chaos of war, but also the love of families
and spouses, and the bonds of friendship between
the soldiers. It’s a portrait of the ordinary soldier,
of what it’s really like to go to war for the first time,
for both the soldiers and their families. The other
thing that intrigued me about the book, some-
thing that’s become even more apparent looking
back, is that it captures a tremendous crossroads
in history; the beginning of the insurgency in Iraq,
the collapse into civil war, the birth of ISIS. I really
feel Martha rescued all these families from being
lost to history.”
Truthful StorytellingMikko is fascinated by true stories of trauma,
heroism and hope, and says that’s why he mainly
works on adaptations of real life stories. This has
profound implications when producing a TV show
or feature film, he notes. “I take very seriously the
fact that when it says ‘based on a true story’, peo-
ple do assume that the essence of the story is true.
For The Long Road Home, I worked very closely with
the principal families, eight of whom became main
characters. I got to know them very well over the
years I spent working on the script. I had to make
sure they were comfortable with a certain amount
of dramatic licence. Life doesn’t unfold in a three-
act dramatic structure, so as a writer you have to
make adjustments.”
“It is a very tragic story. We have people who lost
their sons and husbands watching the show. How do
we portray these events so that the family can be OK
with that, but so that the audience can see what war
is really like? These are challenges most projects
don’t have. People directly affected by the events
are not usually the ones watching it at home.”
“I was really inspired by the remarkable con-
nection and caring Martha Raddatz had with the
families from her reporting. That became an inspi-
ration for me and the whole production. It’s funny.
I’m very much a vocal Hollywood liberal, and many
of the veterans and their families are conserva-
tive Republicans, but we have this incredible bond
and love for each other. Many people on the veter-
ans’ side said this experience changed their view
of what they thought ‘Hollywood types’ were like,
and the same was true on the production side with
respect to conservatives. Working together like
this helps challenge our preconceptions of people’s
politics or differences. It was a truly life-changing
experience for everyone in the production, partic-
ularly the actors, even the editors!”
From Screenwriter to ShowrunnerThis project is Mikko’s first experience as a show-
runner, the lead executive producer who is the
creative decision-maker for the entire project. “As
a screenwriter, I had never produced a TV show
before. When they offered me the role I said yes, of
course! Then began the intense process of getting
everything ready. I was lucky to have an incredible
team around me.”
“It’s been an incredible transition from work-
ing in feature films, where you turn in the script,
perhaps visit the set and then see the film at the
premiere, to where you have a say over every single
decision, and you have to approve everything from
costumes to signage. It can be a quite stressful job,
but I was giddy with excitement. Every day I went to
work with a big smile on my face.”
A Passion for Stories and Social ImpactMikko’s love of film began as a child, and only
strengthened in high school while participating
in a summer abroad program for six weeks in San
Francisco. “It had always been my dream to come to
the States. I realised I’d love to go to film school, but
it was not financially possible.” On hearing about
the Fulbright Finland Foundation’s undergraduate
program, he applied for a scholarship to study film
at Ithaca College in New York.
Mikko was enrolled in the Finnish army on mili-
tary service when he discovered his application had
been successful. “I almost missed out! It was Octo-
ber 1992, and I’d been away for weeks on a military
exercise in Lapland. My parents got a call from Ful-
bright Finland saying we sent Mikko an acceptance
letter weeks ago, does he really not want to take the
place? They went through the mail that had been
piling up on my desk, and there it was.”
“Studying at Ithaca really became one of those
watershed moments that shaped what kind of work
I wanted to do.” At Ithaca, in addition to studying
film, Mikko became fascinated by sociology. “It
was like discovering the subversive aspect of his-
tory. In sociology class we talked a lot about inter-
personal violence, crime, punishment and justice,
and it became what I wanted to make my work
about. I remember saying to my advisor, Dr. Elaine
Leeder, that I was thinking of switching my major
from film to sociology, but she talked me out of it.
She told me the world has enough sociologists, you
should focus on telling people about these issues in
film. I’m still in regular contact with her, and I still
have some of the textbooks from that class. She’s
one of the most important mentors in my career,
and I’d never have met her if I hadn’t gotten the
Fulbright Finland Foundation grant.”
