Research Manager Eevi Laukkanen re-joined the academic community in Finland after years spent abroad. She’s now found a new home at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.
Laukkanen has her roots in Pielavesi, North Savo. Via Oulu and Helsinki, her international career took her to the UK for almost two decades.
“With Brexit and the COVID pandemic, I started looking for a job that would allow me to stay in Finland a little more flexibly, as I have family and relatives here. Due to its location, I had been keeping an eye on the University of Eastern Finland for quite some time, and my impression of the university was positive.”
When a suitable position opened up, Laukkanen seized the opportunity. In June 2023, she started working as the Research Manager of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies.
In her new role, Laukkanen assists the faculty’s researchers and research groups in participating in international research funding programmes, especially Horizon Europe and other EU programmes. She’s been getting started by familiarising herself with the faculty’s themes of research, research groups and researchers.
“It’s important that I learn to match colleagues with funding calls that are specifically relevant to my faculty. Although many tools are available for this, too, not many researchers have time to stay updated on all relevant opportunities. So, it is good that someone can help with monitoring this and alert researchers to upcoming calls well in advance and provide support and assistance with project proposals throughout the application cycle.”
Due to its location, I had been keeping an eye on the University of Eastern Finland for quite some time, and my impression of the university was positive.
Eevi Laukkanen
Research Manager
Long experience in EU funding
Laukkanen aimed for an international career already in general upper secondary school. After matriculation, she completed a Bachelor’s degree in the UK, followed by a Master’s degree in international relations from the University of Tampere. After graduation, Laukkanen worked on European Social Fund projects in the Northern Ostrobothnia Employment and Economic Development Centre.
“Universities were important and trusted partners in implementing those projects.”
From Oulu, Laukkanen moved to the Academy of Finland (now the Research Council of Finland), where she worked as a Science Advisor for the NORFACE network of European funders. The network also included a UK-based research funder for social sciences. After a few years with the Academy of Finland, Laukkanen’s path took her back to the UK to work for the Economic and Social Research Council, ESRC, the country’s main funder of research in economics, social and behavioural sciences, and data science in the humanities.
From the ESRC, Laukkanen moved to the Research and Innovation Services at Cardiff University to work as a European Officer specialising in EU funding. During the Cardiff years, she spent a stint in Brussels at the UK Research Office, UKRO, in 2013–2014.
“That was the heyday of the UK research community’s involvement with Europe and with the EU programmes. UKRO is a well-respected and well-networked operator in Brussels, so the experience was rewarding, and I also got a more comprehensive view of the UK university sector.”
From Brussels, Laukkanen returned to Cardiff University to work as a business manager to the Pro Vice-Chancellor International, with her role evolving to bilateral partnerships, international mobility and educational collaboration.
“However, I missed working with researchers. I enjoyed being able to assist them with their funding ambitions and quickly seeing the results of our work."
I missed working with researchers.
Eevi Laukkanen
Research Manager
EU funding offers plenty of opportunities for social scientists
At the University of Eastern Finland, Laukkanen is, once again, providing support for research and assisting with proposals submitted to funding programmes.
“As the European Union’s programmes change and evolve all the time, my start here has involved learning lots of new things and getting myself updated. However, I’ve been able to get to work very quickly and I’ve been involved in drafting proposals right from the start.”
The Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies is home to research groups with extensive experience in submitting proposals to EU programmes. Some researchers, on the other hand, have a lot of experience in applying for funding mainly from national sources.
“Of course, researchers’ own preferences matter when it comes to funding instruments. If international research collaboration doesn’t seem to be sitting right, there is no obligation to get involved. However, the European Union’s funding programmes have a lot of untapped potential.”
Various funding instruments have themes that are well-aligned with the faculty’s research profile, such as population health and well-being, digital and green transitions, circular economy, and geopolitical challenges.
“There is also a lot of potential for social sciences to be coordinating projects, but it requires motivation and, above all, time and resources to be able to commit to the work.”
Multidisciplinary approach creates a positive vibe
Laukkanen has a positive impression of the university’s multidisciplinary approach. Researchers have a lot of collaboration outside their own department, and proposals are often submitted jointly by researchers from several departments.
“It has been nice to see this kind of initiative in cross-departmental research collaboration. In externally funded projects, it is a strength for the university to be able to increase its share and to provide a readily multidisciplinary approach at the application stage.”
Rekindling collaboration with universities in the UK
Having worked in the UK for a long time, Laukkanen kept a close eye on the consequences of Brexit on research collaboration with countries in the EU. Research collaboration was experienced more difficult by European partners, and interest in joint projects waned.
“Many UK universities had been trusted coordinators of research projects, with support structures built around these coordination responsibilities.”
After a dry spell following Brexit, research collaboration between the UK and EU Member States is gaining new momentum, as a political agreement on the country’s full association in the Horizon Europe programme from the beginning of 2024 has finally been reached.
Laukkanen hopes that previous relations will be rekindled, and new opportunities for collaboration will be found through EU programmes.
“With the uncertainty now removed, it is important to normalise and foster relations. UK universities have been trusted partners for Nordic researchers, because they have a similar work culture and a lot of experience in promoting the impact of research.”