For over 50 years, the Science Forum has aimed to highlight researchers, science, and its role in society. This remains true today.
The event is organised by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV), whose mission includes promoting learning and increasing access to reliable research-based knowledge in society.
The Science Forum brings together researchers, scientific communities, and people interested in science, fostering dialogue between them. Accessible and diverse science strengthens both its role in society and access to reliable knowledge – an aim that TSV has promoted since 1899.
The event is organised in collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, the Finnish Academy of Technology, the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in Finland, Tieteen tiedotus ry, and Kone Foundation.
These organisations form the steering group of the Science Forum:
- Secretary General Pekka Aula (Finnish Academy of Science and Letters)
- Secretary General Mats Gyllenberg (Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters)
- CEO Ulla Tuomarla (Kone Foundation)
- Academy Secretary Åsa Lindberg (Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in Finland)
- Chairperson Esa Väliverronen (Tieteen tiedotus ry)
- Executive Director Lea Ryynänen-Karjalainen (Federation of Finnish Learned Societies)
- CEO Susanna Pettersson (Finnish Cultural Foundation)
- Secretary General Eija Zitting (Finnish Academy of Technology)
Mandi Vermilä, Secretary General of the Science Forum, serves as the group’s secretary.
Alongside the partner organisations, the University of Helsinki is a key supporter and collaborator of the Science Forum, providing the event venues free of charge.
The visual identity of the Science Forum is designed by graphic designer and illustrator Lille Santanen. It is based on Syli (2024), a painting by artist Eliina Hurtig. The Night of Science shares the visual identity with the Science Forum.
Programme committee
The programme is designed by a dedicated programme committee appointed for a two-year term by the Science Forum’s steering group. You can learn more about the 2027 Science Forum program committee in our online article.
The programme is complemented by the Night of Science, organised in collaboration with a wide network of partners and funded by the Kone Foundation.
History
The Finnish Science Forum dates back to the 1920s, when similar events were held under the name “Tutkijainkokous” (Researchers’ Meeting). The event was first organised under the name Science Forum in 1954, and the initiative to establish it as a regularly recurring event was proposed at a meeting of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in 1974. From January 1977 onwards, it was first held every five years and later every three years, with the Finnish Cultural Foundation joining as an external funder.
In the late 1980s, the role of the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV) in organising the Science Forum increased, and its Head of Communications, Jan Rydman, became a key figure in its development. On his initiative, the Science Forum began to be held every two years. Ilari Hetemäki served as Secretary General from 2009 to 2023, and the current Secretary General is Mandi Vermilä.
Today, the Finnish Science Forum is one of the oldest regularly organised science events in Europe, attracting around 10,000 visitors in recent years.