Ambassador Marianne Huusko to boost education export

Press release 152/2016
19 August 2016

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment are collaborating in the promotion of education export. Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Marianne Huusko has been appointed Chief Specialist in Education Export starting on 1 September. Huusko's most recent posting was Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the European Union. In that position, she participated, among other things, in the management of the EU education policies.

"Finnish education enjoys an excellent reputation across the world. Our strong expertise must be translated into exports. The work of Ambassador for education export will include, among other things, responsibility for determining potential markets and clients and making sure that the entire Team Finland machinery supports the Finnish education export effectively," notes Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen.

The post of Ambassador for education export is new. It hightlights coordination between different central government actors, especially with Team Finland and education export actors and stakeholders.

"There is great interest in Finnish education in various parts of the world, and there is enormous capacity for its commercialisation. We are currently well on our way to remove legislative barriers to education export. By encouraging education organisers to internationalise and by looking into new markets for our highly appreciated education, we will get new sources of income for Finland. Both educational institutions and private enterprises are engaged in the field of education export. An Ambassador for education export is needed to build bridges and to initiate contacts," says Minister of Education and Culture Sanni Grahn-Laasonen.

"The post of Ambassador for education export is an important element contributing to the ambitious export and growth goals of the Government Programme. Finland's preconditions to become a leading country in education export are based on an excellent whole consisting of high-quality pedagogy, digital solutions and learning environments. Team Finland growth programme, called Education Export Finland, which is funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, gathers Finland's education exporters and actively seeks to promote export contacts and to find funding solutions," says Minister of Economic Affairs Olli Rehn.

Inquiries:
(1 September onwards) Marianne Huusko, Ambassador for education export, [email protected]
Suvi Aherto, Special Adviser to Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen, tel. +358 50 349 6121, [email protected]Jaana Palojärvi, Director for International Relations, Ministry of Education and Culture, tel. +358 295 3 30242, [email protected]Tuuli-Maaria Aalto, Adviser to the Minister of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 50 431 7529, [email protected]

The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are in the format [email protected].