Finland wins Int´l award for supporting displaced scholars

Finland has received an international award recently for its efforts to support researchers who have fled crisis areas, said Finnish National Agency for Education in a press release on Monday.

The Institute for International Education (IIE), American cooperation partner of the Finnish National Agency for Education presented the award.

The award was accepted on October 10 by Ambassador of Finland to Belgium Jouko Leinonen on behalf of the Finnish Government.

The Scholar Rescue Fund Beacon Award was given to Finland in recognition of the country’s efforts to support threatened and displaced scholars.

The award justification highlighted the support of relevant ministries, the key role of Finnish higher education institutions, the Finnish National Agency for Education's long-term commitment to the activities and the uncompromising and innovative work carried out in Finland to support researchers.

“One of the most important aspects of these efforts has been the expertise sharing taking place in the context of the Scholar Rescue Fund partnership, which has allowed the Finnish National Agency for Education and the host higher education institutions to develop sustainable and responsible practices to support the researchers,” said Counsellor of Education Maija Airas.

The Finnish National Agency for Education supports researchers arriving from crisis areas and their opportunities to continue their academic careers at Finnish universities.

So far, Finland has received 11 researchers from Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.

The supported researchers represent a wide range of disciplines, such as medicine, chemical technology, data processing, dentistry, electrical engineering and information technology. The researchers have been hosted in Finland by Aalto University and the universities of Helsinki, Tampere and Turku.