Mikko discovered his talent and passion for
screenwriting shortly after finishing college,
working for the director Oliver Stone. “I was a
great admirer of his work, all his films that sparked
enormous debate. During my last semester I got an
internship with Oliver’s company, and was then
hired as a researcher.” Mikko worked for a year
as a researcher, and then as a story editor, liaising
between writers and research teams. “We were
working on a film about the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and I remember saying
to Oliver that the writers just didn’t use the most
interesting parts of the research. He said, ‘You
The ambition that drives all
of my work, is to make a positive
social impact, bringing the stories that matter to a
wide audience.
ALUMNI IN FOCUS
16 | www.fulbright.fi
should just take over and write it instead.’ That’s
how he gave me my first screenwriting assignment.”
Mikko’s passion for bringing true stories to light
led him to a role at Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of
the Shoah Visual History Foundation (now The USC
Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and
Education), which documents the Holocaust and
other genocides through audio-visual interviews
with survivors and witnesses. “I spent five years
working as Historical Content Supervisor. It was an
incredibly fascinating and inspiring place to work.”
In 2004 Mikko left the Foundation to become a full-
time screenwriter after selling a project to HBO.
He has since worked on numerous documentaries
and feature films, including Warner Bros’s Chil-
ean miner rescue drama The 33, starring Antonio
Banderas and Juliette Binoche. The ambition that
drives all of his work, Mikko says, is to make a pos-
itive social impact, bringing the stories that matter
to a wide audience.
Fearless Optimism and New IdeasFor Mikko, tenacity and optimism are essential
attributes in screenwriting. “I always believe every
project is going to be successful, otherwise you
don’t give your best work. I’ve sold 14 pilots for
different networks, and The Long Road Home is the
first one that got made. Understandably people who
don’t work in the movie business don’t realise that
just because someone has commissioned a script it
may never make it to the screen. My parents at one
point said it must be devastating when you work for
months and months and it doesn’t get made, but I
say it just hasn’t been made yet!”
“To succeed in this industry you have to be fear-
less and bold. Nowadays in the creative field, there
is a real opportunity to have your work be seen,
even in YouTube you can get your work in front of
people and it can go viral in a way that wasn’t pos-
sible before.”
“The reason I’m here doing this work that I do
now, is because I went to Ithaca College, a school I
had never even heard of until I applied for the Ful-
bright Finland Foundation undergraduate grant.
I’m so grateful that I was able to go to film school
in a liberal arts college, where I could also study
sociology. It has had a tremendous impact on the
work that I do. I came to Ithaca with very clear
goals, but left with new ideas. You discover new
things all the time, and you don’t know where the
path is going to lead you.”
Read the full article at www.fulbright.fi/en/telling-stories-that-matter
HERITAGE IS A TERM whose meaning I have
truly learned while living here in the Midwest.
Having Nordic heritage is a strong part of many
Midwesterners’ identity and a fascinating part of
our department and many people’s lives. Many
students here are motivated to take on a Nordic
language because of their heritage and desire to
discover more about their roots. Seeing closely how
important knowing your roots is has taught me a
lot and continues to interest me. Discovering more
about my own heritage has also been a big part of
my journey here as I have had the chance to take on
Kristiina JomppanenFulbright Finnish Language and Culture Teaching Assistant 2017–2018University of Wisconsin-Madison
Originally published by Embassy of Finland, Washington, D.C.
Read the full text: https://bit.ly/2rKEZNJ
courses on the Sámi people, among whom my own
roots lie.
The past seven months have certainly been a
time of professional as well as personal growth and
flourishing and I am so very grateful for this as I
continue my discoveries in Madison, the Midwest
and the world of multiculturalism.
On Wisconsin! On Badgers!
And of course, on Fulbright!
Fulbright to the Fullest:
ALUMNI
Madison, Midwest and the World of
Multiculturalism
MAT
T CA
SHO
RE
To succeed in this
industry you have to be fearless
and bold.
www.fulbright.fi | 17
E stablished as a field of study in the United
States in the 1970s, Cuban Studies emerged
from the need to analyze and understand
Cuba’s revolution (1959–) and its all-encompass-
ing dynamics in political, economic, cultural and
social spheres. The field is characterized by mul-
tidisciplinary approaches and interdisciplinary
collaboration, the focus on Cuba as the core both
distinguishing the scholarly discourse and binding
it together.
For a Finnish scholar in the field of Cuban Stud-
ies, the United States is the place to be for engaging
in scholarly exchange and discourse. Several uni-
versities in the United States host research centers,
institutes and study programs of Cuban Studies.
