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11589-FI

Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Award

Finland

Europe and Eurasia

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Award Details

Grant Activity

This new award is designed to enable U.S. scholars and professionals to conduct research and/or teach in any discipline and/or conduct professional projects on topics of current and global importance at any Finnish institution for a period of two to six months.

The Fulbright Finland Foundation operates under the brand promise “Together Shaping the Future” and its vision is to “empower the minds that will find global solutions to tomorrow’s challenges by fostering academic and professional expertise and excellence in leadership”. The new award was created to support the Foundation’s vision.

The award is meant for scholars and professionals who want to impact the future and make a difference, finding solutions to current and global challenges through their research, teaching or professional projects. The proposed Fulbright project should focus on a timely topic of global importance and produce benefits of significance to a wide community. Projects that are focused on a local level that have the ability to address international and global challenges are welcomed. Projects aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are encouraged.

Academic candidates are expected to teach and/or participate in research work according to the agreement between the candidate and the host. Likewise, candidates pursuing a professional project should discuss the content of the project with the host.

For teaching/research awards, applicants should discuss the teaching/research ratio with the host institution before requesting an invitation letter (e.g. lectures, modules or entire courses).

Project focus areas could include (but are not limited to) the following:

Shared Environments

Sustainability
Climate Change
Arctic Cooperation
Circular Economy
Energy and resources

Emerging Technologies & Hybrid Threats

Artificial Intelligence
Cybersecurity
Media Literacy, Disinformation, and Societal Resilience

Managing Migration & Humanitarian Crises

Displaced Persons, Refugees, & Asylum Seekers
Irregular Migration
Economic Migrants

Governance, Peace, and Wellbeing

Equitable Societies
Human rights and inclusive societies
Women in Society
Preventing Radicalization
Peace Mediation
Multilateralism
Education and innovation
Global health

Grant Length

Two to six months. For Flex grants, see Flex Option.

Grant Dates

Preferably grants begin in August/September 2021, or January 2022, or must be separately agreed upon with the host institution and the Fulbright Finland Foundation. The academic year runs from September through mid-May (fall semester: September to mid-December; spring semester: January to mid-May).

The Finnish host institution can give details on the term structure and teaching periods.

Locations

Any appropriate Finnish higher education institution, research center/institute or other applicable institutions to your specific project.

Candidates are expected to secure an affiliation with a Finnish institution and include a letter of invitation in the application. Assistance in locating possible host institutions and making connections is available from the Fulbright Finland Foundation if needed.

Flex Option

Yes

Flex Description

The Flex Award is designed for scholars who require multiple visits to the host country. This option allows grants to be conducted over short segments, during the fall and/or spring semesters. Interested applicants should clearly indicate plans for Flex in their project statement, including a project timeline.

Flex grant parameters:

Minimum length of the total grant is two months and the maximum is six months;
Minimum length for any grant segment is one month and the maximum is three months;
Two grant segments may be spread over one or two consecutive years; and
Flex awards are offered for research, teaching, teaching/research and professional project grants.

Discipline Type

Applications are sought in all disciplines

Award Requirements

Application Requirements

Invitation Requirement

A letter of invitation is required

Invitation Requirement Additional Information

Teaching/research applicants should discuss details regarding teaching/research ratio, number and level of courses, modules or lectures taught, etc. with the host institution. The host institution should include this information in detail in the letter of invitation along with the length and dates of the proposed visit.

Housing for the scholar and his/her family is expected to be arranged and paid for by the host institution. This information should be confirmed in the letter of invitation. Potential hosts can refer to these instructions when writing a letter of invitation.

NOTE: Late June, July and early August are traditionally summer vacation months in Finland and responses to inquiries may be delayed. Applicants are advised to contact the Finnish host institution well ahead of time to solicit an invitation letter for their application.

Language Proficiency Requirements

None, English is sufficient. However, feasibility of conducting the project must be demonstrated in the project statement

Additional Language Requirement

All teaching can be conducted in English, and research work usually does not require knowledge of Finnish. However, should the candidate’s planned project specifically require Finnish, feasibility of conducting research must be demonstrated in the project statement.

Applicant Profile

Additional Qualification Information

The award is open for both academics and professionals. For academic applicants PhD or other terminal degree is required. Professionals applying for the award should have significant professional experience.

Proposals for medical research involving clinical training, patient care or patient contact are not eligible.

In addition to the general evaluation criteria, candidates in all Fulbright programs are reviewed on the project’s contribution to the objectives of the Fulbright Program as well as on the adaptability and suitability of the candidate to act as a Fulbright Ambassador for the U.S. in Finland.

Additional Information

Additional Comments

The Fulbright Finland Foundation encourages potential applicants to visit its website for further information and contact the office directly with any questions:

office(at)fulbright.fi
tel: +358 44 5535 286

Emmi Jelekäinen
Program Specialist
E-mail: emmi.jelekainen(at)fulbright.fi
Tel: +358-44-5535 275

In addition to being a prestigious academic exchange program, the Fulbright Program is designed to expand and strengthen relationships between the people of the United States and citizens of other nations and to promote international understanding and cooperation. To support this mission, Fulbright Scholars will be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host community, in addition to their primary activities‎.

Helpful Links

Fulbright Finland Foundation
This is Finland (Finnish culture, politics, history, society, etc.)
Finnish Ministry of Education (for links to Finnish university home pages)
Finnish Ministry of Education (for links to Finnish university of applied sciences - polytechnics - home pages)
Finnish Ministry of Education (for links to research centers in Finland)

Stipend & Benefits

Stipend

The monthly grant is 5,000 EUR (approx. 5,500 USD), paid out in euro in monthly installments. There are no separate allowances for accompanying dependents.

