The 2025 edition of the FINA award is comming soon!
Since 2020, the French Institutes of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden jointly award a prize to five young researchers from the Nordic region in recognition of their outstanding achievements. The so-called French Institute Nordic Award (FINA) aims to foster scientific cooperation on a theme of shared interest from both the Nordic countries and France. Details regarding the 2025 theme and deadlines will be posted on this webpage, stay tuned for updates!.
Should your research interests connect with the upcomming 2025 theme, should you be willing to strengthen your international network while visiting France, the French Nordic Institutes invite you to participate in the FINA mobility, a short mobility programme of scientific networking that combines visits to university or research institutes laboratories, programme presentations and scientific exchanges. Visits are conducted in English.
When to apply
To be announced.
Selection procedure
One laureate will be selected in each of the participating countries (Estonia, Danemark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) by a selection committee composed of the Directors and Scientific attachés of the five French Institutes.
Selection criteria
The selection criteria will be as follows:
- The relevance of the research work in relation to the theme
- The originality of the researcher’s approach
- The motivation of the candidate to receive the award
- The complementarity of the selected profiles and research themes
Award
The FINA recognises the quality and relevance of the work carried out by the laureate. It consists of scientific mobility in the Normandy region (Caen and Rouen) and in Paris. The objective is to enable the laureates to network with colleagues in France by visiting French laboratories, meeting and developing scientific cooperation with their French counterparts.
Provisional timeline for 2025
- April: Call deadline
- End of May: Announcement of the laureates,
- June: Preparation webinar with five laureates
- June: Award ceremony
- September: Mobility in France.
How to apply
All applications must be made online and in English via the given link before the deadline
The application file should include all the following documents:
- Your application form filled
- Your CV
- Presentation of your current research
- List of your main publications
- Motivation letter
- A short biography.
Past projects
2024 edition
The 2024 FINA theme was “Digital Health.”
FINA continues to celebrate the achievements of young researchers working within Nordic institutions and aims to enhance scientific and cultural ties between France and the Nordic countries. This year’s research trip included presentations on France’s ambitious digital health strategy, which aims to advance digital health by 2030. Visits to key institutions like the Institut Pasteur, INSERM, ARS Paris, PePR, and the University of Caen were organised for the laureates, allowing them to forge links and form collaborations with their French counterparts.
2023 edition
The conference was held on occasion of the awarding of the annual FINA prize of 2023 for Sweden to Mr Pierre Oesterle.
The Nordic French Institutes jointly organized a mobility at the end of September 2023 to Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand for Mr Oesterle and the four other Nordic laureates, Tran Hong Thang (Denmark), Sharib Khan (Estonia), Jenni Kaipainen (Finland) and Olga Odrzygozdz (Norway). They visited a range of laboratories, research institutes and universities, where they had the opportunity to network, coordinate their research and initiate new collaborations.
The FINA recognizes the quality of the work carried out by young researchers established in a Nordic institution. Moreover, it aims to promote cultural and scientific cooperation between France and the Nordic countries by participating in the funding of research mobilities in France. For additional details, including application criteria, annual research themes and past projects, please see FINA’s main page here.
2022 edition
The 2022 FINA theme was “Oceans”.
France and the Nordic countries are resolutely turned towards the sea. They carry ambitious programs for the preservation of the marine environment, the sustainable exploitation of ocean resources and concerted maritime spatial planning. In this context, the FINA aimed to extend its commitment to marine research and promote the work of young Nordic researchers focusing on the oceans.
Following the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this FINA 2022 edition aimed to promote the following sustainable development objectives:
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, sea and marine resources for sustainable development
Four laureates from each Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) have been selected for their remarkable achievements as well as the quality and importance of their research project on the thematic of the Oceans. They were awarded a one-week mobility trip to Brest and Paris. The laureates discovered there French marine scientific research and met researchers, diplomats and decision makers in the fields of marine and maritime sciences.
2020 edition
Launched in 2020, the first FINA theme was “Youth and green innovation”.
This first FINA edition aims to be in line with the French and Swedish strategic partnership for innovation and green solutions signed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven in November 2017 and updated in June 2019.
Four laureates from each Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) have been selected for their remarkable achievements as well as the quality and importance of their research project on the thematic of the year. They were awarded a one-week mobility trip to Marseille. The laureates attended the IUCN Congress and participated to Nature Generation Areas (Espaces Génération Nature) event. They had the chance to present their research, interact with the public and meet other research institutions