At the same time, academic studies of Cuba also
bridge the academia to American politics and soci-
ety through advocacy, policy making and public
discourse. This is particularly crucial in the times
when diplomatic, political and economic relations
between Cuba and the United States have evolved
with unpreceded velocity to unforeseen directions.
With an ASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant and
ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Ambassadorial Award I
spent the academic year of 2016–2017 as a visiting
scholar at the Cuban Research Institute of Steven
J. Green School of Public and International Affairs
of Florida International University. My research
in the field of theology, church history, focuses on
Catholicism in the Cuban revolution. With previ-
ously unexplored archival sources and oral histo-
ries, my research provides new information on the
silent history of Catholicism within the revolution-
ary reality, and the role of the Catholic Church in
contemporary Cuba. In Cuban Studies, this is a new
Cuban Studies in Miami
Petra KuivalaASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant 2016–2017Cuban Research Institute of Steven J. Green School of Public and International Affairs, Florida International University
approach to studying the revolution and its narra-
tives.
Compared to the rest of the world, scholarly study
on Cuba in the United States is a world of its own.
The paradigms regarding the Cuban revolution, for
instance, differ substantially in Cuba, the United
States, and Europe. In Cuba, the revolution is still the
dynamic, continuous framework of ideology and life
on the island. In Europe, scholarly interest in Cuba is
characterized by both geographical and cultural dis-
tance. Somewhere in between these two opposites
lies the field of Cuban Studies in the United States
and the world’s largest community of immigrant
Cubans, most of them residing in Florida.
As the country’s leading institute of Cuban
Studies, CRI provided me an opportunity to work
with distinguished scholars, extensive mate-
rial resources and a site of continuous scholarly
exchange at the heart of the Cuban community in
the United States.
The status of a Fulbrighter, correspondingly,
enabled me to communicate with the distinguished
specialists of both Cuban Studies and Theology, to
engage in dialogue regarding my own work, and to
integrate into the American academic community.
I participated in a multitude of events, workshops
and courses that are not available anywhere else,
and presented my work at several conferences
and lectures, creating networks that have already
materialized into collaborations. Most importantly,
during my time as a Fulbright visiting scholar, the
field of Cuban Studies in the United States became
an ever-present aspect of my work, a reality inter-
secting with the ones in Cuba and Finland.
For Cuban Studies, Miami is the place to be.
ALUMNI
18 | www.fulbright.fi
T hrough the Fulbright program, we are
given the opportunity to participate in a
number of enrichment programs, meet-
ing with leaders and getting to know institutions
in our host country while being able to connect
with other grantees from all over the world. As
we return home, we are expected to make use of
the multiperspectival knowledge we have gained
during our Fulbright term, to improve situations
and practices in our own country. Our role as Ful-
brighters reaches far beyond the completion of our
Fulbright program. As we convert from grantees to
alumni, our task as Fulbrighters is in many ways
just beginning.
The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association pro-
vides an excellent forum for returning Finnish
grantees to continue our role as Fulbrighters. It also
promotes further connections between American
and Finnish Fulbrighters. New grantees are imme-
diately welcomed in the worldwide Fulbright com-
munity through various activities, like a welcome
event in the fall and the Buddy program through
which American Fulbrighters receive personal
guidance from Finnish alumni during their stay in
Finland.
THE NEWLY ELECTED BOARD of the ASLA-Ful-
bright Alumni Association consists of enthusias-
tic and knowledgeable Finnish Fulbright alumni
with different academic backgrounds. This group
reflects the diverse backgrounds of the Finn-
ish alumni, and our aim is to make our programs
just as versatile. Upcoming activities include
alumna Petra Kuivala’s presentation concerning
Fulbright is a Grant Like No Other
A GREETING FROM THE ASLA-FULBRIGHT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
PresidentKirsi CheasPost-doctoral Researcher University of HelsinkiASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant 2013–2014
Vice-PresidentMagnus BackströmChief Strategist Elite Asset Management ASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant 1981–1982
Petra KuivalaJunior ResearcherUniversity of HelsinkiASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant 2016–2017
Harriet LonkaPost-doctoral ResearcherUniversity of Eastern Finland, JoensuuStudy of the U.S. Institutes for Scholars – American Politics and Political Thought 2016–2017
Antti MakkonenCorporate CounselOP Financial GroupASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant 2014–2015
Meri-Katriina PyhärantaSenior AdviserThe Finnish Energy AuthorityASLA-Fulbright Graduate Grant 2016–2017
Elisa RepoUniversity Teacher, PhD StudentUniversity of TurkuFulbright Finnish Language and Culture Teaching Assis-tant 2014–2015
Elisa RäsänenLecturer, Finnish languageIndiana University BloomingtonFulbright Finnish Language and Culture Teaching Assis-tant 2013–2014
Heikki SaxénBioethics Researcher, PhD,University of Tampere; Chairman of the Board at the Finnish Institute of Bioethics ASLA-Fulbright Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow 2014–2015
ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association Board 2018–2019
Join us!Become a member or a supporting member.www.fulbright.fi/en/asla-fulbright-alumni-association
Text KIRSI CHEAS President of the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association
The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association
provides an excellent forum for returning Finnish grantees to
continue our role as Fulbrighters.
