Tuija Keinonen, President and CEO of Medfiles Ltd. has been selected as the University of Eastern Finland’s Alumna of the Year. The award was presented to Keinonen in an alumni meeting held in Kuopio on 31 October. The Alumna/Alumnus of the Year award recognises and celebrates the achievements of the alumni of the University of Eastern Finland in their chosen fields.
Keinonen says that the Alumna of the Year award came as a pleasant surprise.
“I’m very flattered by this award and by the trust the university has put in me. I really appreciate this,” Keinonen said.
“The university has played a major role in my life. It has given me a solid foundation and been a part of my career, in one way or another, practically all the time. I hope this continues in the future, too.”
Keinonen is President and CEO, and a former shareholder, of Medfiles Ltd., an international health sector R&D company with more than 30 years of history in Finland and 20 years in the Baltic countries. Medfiles Ltd. is a spin-off company with firm roots in the University of Eastern Finland.
Born in Polvijärvi, eastern Finland, Keinonen started her studies at the University of Kuopio and graduated with a Master of Science in Pharmacy degree in 1989. She wrote her doctoral dissertation alongside working and obtained her Doctor of Science in Pharmacy degree in 2003. She has been elected to several positions of trust: she has served as a board member in several companies and, since 2012, she has been an Honorary Consul of Estonia.
For the university, Keinonen has been an important partner for example as a guest lecturer and invited speaker, as well as through her membership in the board of the Kuopio University Foundation and in the steering committees of various projects.
“Through these roles, the experience she has gained during her outstanding career has come to benefit the university and other actors in the region,” University of Eastern Finland Rector Jukka Mönkkönen noted.
“I remember the University of Kuopio as being modern and straightforward in a way; how the professors and other staff worked together with the students. The university was a good ‘home’ to a young student,” Keinonen said.
“This university of ours provides strong education and a solid foundation for entering the world of work, serving as a stepping-stone for future aspirations, be they in one’s home town or further away in international markets,” Keinonen said.
This was the eighth time the University of Eastern Finland presented the Alumnus/Alumna of the Year award. Previous recipients of the award include Minister of the Environment, Energy and Housing Kimmo Tiilikainen, Nutritionist Hanna Partanen, Director General Tapio Kosunen, Secretary of State Sari Raassina, OAJ President Olli Luukkainen, Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia Kenneth Matengu and Minister of Transport Anu Vehviläinen.
For further information, please contact:
President and CEO Tuija Keinonen, tel. +358 50 555 1541, tuija.keinonen (a) medfiles.eu
Rector Jukka Mönkkönen, tel. +358 29 445 8001, jukka.monkkonen (a) uef.fi
A print-quality photo of the Alumna of the Year is available at https://kuvapankki.uef.fi/A/UEF+kuvahakemisto/18316?encoding=UTF-8