By Xuefei Chen Axelsson
STOCKHOLM, SEPT. 29(Greenpost) — The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are working together to increase the visibility of Finnish competence at four destinations abroad. The first ambassadors of Finnish education and research, or Team Finland Knowledge experts, have been appointed to Buenos Aires, Beijing, Singapore and Washington.
The Team Finland Knowledge experts will promote Finnish educational and research cooperation and the exports of Finnish knowledge, expertise and educational innovation. The experts will be working at Finnish Embassies as part of the Team Finland country teams as of 1 October. First, they will undergo training in Finland.
“The aim is a more open and international Finland. The first four ambassadors of education, research and education export will boost internationalisation and exports and reinforce Finland’s reputation as a leading country in education, science and innovation,” says Minister of Education Sanni Grahn-Laasonen.
“Next year the Team Finland Knowledge network will expand as we will be sending our representatives to Pretoria, Moscow and New Delhi. Other postings will be discussed later on,” the Minister says.
Emilia Ahvenjärvi was appointed to Buenos Aires from the post of an expert of education export at the University of Lapland. She has also worked at EduCluster Finland and the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and as an education expert in Latin America.
Mari-Anna Suurmunne, who was selected to represent the network in Beijing, was Head of International Relations at Aalto University. She has also worked as Director of International Relations at Helsinki School of Economics and as an expert at the Embassy of Canada to Finland.
Anna Korpi, who will be heading out to Singapore, worked as a Director at EduCluster Finland. She was in charge of EduCluster’s East and Southeast Asia operations in 2014–2017. She has also worked for Jyväskylä Joint Authority for Education as Development Coordinator and for UniServices Ltd.
Ilkka Turunen was appointed to Washington from the post of Senior Ministerial Adviser to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Culture. He has also served as Secretary-General of the Research and Innovation Council and worked at the Department for Higher Education and Science Policy where he was responsible for international cooperation in higher education, among other tasks. Turunen has worked as Counsellor in Finland’s embassies in Paris and Brussels.
The Team Finland Knowledge experts are appointed for a three-year term, with the option of two additional years. They will be posted at Finnish Embassies.
The Team Finland Knowledge network will implement Finland’s policies to promote the internationalisation of higher education and research. The policy aims to build up the quality of Finnish higher education and research, reach a globally acknowledged pioneering position by 2025 and boost the exports of Finnish knowledge, expertise and educational innovation