Catholicism in revolutionary Cuba. Alumnus Olli-
Pekka Malinen is organizing a fascinating cul-
tural tour in the small industrial town of Mänttä,
showcasing works from the Golden Age of Finnish
Art. We will also visit important financial, politi-
cal and international institutions. Can you think of
an institution we could visit, a topic you would like
to present on, an activity you would like to experi-
ence with Fulbright fellows? Please get in touch and
share your idea with us – we look forward to visiting
new places and discovering new forms of collabo-
ration. Businesses and other institutions can also
become supporting members of our Association
and the Ambassadorial Award. All contributions
are highly appreciated!
A FUNDAMENTAL GOAL of the Association is to
increase knowledge about the Fulbright program in
Finland and globally. The Fulbright program car-
ries immense potential to promote creative learn-
ing across different national, regional, and digital
contexts. Yet the institutions in our countries may
not know about this potential, unless we take the
initiative to approach them and tell them about our
experiences. While Finnish Fulbrighters traveling
to the U.S. should not shy away from telling Amer-
icans about Finnish practices, returning grantees
should contribute to the development of the Finn-
ish system by sharing what we learned across the
Atlantic. By taking our Fulbright commitment seri-
ously and continuing to learn from one another, we
can help assure the continuity of this fundamen-
tally important program into the far future, while
also further consolidating its role in our society.
www.fulbright.fi | 19
FRIENDS OF FULBRIGHT FINLAND
A merican alumni of Fulbright Fin-
land meet periodically on both
sides of the Atlantic. Over 50
Friends of Fulbright Finland (FoFF) gath-
ered together at the Fulbright Bicenten-
nial Residence in Helsinki in May for an
“afterparty” organized by the Fulbright
Finland Foundation. The event brought
together American alumni and current
U.S. grantees and their families. Fulbright
Finland had the honor to host alumni who
had been in Finland on their Fulbright
grants as long ago as in the late 1970s!
Guests included several former Bicenten-
nial Chairs who were now able to revisit
the Residence that once had been their
home. Many alumni were in Finland to
also participate in the biennial Maple Leaf
and Eagle conference for American Stud-
ies at the University of Helsinki.
Throughout the evening, memories
were shared, and stories and laughter
were abundant. Many old friends met
again and new friendships were made.
Topics of conversation ranged from poli-
tics and sports to traveling and research
projects. As the evening progressed, one
could hear many promises to meet again,
so just like the little gift bags from the
Fulbright Finland team said “Hyvää kesää,
see you soon!”
SHORTLY AFTER THE HELSINKI EVENT,
another group of Friends of Fulbright
Finland got together in Philadelphia
for a delightful evening at the home
of U.S. Fulbright scholar alum, Profes-
sor Philip Alperson and Professor Mary
Hawkesworth. In addition to U.S. alumni
and friends of the program from multiple
years, the event was also attended by a
current Finnish grantee living in Phil-
adelphia and even a future U.S. grantee
from Pennsylvania getting ready to move
to Finland for her Fulbright next fall.
Text: Inari Ahokas, Emilia Holopainen, and Suzanne Louis
Fulbright alumni Bill Eaton and Yvonne Allen with Ruth McDer-mott-Levy (center) in Philadelphia. Ruth is coming to Finland in 2018 as a Fulbright-Saastamoinen Scholar.
Meeting old and new friends during the
"afterparty" in Helsinki.
Barbara Mossberg
Poet & Fulbright Bicentennial
Chair in 1982 and 1990
“Fulbright through the Finnish
program lens is a generator, a
catalyst, an earthworm, a strange
attractor of growth and change.
