The activities of the University of Eastern Finland are supported and promoted by four non-profit foundations, which work close to the university, but are nevertheless independent. The activities of the Joensuu Campus are supported by Joensuu University Foundation, and the activities of the Kuopio Campus by Kuopio University Foundation, Antti and Tyyne Soininen Foundation, and Helena Vuorenmies Foundation. The rules and purpose of the foundations define their scope for activities.
Each of the foundations is represented by a board, which also uses the decision-making power of the foundation. The chair of the board of Joensuu University Foundation is the Rector / Academic Rector of the University of Eastern Finland appointed to the Joensuu Campus. The chair of the board of the foundations supporting the activities of the Kuopio Campus is the Rector / Academic Rector of the University of Eastern Finland appointed to the Kuopio Campus. The foundations' executive managers are in charge of the preparation and execution of the decisions of the board, as well as for the operational activities of the foundations.
Joensuu University Foundation
The purpose of the foundation is to support and raise awareness of the activities of the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland.
The foundation awards grants to units operating on the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland, supports events relating to its scope of operations, and also otherwise promotes the activities and public awareness of the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland.
The foundation can accept donations, bequeathed assets and other assets given to the foundation to carry out activities supporting its purpose. Furthermore, at the request of a donator, it is also possible to set up a specific fund.
Joensuu University Foundation awards funding and grants for the following purposes:
1. Doctoral researcher to postdoctoral researcher transition funding
The grant is designed to promote further academic research and can be awarded to researchers who have defended, or will be defending, their doctorate on the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland. The Foundation pays the grant to the unit where the applicant is or has been enrolled as a doctoral candidate, provided that the unit is prepared to employ the applicant.
In the application form, the applicant has to present on how the grant for a transition phase supports the applicant’s research career. A work plan for the funding period must be presented.
Only researchers who have submitted their doctoral dissertation for pre-examination before the end of the application period can apply. Eligibility for the funding requires permission to proceed to public examination. Researchers who have already successfully defended their doctoral dissertation can apply for the funding within the first two years after the date of their degree certificate (at the end of the application period).
The maximum amount that can be awarded is EUR 24,000 per researcher, which corresponds to six months of full-time employment. The job-related salary element is based on job requirement level 4 (EUR 2,628.85 per month). The funding also includes a salary element based on personal performance, which amounts to between 6% and 50% of the job-related salary element. The funding must be spent by the end of 2024.
Budget: EUR 72,000 (usually one grant per faculty in Joensuu).
Application period: 16 January 2023 to 31 March 2023.
Apply for the doctoral researcher to postdoctoral researcher transition funding via this form. (form will be opened as the call opens).
2. International conferences on the Joensuu Campus
The grant is designed to promote international cooperation and networking by means of international conferences aimed at promoting scientific research and debate.
Applications must, as a rule, satisfy the following eligibility criteria:
- The conference promotes the areas of scientific research that are pursued on the Joensuu Campus
- A significant percentage of the participants are expected to be foreign nationals
- The language of the conference is English
- Credible evidence can be provided on other likely sponsors of the conference as well as registration fees
- The conference is held on or in the vicinity of the Joensuu Campus
The following purposes and events are, as a rule, ineligible:
- National seminars with no foreign speakers
- Working meetings held in preparation for international research projects
- Conferences held abroad
- Researcher training courses and summer schools
- Events that have already taken place when decisions on awarding grants are made
Budget: EUR 35,000 per year. The call is open in spring and autumn.
Spring application period: 16 January to 31 March 2023.
Apply for a grant to organise an international conference on the Joensuu Campus via this form. (form will be opened as the call opens).
3. Regionally significant projects (co-financing or seed funding)
The Chair of the Board of the Foundation has the authority to award grants towards regionally significant projects within the budget approved by the Board.
Budget: EUR 20,000 per year
Application period: continuous
Joensuu University Foundation has its roots in Pohjois-Karjalan Yliopistoseura ry, an association formed by regional influencers in North Karelia seeking to support the establishment of a university in the region. Once that goal was achieved and the University of Joensuu established, the association discontinued its activities and assumed a new name: Joensuu University Foundation.
