The Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded grants for science and art
In February 2026, the Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded grants for science and art to 15 individuals or groups affiliated with Aalto University. Most of the grants were full-year working grants.
Many of the grants are allocated for doctoral dissertation work. Among the recipients from Aalto University are Elli Anttila (School of Engineering), who is researching the quality and surface cleanliness of cruise ship interiors and Karelia Dagnaud (School of Business), whose topic is learning and organising sustainability knowledge in Finland's textile and fashion industry. Aada Taipale (School of Arts, Design and Architecture) is studying suburban landscapes as a new shared cultural heritage, and Vesa Vahermaa’s (School of Science) focus is on the interaction between brain structure and the immune system in psychosis patients and healthy controls. For postdoctoral research, a grant was awarded, among others, to Ivan Zubarev (School of Science), whose research involves developing a novel technique for blood pressure monitoring.
In the application round organised in October, the Cultural Foundation awarded a total of 29 million euros in in grants for science, art and culture. For Aalto University, grants amounted to 337 000 euros in total. The foundation received a total of 11 425 applications, of which 784 were awarded.
Most of the funding was allocated to artistic work and doctoral dissertations. Grant applications were peer-reviewed by nearly sixty evaluation groups, comprised of experts from various fields of science and art.
Congratulations to all!
For the list of all Aalto University grantees, please see the article in Finnish
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Press release by the Finnish Cultural Foundation
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