PhD Petteri Taalas (born 1961) is the Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the chair of the UEF Board.

Doctor of Social Sciences Elli Aaltonen (born 1953) is the Social Welfare Counsellor of the Province of Eastern Finland. She is the deputy chair of the Board of Directors of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), a member of a State Treasury advisory committee, a member of the Board of Directors of OKO Bank Joensuu Region, and a member of the committee addressing social security reform (SATA). Furthermore, she is the chair of the reform committee for the Eastern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency.

Doctor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) Jyrki Kangas is the Director General of Metsähallitus. He is a member of the National Forest Council and the vice chair of the Foundation for European Forest Research. He also holds an adjunct professorship at the University of Joensuu and the University of Helsinki. His academic merits include being given the Scientific Achievement Award by the International Union of Forest Research Organisations in 2000.

MA Tero Karjalainen (born 1971) works as an Administrative Coordinator in the Department of Physics at the University of Kuopio. He is a member of the University Senate of the University of Kuopio and he as acted as the vice chair of the Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers in 2007–2008.

PhD Eeva Kuusela (born 1957) is a Lecturer in Biology at the Joensuu Campus. Her earlier positions of trust include memberships in the Board and Working Committee of the Finnish Union of University Lecturers. Furthermore, she has been a member and vice delegate in the organisational committee of the Trade Union of Education in Finland.

Student Hanna Laakso (born 1986) is a biosciences student at the Kuopio Campus. She is a member of the University Senate of the University of Kuopio and the chair of the Council of Representatives of the Student Union of the University of Kuopio. Last year, she was also a member of the Board of the Student Union.

Doctor of Medicine and Surgery Juhani Nuutinen (born 1950) is a professor and the head of the Institute of Clinical Medicine at Kuopio and the Chief Physician at Kuopio University Hospital. He holds several positions of trust, among them memberships in the Board of Directors of the Eastern Finland Laboratory Centre Joint Authority Enterprise (ISLAB) and in the Advisory Board for Health Care Professionals of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Moreover, he is a permanent expert in various committees and involved in the editorial boards of several international scientific journals.

PhD, Master of Science (Technology) Tapani Pakkanen (born 1949) is a Professor of Chemistry and the head of the Department of Chemistry at Joensuu. He has held several academic positions of trust: he has been a member of the Board of the Academy of Finland, the chair of the Academy of Finland Research Council for Natural Sciences and the chair of the Finnish Union of University Professors.

Student Jussi Sallinen (born 1986) is a fourth-year social policy student at Joensuu. He is the chair of the Finnish Student Sports Federation and has earlier acted as the chair of the Board of the Student Union of the University of Joensuu. Furthermore, he is a member of the municipal council of Liperi and the North Karelia Municipal Education and Training Consortium.

Master of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) Tiina Tolvanen is the CEO of the North Karelia Chamber of Commerce. She holds several positions of trust, e.g. memberships in the regional advisory board of Finnvera Ltd., in the executive board of the Regional Centre Programme of the Joensuu Region and in the advisory board of the North Karelia Region Centre of Expertise.