Humming with fellow Fulbright-
ers, celebrating what common
ground we share, of gratitude, an
inner astonishment that one can
be so transformed by engagement
with another culture. Finland’s
light deepens our greater mean-
ings, its darkness brings out our
capacity for resilience, creativity,
resourcefulness, faith. Senator
Fulbright’s spirit was here—he
loved Finland as an avatar of the
program’s potential to forge per-
sonal commitments for a global
society. The Afterparty commu-
nity is ongoing literally and met-
aphorically in our hearts before,
during, and after our essential
Fulbright experience.”
From Helsinki to Philadelphia
20 | www.fulbright.fi
CONNECTIONSCORNER
BRANDON BOOR created long-lasting
connections during his 2013-14 Fulbright
term in Finland and has continued his
research on Infant and Adult Inhalation
Exposure with his colleagues from Uni-
versity of Helsinki, The Finnish Institute
of Occupational Health, National Insti-
tute for Health and Welfare and Tampere
University of Technology. Their research
has received wide spread media coverage
in the U.S., Finland, and across the world.
DONAL CARBAUGH, Fulbright alumnus,
1993 and 2007-08, has just published a
new book, Reporting Cultures on 60 Min-
utes: Missing the Finnish Line in an Ameri-
can Broadcast co-authored with Michael
Berry. He is planning a return trip to visit
colleagues and friends in Finland in 2018-
2019.
JAMES SCHWOCH, 2004 Fulbright Spe-
cialist at the University of Helsinki, has a
new book coming out in March 2018 with
University of Illinois Press: Wired Into
Nature: The Telegraph and the North Amer-
ican Frontier.
SOPHIA HAGOLANI-ALBOV, 2013-14 U.S.
student grantee, is working on a doctor-
ate in the Agroecology group at the Uni-
versity of Helsinki. She is exploring the
role of agricultural sustainability tran-
sition in the act of place-making in the
Finnish countryside.
EDWARD SIVAK, Flex Grant scholar 2015
& 2016, returned to Aalto University,
School of Business last fall as a visiting
professor to continue the project “Cost
Comparisons in the Delivery of Health
Care.” The work expanded to multiple
departments at the Helsinki University
Hospital. Presentations on his research
were made to the executive board of
the hospital, THL (National Institute of
Health & Welfare) & The Estonia Health
Insurance Fund in Tallinn.
DONNA BICKFORD, 2003 scholar to Åbo
Akademi University in Turku, is cur-
rently the Director of the Women’s and
Gender Resource Center at Dickinson
College in Pennsylvania. She teaches in
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
and serves as one of the College’s three
Fulbright Program Advisors for students.
“Dickinson has a robust study abroad
program and I often have the opportu-
nity to talk with students about my own
abroad experience. My time in Finland
was really transformative for me, both
personally and professionally.”
EMILIE GARDBERG, ASLA-Fulbright
Graduate awardee 2006-2007 was
selected as the Director of the Finnish
Institute in London. She will start her
four-year term in fall 2018. Gardberg
studied Art Administration at Columbia
University in New York and previously
worked as the Chief Executive of the
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. Gardberg
spent the fall 2017 as a visiting scholar at
the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.
JOHANNA NIEMI, 1997 Fulbright Scholar
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Law School, was named the Woman of
the Year by the Business and Professional
Women (BPW) Finland. Since 2015 Niemi
has been appointed Minna Canth Acad-
emy Professor at the University of Turku.
STEPHANIE JAZMINES was
selected as the winner
of the 2018 Rieger
Graham Prize and
a three-month
Classical Design
Fellowship at
the American
Academy in Rome.
Jazmines was a
U.S. Student grantee
at Aalto University’s Wood Program
in 2015-16. Currently she works as an
architectural designer at Walt Disney
Imagineering in Los Angeles, California.
HAVE A STORY TO TELL?
LET US KNOW!
Tampereen yliopiston rehtori Paavo Koli oli ensimmäisiä Yhdysval-
toihin valittuja ASLA-stipendiaatteja ja sai myöhemmin arvonimen
”ASLA-stipendiaatti Numero Yksi”. ASLA-Fulbright -alumni Matti
Parjaselta on juuri ilmestynyt teos Mister Koli, oletteko kommunisti?
Teos on Kolin elämäkerran toinen osa ja se käsittelee mm. ASLA-
stipendi kauden ja Yhdysvalloissa opiskelun merkitystä Kolin uralle
sekä suomalaiselle yliopistolaitokselle.
