"Korea and Finland are facing common challenges, such as a shortage of research and development personnel. This is why cooperation between the two countries must evolve beyond mere exchanges to a strategic and sustainable partnership."
On the 25th, Erja Heikkinen, head of the science policy department at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, met at Yonsei University and expressed her commitment to South Korea-Finland scientific and technological cooperation. Heikkinen visited Korea to attend the South Korea-Finland Innovation Forum held that day.
Recently, the Finnish government has legislated to expand the national level research and development budget and is incrementally increasing the budget. Heikkinen noted, "Simply increasing the budget is not enough" and added, "In order to use the increased funds effectively, comprehensive efforts such as talent acquisition, creating a research ecosystem, and infrastructure investment must be undertaken."
In particular, the issue Finland is taking most seriously is the shortage of research and development personnel. He explained, "While research funding in areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology is increasing, the number of researchers has not grown" and "We are encouraging students to choose research as a profession while also implementing strategies to attract overseas talent."
Recently, Finland has also started a separate response focusing on the movement of scientific and technological talent from the United States. The Finnish Research Council has established a program to attract collaboration with American researchers, and a final decision related to this is expected next week.
However, Heikkinen assessed that Finland's strategy for attracting overseas talent is still at a sporadic level. She stated, "Researchers often move with their families, so multifaceted support such as spousal employment and children's education is essential" and noted, "Residence permits, immigration, and citizenship issues span multiple ministries, making it difficult to establish consistent policies." She added, "While International schools and spousal programs are operating in major cities in Finland, it is not easy to extend these to the sparsely populated northern regions, so a more systematic approach is needed."
The challenges Finland faces are not unfamiliar to Korea. Talent shortages, low birth rates, and administrative bottlenecks are structural problems shared by both countries. Heikkinen remarked, "While Finland and Korea are different in scale, they face surprisingly similar concerns" and said, "We can become partners to compare and exchange each other's systems and strategies."
The two countries are already continuing substantial cooperation. Since a year and a half ago, the Finnish Research Council and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) have jointly called for research projects. The two organizations agreed on the 25th to continue their collaboration. The Finnish government has designated Korea as a strategic partner and plans to expand specific joint projects in the scientific and technological fields.
Heikkinen stated that during her visit to Korea, she confirmed the potential for collaboration in terms of systems and talent development. In particular, she was impressed by the 'project manager (PM)' system seen at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), as it is a practical way to enhance efficiency in research fields.
A PM is an expert who leads research and development projects. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has granted PMs strong authority and autonomy, resulting in the creation of innovative technologies such as the internet and GPS (Global Positioning System).
Heikkinen also noted the educational structure in which students actually participate in research, similar to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). She said, "As Finland is also at a point of redesigning its higher education system, Korea's example can be a very useful reference" and added, "I hope that our partnership, sharing each other's strengths and exploring directions for development together, will be further strengthened."