One bright Fulbright day

Fulbright scholarship recipients often call themselves family. Before leaving Oulu for the orientation day with Fulbright Finland in Helsinki last week as a new grant recipient, I had been wondering whether this sounds too affectionate.

After spending the day with them, I see that there is indeed a certain aura among Fulbrighters: openness to conversation, genuine interest in other cultures, ease and academic rigour, all combined. This is an atmosphere where I felt at home.

My comparative project on data centres in post-industrial Arctic settlements recently received funding from Fulbright, and next spring I will be visiting Alaska for the first time ever, building collaborations with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

On May 12, my day began at 5:45 with a cheerful train announcement: the train would arrive in Helsinki earlier than planned, so that we could all be home faster! Just my luck, I thought, I am not even going home, and now I will be sleepy and tired during all orientation day and award ceremony.

Fourteen hours later, I was sitting at a bar terrace with fellow grantees, discussing digital infrastructures, differences between Finnish and Estonian, and the influence of AI on academia, and I still felt energized and curious. Was this the magic of Fulbright?

The Foundation’s history in Finland, by the way, is remarkable. It began soon after the Second World War under the name ASLA (Amerikan Suomen Lainan Apurahat, or “Grants from the American Loan to Finland”). At the time, Finland was the only country to repay its loans to the U.S., becoming known as the nation that pays its debts. To recognize this, the U.S. Congress decided to reinvest the funds in academic exchanges between the two countries.

Today, Fulbright is still much more than a research visit grant. I especially value that the program’s alumni remain connected, and that it encourages you to think beyond your own scholarly interests: how does my work represent the country I work in, and how could it be translated into other research environments and contexts?

As I walked back to my late evening train across Kamppi Square, I was still full of thoughts and ideas. A seagull was proudly climbing the stairs there, and I stopped to watch her, thinking: could this visit be the next step in my emerging data centre project? Although my research stay in Alaska will happen only next year, I am already very hopeful about this new collaboration.

Then the seagull looked at me disapprovingly, and I realized I was almost late for the train.