Matti Parjanen oli Yhdysvalloissa ASLA-Fulbright -tutkijastipendi-
aattina 1983, minkä aikana hän keräsi tietoa opetuksen arvioinnista.
Parjanen toimi rehtori Kolin assistenttina 1960-luvulla, ja on tehnyt
pitkän tutkijan uran Tampereen yliopistolla.
Mister Koli, oletteko kommunisti?
ALUMNI NEWS
www.fulbright.fi | 21
Arno Tanner
The ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Associa-
tion is deeply saddened by the death of
Dr. Arno Tanner, Fulbright alumnus and
former president and vice-president of
the Association. Following his term as
ASLA-Fulbright Junior Scholar at the
Migration Policy Institute in Washing-
ton D.C. in 2004–2005, Arno became an
Alfred W. Crosby
Alfred W. Crosby died peace-
fully among friends and family
in March 2018 at the age of 87.
A graduate of Harvard College
with an M.A.T. from the Harvard
School of Education, and a Ph.D.
in history from Boston Univer-
sity, he taught at Albion College,
In Memoriam
psychology in the U.S. Professor Leslie B.
Hammer. Sianoja’s own research focuses
on the role of recovery and workplace
interventions in employee well-being.
Before embarking on the exciting next
stage in her career in September, Sianoja
will return to her Finnish home institu-
tion, the University of Tampere, to defend
her dissertation to conclude her doctoral
degree.
“I will be working on Professor Ham-
mer’s project funded by the Department
of Defense, which aims to improve the
Alumna Lands a Unique Post-Doc Position
work–life balance and sleep health of
Oregon national guards through increas-
ing supervisor support. Working at OHSU
as a postdoctoral researcher will continue
to benefit the scientific goals of my Ful-
bright project that is to accumulate the-
oretical knowledge on employee health
and well-being that helps governments
and workplaces to establish health sup-
portive policies. Working with Professor
Hammer, will teach me new skills to bring
back to Finland.”Text: Karoliina Kokko
ALUMNI NEWS
the Ohio State University, Washington State University, and
the University of Texas at Austin, retiring in 1999 as Professor
Emeritus of Geography, History, and American Studies. Recip-
ient of many awards, he served twice as the Fulbright Bicen-
tennial Chair of American Studies at the University of Helsinki,
in 1985 and 1997, and was elected to the Academy of Finland in
1995. His books have been published in twelve languages.
His work as a historian, he said, turned him from facing
the past to facing the future. He lived by the maxim: What
can I do today to make tomorrow better?
Frances Karttunen
Alfred Crosby’s wife of thirty-five years
Fulbright Bicentennial Chair 1997, Fulbright Researcher 1971 and 1984
active member in the Alumni Association. The Association appreci-
ates his positive energy and optimistic attitude, which were reflected
as a continuous stream of ingenious ideas and willingness to contrib-
ute to the Association’s activities, despite his demanding work as a
researcher at the Finnish Immigration Service.
Arno was an exceptionally open-minded scholar and person,
eager to learn from others and transform realities around him.
He would not hesitate to question things people would often take
for granted, a characteristic which made him an innovative leader
and a brave thinker. Arno is profoundly missed by members of the
ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association.
Kirsi Cheas
President of the ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association
Fulbright-EDUFI Fellow Audrey Waits will
teach a course at the Lapland University of
Applied Sciences’ Summer School on Arctic
Cooperation and Cross-Border Expertise.
“I am very excited to teach at the
Lapland University of Applied Sciences’
summer school. The summer course is
International Business and Innovations in
the Arctic and I will introduce the Arctic
region. I will cover the changing Arctic
environment, geopolitical complexities in
the Arctic, and Arctic inhabitants. I hope
International Business and Innovations in the Arcticto highlight the unique elements of the
Arctic and to provide a foundation for the
students to place their business ideas in
an ‘Arctic context’,” Waits says.
The Summer School on Arctic Cooper-
ation and Cross-Border Expertise is part
of the Fulbright Speaker Program through
which schools and institutions can invite
U.S. Fulbright grantees to give talks about
their research projects or more general
American themes.
Marjaana Sianoja
has been selected
for a two-year
Post-Doctoral
position at Oregon
Health & Science
University (OHSU)
as an immediate fol-
low-up to her Fulbright
year at MIT as a Pre-Doctoral Researcher.
