For Young Academy Finland the year 2025 meant significant expansions to our international networks. Previous year’s initiatives were further solidified while more established activities rolled along.
After several years of groundwork, Young Academy Finland strengthened its standing in multiple areas in 2025. In terms of international networks, our new memberships in the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities ALLEA and the International Science Council ISC, which is a global voice for science, were major news. Our position is exceptional in many ways: only a handful of young academies are currently members of ALLEA, and in the ISC, Young Academy Finland is the only academy member from Finland. Thanks to the ALLEA membership, Young Academy Finland’s members have been elected to significant expert groups: Maria Kaukonen was elected to ALLEA Research Ethics and Integrity Council, Saana Jukola to Strenghtening trust in science task force and Veera Ehrlén to EDI in Research – Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in European Academia task force.
We also kept in touch with our existing international partners through several international meetings.
As for science education, our Meet a Researcher service kept growing: the service provided nearly 700 remote visits during 2025, reaching approximately 16,000 pupils and students. New initiatives established in 2024, the online science journal Mene ja tiedä and Träffa en forskare, the Swedish speaking side of Meet a Researcher, also strengthened their standing. Especially the Swedish speaking researcher pool has expanded (by 40%) and the service received roughly 30% more requests for visits which indicates the growing popularity of the service. The online science journal Mene ja tiedä has published more than 60 articles aimed at young people, and the articles represent more than 70 different fields of science. In spring 2025, one of the articles was used in the national university admission entrance exam H. As a new initiative, we offered Meet a Researcher visits to early childhood education. The report detailing the results of these visits is delightful.
The past year also brought changes to the staff and board of Young Academy Finland. In August, Riikka Hiltunen transitioned to a full-time position managing the academy and Inka Rantakallio was elected as the new editor-in-chief of Mene ja tiedä. Anna Svenn was elected as Selja Taipale’s successor on the Swedish speaking side of our science education activities. Tommi Kärkkäinen joined our staff for the autumn to conduct a report which will be used for improving Young Academy Finland’s working models that support young researchers’ public engagement.
A new board was elected at the autumn general meeting. Lasse Lehtonen stepped down as chair and Samuli Autti was elected as the new chair. Vice chair Velma Aho became an alumna and Sanna Selinheimo was elected as the new vice chair. The board gained five new members.
Our fourth open membership call produced a record number of applications, and our membership gained 18 new members.
Our Academy clubs rolled along, providing opportunities to learn and discuss the role of social media in working as a researcher, societal engagement, and responsible researcher evaluation. Remote morning coffee meetings, launched in 2024, became a stable part of our activities, and we also took part in the Night of Science by organizing an event for the public.
A more thorough report of our 2025 activities will be available on our website in the spring.
With this year-end review we wish all our partners a peaceful holiday season and a happy new year!
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