The Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded €29 million in grants for science, art, and culture based on applications received in October 2025. Researchers at the University of Lapland were awarded seven grants, €160,000 in total.

Among the grant recipients are researchers Marco Volpe and Ningning Sun from the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland.

PhD candidate Marco Volpe received a grant for his study “Uncovered Threads: The Subtle Power of China’s Science Diplomacy in the Poles”.

The study examines China’s expanding scientific activities in both polar regions, interrogating the dual character of science as both a diplomatic resource and a strategic instrument shaping China’s position within specific polar governance mechanisms.

PhD candidate Ningning Sun was awarded a grant for her research “Technologising Reindeer Herding: Plural Ontologies of Tradition, Technology, and Multispecies Relations in Transformation”.

The project aims to explore the dialectical relationship between technology and reindeer herding societies amid rapid social-ecological changes, specifically the integration of technology and innovation with tradition in Arctic land-based livelihoods.The Finnish Cultural Foundation Press release