Ilkka Lakaniemi, Director of CKIR, has been appointed to the board of the Fulbright Finland Foundation

The aim of the Fulbright Finland Foundation is to use educational ties to promote a broader exchange of knowledge and professional expertise between Finland and the United States. The foundation develops and administers grant programmes for students, researchers and professionals from different fields, and provides internationalisation services to support high-quality mobility as well as cooperation in higher education and research.

The director of the School of Business Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR), Ilkka Lakaniemi, has been appointed as a new member of the Fulbright Finland Board. CKIR builds bridges between academia and business by promoting the transfer of research results to the market.

Previously, Lakaniemi has held leadership positions in business development, corporate strategy and venture business in the Nordic Combient corporate network, Finland Chamber of Commerce and Nokia Corporation.

As an alum of the Fulbright Finland Foundation and the American-Scandinavian Foundation, he has been a visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also worked as a researcher in political economy and modern history at the University of Helsinki’s North American Studies Programme and at the UNU-WIDER research centre.

‘I am honored to join the Board. The Fulbright experience has had a positive and transformative impact in my life in many ways. I am delighted to contribute to the Fulbright Foundation and its wider community for its future advancement,’ says Ilkka Lakaniemi.

Dean Timo Korkeamäki steps down from the board after two four-year terms

The Fulbright Finland Foundation is led by its board, whose members bring with them extensive expertise to help the foundation achieve its goals. The board has 6–8 members: up to four Finns and up to four Americans. Finnish members of the board are appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, and the American members are appointed by the head of the US Embassy in Finland. The term of office for board members is four years.

The Dean of the School of Business, Timo Korkeamäki, recently concluded the maximum of two terms on the Board of Directors. The foundation thanks him for his strong commitment and significant contributions to Fulbright Finland and to academic and professional exchange between Finland and the United States during his term.

‘Fulbright has a respected brand in the United States, which helps it attract high-level visitors to Finland and to Aalto. Finns, in turn, should familiarise themselves with Fulbright Finland’s grant programmes. The programmes could be used in an even more proactive way to support Aalto University’s strategy and to deepen cooperation with the US,’ says Timo Korkeamäki.

Read also:
Fulbright Finland Foundation press release: Welcome New Board Members | Fulbright Finland Foundation
See the other board members: https://www.fulbright.fi/about-us/board-directors
https://www.fulbright.fi/