The aim of the Jane and Aatos Erkko Visiting Professorship in Studies on Contemporary Society is to focus on cultural and social research themes with a topical significance for contemporary society and social justice. The professorship was established in 2008 as the result of a 2.92 million Euros donation from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. The donation, under the discretion of the University of Helsinki Funds, will maintain the professorship and a residence for the holder of the post.
David Schlosberg, Director of the Sydney Environment Institute and Professor of Environmental Politics at the University of Sydney
Since 2004, the Kone Foundation has funded a visiting scholar program that targets Baltic, Belorussian, Ukrainian and Russian scholars. This fellowship program has brought more than seventy researchers to the Collegium and resulted in lasting research cooperation and friendships between Kone Foundation Fellows and Finnish researchers. The cooperation has extended far beyond the walls of the Collegium to include departments from the University of Helsinki, other Finnish universities and EU funding programs.
The Kone Foundation Fellowships are invitational and hence scholars cannot apply for a fellowship directly. Each year the Helsinki Collegium solicits suggestions for fellowship recipients from the University of Helsinki and other Finnish universities and institutions, as well as from Helsinki Collegium alumni. There are no quotas for the different countries or disciplines, but suggestions targeting young scholars are especially encouraged.
In 2022, as a response to the war in Ukraine, the Kone Foundation granted additional funds to support scholars escaping their home countries. These funds were distributed through the Kone Foundation Visiting Scholar program, and an additional call for proposals for recipients was distributed in March 2022.
The next call for Kone Foundation Fellowship will be opened in October 2023. The applicants who want to be considered for this invitational fellowship should contact researchers at the University of Helsinki City Centre Campus Faculties or HCAS alumni.