Welcoming the Young Academy Finland to the ISC Membership

The International Science Council is pleased to announce that the Young Academy Finland (YAF) has joined its Membership. YAF’s addition to the network of affiliated Young Academies strengthens the ISC’s capacity to support early-career scientists and expands opportunities for global networking and collaboration among young researchers.

To learn more about the academy, we spoke with Riikka Hiltunen, Science Secretary at the Young Academy Finland.

Riikka, could you tell us a bit about your organization, its activities and its members?

The Young Academy Finland is a multidisciplinary community of young researchers that works to promote research and strengthen the role of science in society. We aim to foster dialogue across disciplines and between researchers and the wider public. We also advance open science practices and ensure that the perspectives of young researchers are represented in public debates on science and scholarship. In addition, we encourage young people to consider research careers by connecting researchers with schools.

One of our best-known initiatives is the Meet a Researcher service, which we have coordinated since 2019. This programme connects professional researchers with high school students through classroom visits and guest lectures. More than half of Finnish high schools have participated, and the initiative reaches over 10,000 students every year.

The Young Academy operates under the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. Twenty new members are elected annually for a four-year term. Membership criteria include outstanding research achievements, strong motivation, being under 40 years of age, and within five years of completing a doctorate.

Why does your organization value the ISC Membership?

We believe that membership offers us the opportunity to expand our global networks, engage in international collaboration and exchange, and stay informed about current developments in international science. We already maintain strong connections with many European organisations, but the ISC membership significantly broadens our network while also amplifying our voice on issues of shared concern, such as scientific freedom, and challenges affecting early-career researchers in particular.

What are your key priorities for the next five years?

We are already widely known for supporting science education in schools. Over the next five years, our goal is to strengthen our position as an expert organisation in policy advice, which we consider as one of the major areas where researchers need to increase their visibility, both locally and internationally. As an organisation we have the capacity to produce multidisciplinary knowledge and science advice for policy makers.

Are there any ISC projects that the YAF is particularly interested to get involved in?

Evidence-based policy-making is a key area where we wish to be involved, since creating a new structure for science for policy is one of our aims in the near future. Questions related to Freedom and Responsibility in Science and the Right to Science are also important to us as an organization of Early Career Researchers, who face many challenges at this vulnerable career stage. We hope to learn but also to give back!

Anything else that you would like to share with other ISC Members?

We are excited about our membership and the opportunity to represent early-career researchers in ISC, and we are looking forward to becoming involved in ISC’s activities, as well as meeting other member organisations!

Photo by Young Academy Finland.