Nokia Foundation and the Fulbright Center have announced the creation of a new Fulbright-Nokia Distinguished Chair. The initiative will support American scholars in Information and Communications Technologies to lecture in Finnish Universities. The first recipient is expected in Finland for the academic year 2010-2011.

The Nokia Foundation was formed in 1995. It supports the scientific development of information and telecommunications technologies and promotes the education sector in Finland. Last year the Nokia Foundation awarded 76 scholarships totaling €399,000. Cooperation between the Fulbright Center and the Nokia Foundation began in 1999 with the Fulbright-Nokia Grant in Electronics, Information and Telecommunications Technology.

According to Terhi Mölsä, Executive Director for the Fulbright Center, the cooperation with the Nokia Foundation builds on ten years of joint work. The new Chair takes the cooperation to a new level, as the Fulbright Distinguished Chair is considered among the most prestigious appointments in the global Fulbright Scholar Program.

The application period for the academic year 2010-2011 ends on August 1, 2009. Application guidelines and more information can be found online at the Fulbright Center's website, www.fulbright.fi/index2.php?lang=en&m=3&id=967&sm=540, or the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, www.cies.org/Chairs.