Columns & Interviews

I came to the U.S. to pursue a Master of Laws Degree at Harvard Law School as an ASLA-Fulbright Scholar. I hold a Master of Law Degree from the University of Helsinki and a Master of Science Degree (Economics and Business Administration) from Hanken School of Economics as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Economics for Competition Law from King’s College London.

My background is in educational sciences. I have had the privilege to study in great institutions, such as Universität Regensburg in Germany, Middle East Technical University in Turkey, and mainly University of Turku in Finland. I began my doctoral project a couple years ago, and it focuses in the expertise and knowledge practices of academic historians from an educational perspective. In a way, it could be considered to be research about research. The work is quite interdisciplinary, and therefore has allowed—and required—me to engage with scholars across many disciplines. Throughout this project, one of my closest collaborators has been Professor Clark Chinn from Rutgers University. This collaboration lead me to do a research visit to New Jersey, and the visit allowed us to focus more closely on our work.

I am a mathematics, physics and chemistry teacher from Finland. I have been teaching in a vocational high school for ten years. I wanted to participate the Fulbright program to develop student-centered and self-directed learning strategies, learn more about different education systems and pedagogical approaches around the world as well as get a wider network of international teachers.

My interest towards Fulbright and USA comes from the field I am working. I am a senior lecturer and team leader in JAMK Sport Business School Finland and sport business is very new branch in Finland compared to United States. I heard about Fulbright some years ago and this year was perfect for me to come since my older daughter started university and my younger one is in high school and could join me before the first final exams next year.

Every year, Fulbright Finland Foundation brings dozens of Finnish researchers and scholars to the US to bolster their academic and professional expertise in various positions at top universities and institutions around the country. In this new feature series, we ask the recent alumni to reflect on their findings and experiences from the program. In the first feature, Veera Laine, a political history doctoral candidate, looks back at her time at Columbia University in New York.

I was born and raised in Vantaa, Finland. I went to High School in Helsinki though, at Mäkelänrinne Sports High School, as I wanted to pursue my figure skating dream. Towards the end of those four years of High school I started feeling like my career in sports had already seen it's best days and it was time to think what comes after. For me it was quite a sudden turn to the arts on my last year of High school. I took every art course I could fit into my final year and the idea of art and photography in specific as my career started forming in my head. Photography and the passion for it is something that has always travelled with me, I just never took it seriously before then.

In this series, we highlight the important work done by our honorary consuls around the 35 states in the jurisdictional area of Consulate General of Finland in New York. Jim (James) Kurtti, the honorary consul in Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is working closely with the Finland-Michigan clean technology partnership and supporting Finnish businesses through FinnZone, a local softlanding platform. In the interview, he sheds light on Michigan’s climate work and the business environment it offers to foreign companies.

This month, Consul General Mika Koskinen took a trip down memory lane with Markku Piri, one of Finland's most redeemed multidisciplinary designers, whose long, illustrious career has just been captured in an autobiographical book.

Right before the beginning of the fall semester, Consul General Mika Koskinen had a chat with Heli Sirviö, lecturer in Finnish and Swedish Culture and Language at Columbia University. COVID-19 nearly caused the Finnish Studies program to shut down, but due to Heli’s persistent efforts, it’s still up and running. Remotely, for now.

In this series, we highlight the important work done by our honorary consuls around the 35 States in our jurisdictional area. Frank Donnelly, the honorary consul in Houston, Texas, has an impressive career with Finnish marine and energy company Wärtsilä. In the interview, he shares his thoughts on the rapidly changing clean energy market in the US, molded by COVID-19, as well as his ideas of Finnish businesses’ strengths in the Lone Star State.