CIB chief executive Don Ward undertook a flying visit to Finland in early April to meet with local CIB member institutions. He met with Tampere University, RIL and VTT, and with key individuals including Board members Janne Tahtikunnas and Piia Sormunen, Deputy Chair of CIB’s Programme Committee, Kalle Kahkonen, and CIB Programme Manager Sina Moradi.
Issues discussed included the strength of the Finland research base particularly in digital and sustainability, other Finnish organisations who would be interested in CIB membership, and whether CIB should extend its ‘student’ proposition to include Masters students not just Doctorates.
Don also visited KiraHUB in Espoo, and with Janne met with the biggest technical university in Finland, Aalto University, to discuss the value of CIB membership.
“I am very grateful to all the CIB members for their warm welcome and generous hospitality during my short visit. The strength of Finnish research is impressive, as is its profile on the European and global scale, notably in digital and sustainable built environment, and is testament to the quality of researchers and the funding investment by Business Finland and others”.
Don Ward