Housing for the scholar and his/her family is expected to be arranged and paid for by the host institution. This information should be confirmed in the letter of invitation. Applicants should communicate their housing needs to the host institution during the application process so that appropriate housing can be arranged for them.

Estimated Travel and Relocation Allowance

A one-time travel allowance of 1,800 USD is provided.

For Flex grants: round trip travel will be included for each portion of the grant.

Dependent Tuition Allowance

There are no separate allowances for accompanying dependents.

The Finnish school system is considered one of the best in the world. Finland has been one of the top performers in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an ongoing study administered every three years that tests the math, reading and science literacy of 15-year-olds in OECD nations. Average group sizes in basic education in Finland have for a long time been below the OECD average.

Instruction in English is available in Helsinki and other bigger cities at kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools, as well as at the university level.

Early childhood education is pedagogically planned education, teaching and care, with carefully considered developmental goals. All early education teachers and caretakers are trained within national guidelines. Families are expected to pay a small fee for public daycare/päiväkoti (approx. €250-400 EUR/month) even though it is heavily subsidized. Private daycares may cost more. Usually, one of the parents stays at home with children until they are nine months old.

Preschool education prepares children for comprehensive school. Children normally enter preschool education at the age of six and comprehensive school at the age of seven. After comprehensive school (grades 1-9), students enter upper secondary institutes that include upper secondary school and vocational institutes. Finnish schools are generally free of charge, although some special schools, such as private international schools, may charge tuition.

In universities, non-EU students pay tuition fees in English-taught Bachelor's or Master's degree programs.

Special Award Benefits

Housing for the scholar is expected to be arranged and paid for by the host institution. This information must be confirmed in the letter of invitation.

The Fulbright Finland Foundation in Helsinki arranges a four-day orientation for grantees at the end of August, which grantees arriving for the fall semester are expected to attend. An orientation will also be arranged for grantees arriving in January.

Finnish medical care is of high quality and low cost. At some institutions Fulbright Scholars have access to the university health care services provided for faculty and staff.

Final grant amounts will be determined prior to the start of the academic year and are subject to the availability of funds. The United States Department of State and the Fulbright Commission in the host country reserve the right to alter, without notice, participating countries, number of awards and allowances.

Country/Area Overview

Summary

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to Finland offers up to 40 grants for teaching, teaching/research or research, including up to 14 Distinguished Chair grants.

Short-term Flex grants for teaching, teaching/research or research for two to three-month segments over two consecutive academic years are available during the fall and/or spring semesters for those applying in the All Disciplines award, the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Distinguished Chair in Health Sciences, Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Award in Health and Environmental Sciences, and the Fulbright-Hanken Distinguished Chair in Business and Economics award.

Overview

The general country landscape

Finland is a Nordic country the size of California located in northern Europe. It is rather sparsely populated (5.3 million people) and has extensive forests, coastline and lakes. It is a country that has a well-organized and efficient society. The general infrastructure, in conjunction with both public and private services, is considered very effective, and having well run public services such as transportation, police, education and healthcare are fundamental parts of the society. The arts and design, cultural life, nature and sports are highly valued. Finland ranks as one of the world’s most stable nations and has been called the safest country in the world, which makes it an easy place in which to live and travel.

You can read more about Finland online here and here.

Finns believe strongly in equality and education, and the country is especially known for its education system. Finland has two types of higher education institutions: universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS). Finnish higher education institutions engage in world-leading research and offer high-quality academic programs. In relation to its gross domestic product, Finland invests more in research and development than almost any other OECD country. Finnish institutions and researchers are also among the most active scientific publishers in the world. Together with a welcoming and intriguing environment, Finland offers interesting opportunities for American researchers, teachers and professionals. English is widely used at the university level.

The academic year in Finland is based on a two-semester system. The official academic year starts on 1 August and ends on 31 July. However, in the fall semester lectures are usually scheduled between September and mid-December, and in the spring semester between early January and May. Generally there is no teaching during the summer and on public holidays.

For more information on living and studying in Finland, please click here and here.

Fulbright in Finland

Finland has a strong Fulbright program with a unique history. The program has an important role in supporting the internationalization of education and research in Finland, helping U.S. and Finnish institutions create linkages, and promoting a wider exchange of knowledge and professional talents through educational contacts between Finland and the United States. The program has grown in recent years due to the close cooperation of Fulbright Finland with Finnish universitities, research institutions, governmental agencies and private foundations, as well as to U.S. and Finnish alumni contributions. The majority of the program’s funding currently comes from Finland.

The Fulbright Finland Foundation (the Finnish Fulbright Commission) awards grants to U.S. teachers and scholars to teach or pursue research in Finland. The majority of awards are available to scholars in all disciplines, but some awards are limited to certain fields. In nearly all categories, housing is provided for the grantee.

Awards are also available for professionals for career development.

Candidates interested in applying for an award to Finland are welcome to consult the Fulbright Commission’s website for more information.

Fulbright Finland also provides information for Finnish institutions, which applicants are encouraged to utilize when contacting prospective hosts.

Read more about Finland:

Statistics Finland
Fulbright Finland News Magazine

Application Deadline

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Activity

Professional Project

Research

Teaching

Teaching/Research

Degree Requirements

Ph.D. (or other terminal degree) not required

Candidate Profile

Professionals

Academics, all levels including early career

Number of Grants

Up To 3

Program Staff

Carleen Velez

Outreach and Recruitment Specialist

Phone:

202-686-4021

Email:

EuropeEurasia@iie.org

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