Sofia Raikow
Ambassador of Finland to the United States Leena-Kaisa Mikkola poses for a photo in front of the Administration Building at Colorado State University after meeting with CSU administration Nov. 12. “I think quantum and photonics, they have been there, but as (with) everywhere in the free world, the government is not familiar with all the details," Mikkola said. "These specific fields of science, I think, have been represented, and we hope that with this trip there will be even more collaboration on this."
The Ambassador of Finland to the United States Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, as well as several members of the Finnish delegation, visited Colorado State University as part of a tour of Colorado Nov. 12 to explore future collaborative opportunities, especially in the field of quantum mechanics.
As a career diplomat, Mikkola has been placed in seven countries on diplomatic missions representing Finland in Brussels, Belgium; Canberra, Australia; Athens, Greece; Budapest, Hungary; Tel Aviv, Israel; Beijing, China; and now Washington, D.C.
“As a diplomatic organization, we are (representing) the interests of Finland and Finnish people. We are representing the interests of Finnish universities in that sense also. So you cannot really stay in your own bubble. You have to build bridges and share know-how and learn from others. So it’s just basic principle in diplomacy: Don’t do it alone.” –Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, Finnish diplomat
Mikkola’s posting in the United States began last September and will last for the next several years. The Finnish Embassy in Washington, D.C., is located across the street from the Vice President’s mansion and has been a mainstay on Embassy Row since 1994.
“One of the reasons why we are here is that because Finland and Colorado have a memorandum of understanding of cooperation since February 2022,” Mikkola said. “That paves way for collaboration between government officials and businesses, but also academia. And the topics of this particular trip now are mostly on quantum and photonics, and that will be the topic also here at CSU this afternoon.”
Finland and CSU’s collaborations in the past include over 170 co-authored publications between the university and Finnish researchers. The most notable research collaborations at CSU include those with researchers at the University of Helsinki and University of Jyväskylä, as well as the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
“(Those papers) are not only quantum and photonics; it’s all kinds of fields, from psychology to meteorology and environmental issues, everything,” Mikkola said. “So I think quantum and photonics, they have been there, but you know, as everywhere in the free world, the government is not familiar with all the details, but this specific fields of science, I think, have been represented.”
One of the most notable of these research collaborations includes work by V Chandrasekar, CSU university distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering and an honorary distinguished professor at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For the collaboration, Chandrasekar was awarded the Insignia of Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland in 2016.
“Joint programs with various universities (are important), but also issues linked to mobility … of professors and researchers, but also students,” Mikkola said. “I’m not quite sure whether you know how many Finnish universities have official MOUs or protocols, but I think that there’s always been a great enthusiasm among Finnish academia to have close cooperation with universities here in United States. You are seen as being always in the forefront of science and education and technology.”
Mikkola said Finnish students from Aalto University have studied at CSU, and students from CSU have studied at Aalto University via an exchange program in the past. Part of the diplomatic visit for the Finnish delegation included meeting with Gov. Jared Polis in Denver and visiting other areas of collaboration across the state of Colorado.
In terms of Finland’s visit to CSU to advance efforts in quantum, Finland and Colorado signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 to advance sustainable development and quantum and high-performance computational science.
“As always, in diplomacy, me, myself and I think my colleagues learn a lot,” Mikkola said. “We find out about future possibilities for collaboration and cooperation. I think it’s also a wonderful way to meet people from different backgrounds because (there’s) all kinds of cooperation and collaboration. In the end, it’s between people, and this gives us the possibility to get new contacts, create networks. And also for these businesses and representatives of universities that are here, same applies to them.”
In 2023, Finland and the state of Colorado announced a partnership in collaboration in the space industry. As part of the collaboration, Finland collaborated with Colorado-based space defense companies, including Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace & Technologies and the United Launch Alliance. Finland’s aerospace companies collaborating with Colorado-based organizations include Aboa Space Research Oy, Aurora Propulsion Technologies and Kuva Space.
“We very much hope that this visit is something that has been good,” Mikkola said. “As I said, there have been lots of scientific publications and visits also, but let’s hope that this visit will give it an additional boost. That’s an idea behind this.”
Mikkola and the Finnish delegation emphasized the desire for continued collaboration across research spheres and the importance of international cooperation and diplomacy.
“As a diplomatic organization, we are (representing) the interests of Finland and Finnish people,” Mikkola said. “We are representing the interests of Finnish universities in that sense also. So you cannot really stay in your own bubble. You have to build bridges and share know-how and learn from others. So it’s just basic principle in diplomacy: Don’t do it alone.”
Reach Allie Seibel at news@collegian.com or on social media @allie_seibel_.