This new position provides her an
extraordinary opportunity to work with a
leading researcher in occupational health
22 | www.fulbright.fi
New Board Members
F ulbright Finland welcomes Timo
Korkeamäki, Professor of Finance
at Hanken School of Economics,
and Kirsimarja Blomqvist, Professor for
Knowledge Management at the School of
Business and Management at Lappeen-
ranta University of Technology LUT on
the Fulbright Finland Foundation Board of
Directors.
Korkeamäki and Blomqvist succeed
Matti Kokkala and Heikki Ruskoaho who
have completed their board terms. Ful-
bright Finland conveys a sincere thank
you to Dr. Kokkala and Dr. Ruskoaho for
their dedicated service.
The Finnish board members are
appointed by the Ministry of Education
and Culture.
FULBRIGHT FINLAND FOUNDATION / FULBRIGHT SUOMI -SÄÄTIÖ
Timo Korkeamäki
Kirsimarja Blomqvist
Van Vu, Mihkel Vaim and Inari Ahokas joined the Fulbright Finland team as interns.
Interning at the Fulbright Finland Foundation
The Fulbright Finland Foundation offers students an opportunity to gain work experience in a
dynamic and multicultural environment.
FULBRIGHT FINLAND NEWS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Terhi Mölsä EDITORS Maija Kettunen (Managing Editor), Suzanne Louis DESIGN AND LAYOUT Tanja Mitchell, Grafee EDITING OFFICE Fulbright Finland Foundation, Hakaniemenranta 6, FI-00530 Helsinki, FINLAND TEL. +358 44 5535 286 E-MAIL [email protected] ISSN 2489-2149 (print) ISSN 2489-2157 (online) COVER Maxigloss 200 g/m² PAPER G-Print 115 g/m² PRINT CIRCULATION 700 PRINTED BY Erweko Oy ONLINE www.fulbright.fi/en/fulbright-center/fulbright-center-news
Fulbright Finland News on Fulbright Suomi -säätiön sidosryhmälehti, joka ilmestyy kaksi kertaa vuodessa painettuna ja verkkoversiona. Artikkeleissa ilmaistut mielipiteet ovat kirjoittajien omia. Aineisto vapaasti lainattavissa, lähde mainittava. // Fulbright Finland News is a biannual magazine published by the Fulbright Finland Foundation in print and online. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Fulbright Finland. Reproduction allowed, source must be cited. // While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the material in this publication, Fulbright Finland does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.
EDITORIAL COUNCIL Anitta Etula, Director of International Relations, University of Eastern Finland, Outi Hakanen, Deputy Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Protocol Services, Sirpa Holmström, Head of International Services, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Erika Holt, Principal Research Scientist, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Ossi V. Lindqvist, Professor Emeritus.
“Interning at the Fulbright Finland Foun-
dation has been an amazing experience.
During the internship, I have been given
opportunities to gain valuable knowl-
edge as well as practical skills which will
become a huge advantage once I gradu-
ate,” says Van Vu. Van came from Vietnam
to Finland to study Business Management
at Laurea University of Applied Sciences.
She is particularly interested in organiz-
ing and marketing events. “Out of all the
brilliant events that I have helped orga-
nizing during my internship, Fulbright
Forum was my favorite. The U.S. grantees’
presentations really inspired me.”
Inari Ahokas studies Business Admin-
istration in Savonia University of Applied
Sciences. She was on a Study of the U.S.
Institute for Student Leaders from Europe
program in 2017. “As a Fulbright Finland
alumna I am very excited to see this side of
the scholarship process,” Inari says.
Mihkel Vaim is from Estonia and cur-
rently studying International Business
and Logistics at Metropolia University
of Applied Sciences. Mihkel was already
familiar with Fulbright Finland when he
worked as a conference assistant during
the Making Democracies Resilient to Mod-
ern Threats seminar. Mihkel announced
on his Twitter profile he was looking for an
intership and was contacted by Fulbright
Finland. “Working for Fulbright Finland
has been wonderful. I get to learn from the
best and work on different projects that
further my future career,” Mihkel says.
Every year there are several interns
working at the Fulbright Finland Founda-
tion and their work is highly valued. The
interns’ assignments vary from adminis-
trative support to projects and assisting in
organizing events.
