The purpose of The Riitta and Jorma J. Takanen Foundation is to support and promote expertise, development, and international competitiveness in business, especially in the industry of technology, within central and northern Finland (the geographical area includes provinces of Lapland, Northern-, Central-, and Southern Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia, Kainuu region and Central Finland). The foundation particularly supports applied research activities and internationalization in the aforementioned area through its grants.
The Foundation awards grants upon application for:
• Promoting internationalization of students at universities and universities of applied sciences having a student exchange or internship program abroad.
• Research activities conducted at universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutes
The applicant must notice that grant decisions must comply with the foundation´s purpose, including sector of industry and regional requirements. The better the applicant and the application meet these conditions, the more advantageous it is considered when making grant decisions.
Applications for grants are submitted using the foundation’s electronic grant application forms, and all the necessary attachments must also be provided. The link to the application form can be found at www.rjtsaatio.fi.
When filing an application, the applicant accepts that their personal data will be stored in a technically protected personal data register for the grant application process. The data will be deleted within a reasonable time. More detailed information can be found in the foundation’s data privacy statement (www.rjtsaatio.fi, Säätiön tietosuojaseloste).
All the applicants will be notified personally of the foundation’s decision. Those who receive a positive decision are asked for additional information, e.g. regarding grant payment procedures and information for taxation authorities.
Special instructions on applications of grants for student exchange and internship
These grants are intended for bachelor’s as well as master’s level students at universities and universities of applied sciences who go abroad for a long-term (mainly more than one month) exchange program as a student of for a corresponding period of internship as an employee.
The application period is twice a year, usually 1.3. – 30.4. and 1.9. – 31.10. The start of the application period is announced on the foundation website (www.rjtsaatio.fi). Applications are processed within approximately one month after the end of the application period.
Generally, the application must be submitted before the start of the exchange or internship period. In exceptions an application form can be submitted after the exchange or internship period has started, but however, this period must not end before the end of the relevant grant application period.
A certificate regarding a student exchange or internship period issued by a host institution can be submitted also after the application period has ended.
A decision on a grant and on an amount of a grant is affected inter alia by
• The faculty and program an applicant is studying
• Academic merits and performance, weighted GPA of studies
• The length of exchange study and internship period
• An applicant´s connection and ties to central and northern Finland
• Other grants received by the applicant for the same purpose
In 2025, the average grant awarded for exchange studies was 1.230 euros.
Special instructions for grant applications concerning research activities
These grants are intended for doctoral and post-doctoral researchers.
The application period is once a year, usually 1.3. – 30.4. The start of the application period is announced on the foundation website (www.rjtsaatio.fi). Applications are processed within approximately two months after the end of the application period, unless the foundation decides to extend the processing time.
The grant application may concern an encouragement grant or a full-time research (working) grant.
A decision on a grant and on an amount of a grant is affected inter alia by
• The subject of the research and its connection to the focus themes the foundation has possibly chosen
• An applicant´s connection and ties to central and northern Finland
• The immediate or indirect impact of the research on the foundation´s geographical area
• The amount of time for a grant to be utilized can vary up to three calendar years.
The foundation confirms possible focus themes for each application period, and these themes can be found on the foundation’s website (www.rjtsaatio.fi) (“Latest news”).
An amount of an encouragement grant awarded is approximately 5.000 – 30.000 euros, so that for one calendar year approximately 5.000 – 10.000 euros can be allocated from a grant, and the part exceeding this is will be allocated for one or two subsequent years, and will be subject to interim reporting agreed with an applicant and a new positive decision by the foundation.
The maximum amount of a full-time research grant per year is equal with the maximum amount that is exempt from tax pursuant to the Finnish Income Tax Act (1535/1992) (in 2025 26.671,92 euros).
The foundation may change these amounts at its discretion, and any amendments will be announced on the foundation´s website (www.rjtsaatio.fi).
The applicant for a full-time research grant may be employed for a maximum of 20,0 % (one day a week).
Grants are not awarded for the purchase of basic work equipment and tools (phone, laptop).
The application must describe the scientific and technical significance of the research, as well as its societal and economic impact in Finland.
The research plan attached to the application may consist of max five pages plus a list of references.
A statement from the research supervisor or equivalent will be attached to the application. The foundation will send the request for this statement to the supervisor.
The foundation may also use external parties to evaluate applications, and the applicant accepts this processing when submitting the application. The applicant also accepts that the recipients of the granted scholarships and the research topics may be published.
The application with attachments must be made in English unless there are special reasons for using the Finnish language.
Grant applications for research visits and conference trips
The foundation has decided to discontinue awarding grants for research visits and conference trips.