When the University of Joensuu and the University of Kuopio merged to constitute the University of Eastern Finland in 2010, the foundation kept its original name. Today, the purpose of the foundation is to support and raise awareness of the activities of the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland.
The foundation’s decision-making power is used by its board, which comprises the university’s Rector/ Academic Rector based on the Joensuu Campus, as well as eight other members, four of whom are selected at the proposal of the university.
The foundation’s assets amount to approximately 5.5 million euros, consisting of stocks, two forest estates, apartments and liquid assets. The foundation's grant-awarding activities, which amount to almost 200,00 euros annually, are based on returns on assets and donations.
Postal address
Joensuu University Foundation
c/o University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu Campus
P.O. Box 111
FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland
Chair of the Board of Joensuu University Foundation
Academic Rector Tapio Määttä
Tel. +358 505751589
Email: tapio.maatta@uef.fi
Vice Chair of the Board of Joensuu University Foundation:
Professor Matti Turtiainen
Tel. +358 294455313
Email: matti.turtiainen@uef.fi
Executive Manager
Director of Planning and Development Soili Makkonen
Tel. +358 294458208
Email: soili.makkonen@uef.fi
Kuopio Campus foundations
Kuopio University Foundation, Antti and Tyyne Soininen Foundation and Helena Vuorenmies Foundation award grants yearly. The call for grant applications is published in August-September and the decisions on grants are made in November-December. Learn more about the funds of Kuopio University Foundations.
The grant application for the foundations will be opened on September 1, 2023.
Grantees for 2023 will be notified in person of the grant awarded in November-December and the names of the grant recipients will be published in December.
- Grant policy
- Research grants 2023
- Grant recipients (December, 2023)
Kuopio University Foundation
Kuopio University Foundation's grants are for personnel and students of Kuopio Campus, University of Eastern Finland.
Applicants may apply grants from one or more funds if the applicant meet each funds individual requirements.
Grant applications are made using the electronic grant application system. With application form applicants ought to include only one in pdf format attachment, which includes the research plan (no more than 3-4 pages), curriculum vitae including list of original publications, and a statement from the applicant's supervisor.
The application period begins 1st of September 2023. Please submit your grant application by 30th of September 2023 at latest using the electronic grant application system.
The application form will be published here.
Antti ja Tyyne Soininen Foundation
The Soininen Foundation's grants are for students and personnel of Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland for cardiovascular research.
Grant applications are made using the electronic grant application system. With application form applicants ought to include only one in pdf format attachment, which includes the research plan (no more than 3-4 pages), curriculum vitae including list of original publications, and a statement from the applicant's supervisor.
The application period begins 1st of September 2023. Please submit your grant application by 30th of September 2023 at latest using the electronic grant application system.
The application form will be published here.
Helena Vuorenmies Foundation
The Vuorenmies Foundation's grant is for a young and talented researcher originally from Savo region for research in the field of metabolism and organ function regulation.
Grant applications are made using the electronic grant application system. With application form applicants ought to include only one in pdf format attachment, which includes the research plan (no more than 3-4 pages), curriculum vitae including list of original publications, and a statement from the applicant's supervisor.
The application period begins 1st of September 2023. Please submit your grant application by 30th of September 2023 at latest using the electronic grant application system.
The application form will be published here.
Applications and report on grant use
In writing or by e-mail applications will not be accepted. Incomplete applications will not be processed.
Applicants awarded a grant are required to deliver a report on use of the grant and research results by using a Foundation form.
Report on grant use must be delivered to the foundation by the end of the following year the grant was awarded.
Kuopio University Foundation
Postal address
Kuopio University Foundation
c/o Itä-Suomen yliopisto
P.O. 1627
FI-70211 Kuopio
Chair of the board
Rector Jukka Mönkkönen
Tel. 0294458001, 58001, 0407288057
Email: jukka.monkkonen@uef.fi
Executive Manager
Petri Rintamäki
Tel. 02944 58298, 58298, 050 575 9957
Email: petri.rintamaki@uef.fi
Secretary
Satu Turunen
Tel. 02944 53031, 53031, 040 3553698
Email: satu.turunen@uef.fi