The Nokia Foundation’s work continues with Hannu Kauppinen as the new chairman   The Nokia Board of Directors has appointed Hannu Kauppinen, the Chief Technology Officer of Nokia Technologies as the Chairman of the Nokia Foundation for 2021 following the retirement of Timo Ali-Vehmas after nine years as chairman and over 40 years at Nokia.

For 2021 Nokia Board of Directors has appointed the following members to the Board of the Nokia Foundation: Hannu Kauppinen (Chairman), Kimmo Hätönen and Jukka Rantala from Nokia, and Jukka Manner, professor of Networking Technology at the Aalto University, Petri Myllymäki, professor of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the University of Helsinki, Aarno Pärssinen, professor of Radio Engineering at the University of Oulu, and Mikko Valkama, professor of Communications Engineering at Tampere University.

Speaking about his appointment Hannu Kauppinen said “I am thrilled and honored to take on the role of Chairman. Since its establishment the Nokia Foundation has been a significant promoter of scientific research and education in the Finnish ICT sector. This work is more valuable than ever as 5G becomes mainstream and research continues into developing 6G. Going forward, we will continue the efforts to further strengthen Finland’s position and ties with the global research community.”

The Nokia Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization that was established in 1995 to support the scientific development of information and communications technologies and to promote education within the field in Finland. To fulfill its mission, the foundation provides scholarships, awards and support for academic research and publication.

Non-governmental foundations play an important role, especially in the field of science and arts, and are a major enabler of international exchange and collaboration within research communities at home and abroad. Furthermore, the funding from independent foundations provides substantial support to the development of new innovations. Over the past 25 years, the Nokia Foundation has granted over 1,800 scholarships and other grants. In 2020 alone, the Foundation granted scholarships and awards totaling around €400,000.

Nokia Foundation is its own, separate entity from Nokia Corporation. The foundation board is appointed by the Nokia Board of Directors. Nokia sponsors the foundation in many ways, the most important being Nokia employees’ time and access to tools and systems.

        The 2019 recipients of the grants, scholarships and awards granted by the Nokia Foundation