US withdrawal of Finnish scholar's grant sparks concerns over academic freedom

Helsinki, May 22 (IANS) The US Department of State has cancelled a Fulbright scholarship awarded to a Finnish researcher, citing political misalignment with policies under President Donald Trump -- a move condemned in Finland as an affront to academic freedom, media reported.

Saara Loukola, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki (HY), had been set to travel to the US in September to conduct interviews for her dissertation on how American teacher education programs address racism. She had planned to adapt the findings for Finnish teacher training.

However, in early May, US authorities informed her that the $36,000 grant had been withdrawn and her visa denied, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

According to Loukola, the US State Department determined that her research topic was incompatible with executive orders issued by Trump.

"I had a bad feeling when I heard the applications were being re-evaluated," Loukola told Finnish News Agency STT.

"It wasn't a surprise, but it was still a shock."

She added that the loss of on-site access had rendered her original research plan unviable.

Despite the setback, Loukola said she would not alter her study to fit political expectations.

"This kind of pressure fosters self-censorship, but I won't censor science," she said, adding that she remains committed to completing her dissertation in Finland with institutional support.

Ritva Dammert, development director at the HY, said Loukola's case was not isolated.

Other scholars have also seen previously approved US funding subjected to political review, she noted.

In one recent example, an American researcher's planned visit to Finland to study climate change was cancelled after the US government withdrew its financial support, the Fulbright Finland Foundation told STT.

"It's astounding that this is happening in a country where academic and research freedom are constitutionally protected," Dammert told STT.

"In my view, this is an attack on academic freedom."

While acknowledging that funders reserve the right to choose what they support, Dammert said research areas such as climate change and gender equality were frequently defunded during the Trump era -- topics widely pursued by Finnish and European academics.

She also revealed that US research funding to HY had been temporarily frozen at the beginning of Trump's second term, with the institution required to submit detailed reporting on how funds were used in alignment with American policy goals.

According to Dammert, the university has recently seen a surge in applications from US-based scholars, a trend she interprets as growing concern among American researchers about domestic restrictions on academic freedom.

The cases have reignited broader debates over the politicisation of science and the vulnerability of academic freedom under shifting political regimes -- concerns that extend well beyond the US, STT commented.

The Fulbright Program, a US government-funded international academic exchange initiative, aims to promote mutual understanding through scholarly collaboration.

--IANS

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