Thank you and happy holidays to our partners!
Now we have arrived at the end of the second unusual and challenging year in a row. Even if the first year of the pandemic had taught us all a lot and introduced new ways of action, I don’t think anyone could this year escape the tricky questions brought by the quickly changing situations, either.
Despite the difficult situation, it has been a pleasure to continue our international collaboration. We have been able to proceed with many things in cooperation with you: student exchanges at partner universities in Europe have continued even during the pandemic and we hope to restart exchanges with our partners outside Europe next year. At the same time, our international research, development and innovation activities have continued to expand even further. These we could not have achieved alone. Cooperation with our partner communities is the key to successful operations.
This year we have made a Christmas donation to the Protection Fund for the Archipelago Sea for water conservation projects. The Protection Fund has already funded over 50 water conservation projects. The projects’ operations have included testing new methods, building wetlands, cutting reed fields, renovating running water targets, providing guidance, making wastewater treatment plans, and creating versatile environmental education materials for different target groups. We have been involved in several projects funded by the Protection Fund for the Archipelago Sea.
I want to express my most heartfelt gratitude to all our partners and the members of our networks for excellent cooperation in the past year. I wish everyone peaceful holidays and a sustainable new year!
Vesa Taatila, Rector, Turku University of Applied Sciences
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