Apply for an internship at Fulbright Finland www.fulbright.fi/en/open-positions
www.fulbright.fi | 23
Fulbright Finland Foundation's
Honorary Chair: Ambassador of the United States to FinlandRobert Pence
Finnish Members:
Piia BjörnProfessor, Special EducationUniversity of Eastern FinlandVice-Chair
Kirsimarja BlomqvistProfessor for Knowledge Management, School of Business and Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology LUT
Timo KorkeamäkiProfessor of FinanceHanken School of Economics
Hannu SeristöProfessor, Vice President for External RelationsAalto University
American Members:
T.J. GrubishaCounselor for Press and Cultural AffairsAmerican EmbassyChair
Itonde A. KakomaProgramme Director Leadership teamCrisis Management Initiative CMI
Ethan TaborDeputy Counselor for Press and Cultural AffairsAmerican Embassy
David YokenSenior Music LecturerArts Academy, Turku University of Applied Sciences
Ex-officio:
Terhi MölsäChief Executive OfficerFulbright Finland Foundation
The Finland-America Educational Trust Fund
The Fulbright Finland Foundation is financially supported by the Finland-America Educational Trust Fund.
Board of Directors
Finnish members:
Jouni Mölsä Director General of Communications, Department for Communications and Culture, Ministry for Foreign AffairsChair
Jaana PalojärviHead of International RelationsFinnish Ministry of Education and Culture
American members:
Donna WeltonChargé d’AffairesAmerican EmbassyVice-Chair
T.J. GrubishaCounselor for Press and Cultural AffairsAmerican Embassy
Agent / Säätiön asiamies:
Terhi MölsäChief Executive OfficerFulbright Finland Foundation
Fulbright Finland Foundation Board of Directors
THE FULBRIGHT FINLAND FOUNDATION is an independent not-forprofit organization based in Helsinki, Finland. Its purpose is to promote a wider exchange of knowledge and professional talents through educational contacts between Finland and the United States. The Foundation collaborates with a range of government, foundation, university and corporate partners on both sides of the Atlantic to design and manage study and research scholarships, leadership development programs and internationalization services.
Vision
Fulbright Finland Foundation Office
b Pia ArolaJohdon assistenttiExecutive Assistant044 5535 278
b Emilia HolopainenOhjelmakoordinaattoriProgram Coordinator044 7035 284
b Emmi JelekäinenOhjelmakoordinaattoriProgram Coordinator 044 5535 275
b Maija KettunenViestintä- ja tapahtuma-koordinaattoriCommunication and Events Coordinator044 5535 277
b Karoliina KokkoVastaava ohjelmapäällikköSenior Program Manager044 5535 268
b Johanna Lahti(opintovapaalla/on study leave)
b Suzanne LouisProjektikonsultti (osa-aikainen)Project Consultant (part-time)
b Mirka McIntireOhjelmapäällikkö, Koulutus- ja opettajavaihto (osa-aikainen)Manager, Teacher Exchange and Education Programs (part-time)044 5535 269
b Terhi MölsäToimitusjohtajaChief Executive Officer050 570 5498
is to empower the minds that will find global solutions to tomorrow’s
challenges by fostering academic and professional expertise and excellence in leadership.
Office: 044 5535 286, e-mails: [email protected]
Fulbright Finland FoundationHakaniemenranta 6FI-00530 HELSINKIFINLAND
www.fulbright.fi Ífulbrightfin Úfulbrightfinland Îfulbright finland
SeptemberAugust
16.5. Pre-Departure Orientation and Ful-bright Award Ceremony for Finnish Fulbright Finland Grantees
20.5. 2019–2020 Application deadline: ASLA-Fulbright Graduate GrantsFulbright-Technology Industries of Finland Grants
29.5.2019–2020 Application deadline:Fulbright Partnership Award with University of South Florida
1.8. 2019–2020 Application deadline: Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards for Finland
27.–30.8. Arrival Orientation for U.S. Fulbright Finland Grantees
29.8. ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association Welcome Event
27.9. Pre-Admission Orientation
Fulbright Finland Foundation Board Meeting
May
JulyFulbright Finland
Office Closed2.–13.7.
Calendar
13.6.Fulbright Finland Foundation Board Meeting
June
October12.–13.10.26th American Voices Seminar
Join us in Turku to hear about various aspects of American life, culture, history and society through the experiences of the U.S. Fulbright grantees in Finland. The seminar is organized by Fulbright Finland in cooperation with University of Turku North American Studies Program.
The event is open to the public and free of charge. Welcome!
VISI
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