Veera Virmasalo appointed as Senior Specialist for Team Finland Knowledge in Pretoria
Veera Virmasalo, (MA), has been appointed to the post of Senior Specialist in Higher Education and Science Policy at the Embassy of Finland in Pretoria from 14 January 2025 to 31 July 2027. Team Finland Knowledge experts are responsible for monitoring higher education and science policy, promoting cooperation opportunities and making Finnish higher education institutions better known in their designated country.
Veera Virmasalo has held positions in communications, project management and research activities in southern Africa over a span of over 13 years, mainly in Namibia and Zambia. She moves to Team Finland Knowledge from her education cooperation project position at the University of Jyväskylä in the Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning (GINTL). The GINTL project, which drew to a close at the end of 2024, was an initiative of 19 Finnish higher education institutions that sought to bring more international scope to Finland's education sector with Africa, India and China. The coordination of the GINTL network was carried out by the University of Helsinki and the University of Jyväskylä.
Virmasalo has prior academic experience related to southern Africa from the University of Malmö, where she was a doctoral researcher, taking part in setting up an innovation hub in connection with the Namibian University of Science and Technology, focusing on local technology solutions.
She will continue the TFK work initiated by Iina Soiri with the aim of raising awareness of Africa's potential in Finland and bringing together southern African and Finnish higher education organisations in mutually beneficial cooperation.
“It would be great if companies were to join in these efforts too. It’s important for higher education institutions and other actors to learn to better recognise each other's areas of interest and the opportunities and limitations that cooperation affords,” Virmasalo says.
The Team Finland Knowledge network set up by the Ministry of Education and Culture comprises eight university and science policy specialists stationed in London, Los Angeles, New Delhi, Beijing, Pretoria, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Washington.
The network helps achieve a more internationally oriented position in higher education and research. In addition, the network promotes Finland's country image so that students, researchers and other talents see Finland as an attractive option and helps build contacts for sharing Finnish competences and educational innovations worldwide.
- Tiina Vihma-Purovaara, opetusneuvos, puh. 0295330327, tiina.vihma-purovaara(at)gov.fi