Nokia Foundation

What Nokia Foundation does

Nokia Foundation is a Finnish charitable foundation established in 1995 to support the scientific development of information and communications technologies (ICT) and to promote education in the sector in Finland. The foundation operates as a grant-giving and scholarship body, funded by an endowment associated with Nokia, and disburses financial awards to doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, visiting professors, and ICT educators. It does not develop technology products; its core deliverable is capital allocation to the Finnish and international ICT research ecosystem.

The foundation administers approximately ten grant programs covering the full academic lifecycle: Nokia Scholarship for doctoral candidates, Fulbright-Nokia and Fulbright Junior Scholar for US-based scholars, France-Nokia Chaire d'Excellence for French scholars, Tutkijat maailmalle and Jorma Ollila Grants for international research exchanges, Nokia Visiting Professor and Nokia Foundation Fellow for established researchers, and the Nokia-OKKA Educational Recognition Award for ICT educators. Grant sizes range from approximately EUR 5,000 for individual scholarships up to EUR 50,400 for Fulbright-Nokia Distinguished Chairs. In 2009 the foundation awarded 77 scholarships totaling EUR 385,000, and in recent years it has issued 77–89 scholarships annually, maintaining a 1,000+ alumni recipient base since inception.

The foundation is governed by an independent Board of Directors (current Chair: Timo Ali-Vehmas; previously Hannu Kauppinen) and is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, with a staff of 1–10. It partners with four major Finnish universities (Aalto, Helsinki, Oulu, Tampere) and runs bilateral programs with the Fulbright program and French academic institutions. It maintains a public archive of all grant and scholarship honorees from 1995 to present and holds an annual Recognition Award ceremony honoring individuals for outstanding ICT contributions; past honorees include Jimmy Wales (2009), Tommi Jaakkola (2012), Erkki Oja (2017), and Minna Palmroth (2025).

Name

Nokia Foundation

Legal name

Nokia Foundation

Website

https://nokiafoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nokia Foundation is a Finnish charitable foundation established in 1995 that funds ICT research and education through scholarships, grants, and recognition awards for doctoral students, researchers, professors, and educators in Finland and abroad.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Grants & Education Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Degree-Level Scholarships (Undergrad/Masters/PhD/Postdoc) (EDAIAOAE), Foundation/NGO & Philanthropic Scholarships (EDAIAOAH)

Keywords

• Research grant funding
• Doctoral scholarships
• ICT education grants
• Telecom research awards
• Nonprofit foundation grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Espoo

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment: Nokia Foundation operates as a charitable endowment funded by Nokia. The foundation provides scholarships and grants to support the scientific development of information and telecommunications technologies and promotes education in Finland.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nokia Foundation is a Finnish charitable foundation that provides research grants and doctoral scholarships to support ICT-related academic research and education. It funds individual researchers, doctoral candidates, and academic institutions primarily in Finland, with grants administered annually to advance science, technology, and engineering research connected to telecommunications and information technology.

Product overview

Nokia Foundation is a Finnish scholarship and grant organization that provides financial support for research and education in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). The foundation operates multiple grant programs including the Nokia Visiting Professor, Tutkijat maailmalle, Fulbright-Nokia, Nokia Scholarship, Fulbright Junior Scholar, Nokia Foundation Fellow, Jorma Ollila Grant, and France-Nokia programs. These programs support doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and established academics pursuing ICT research, as well as international research collaborations between Finland and other countries (United States, France). The foundation also recognizes excellence in ICT education through the Nokia-OKKA Educational Recognition Award and honors significant contributions to ICT through the annual Nokia Foundation Recognition Award. The organization maintains a comprehensive archive of all grant and scholarship recipients from 1995 to present.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nokia Foundation Research Grant

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 77 scholarships awarded annually totaling EUR 385,000+
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fulbright ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNokia Foundation partners with the Fulbright program to offer Fulbright-Nokia Distinguished Chair positions for American scholars to engage in research collaboration at Finnish institutes of higher education. The program provides grants ranging from EUR 16,800 to EUR 50,400.
• France-Nokia (French Institutions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNokia Foundation partners with French academic institutions through the France-Nokia Chaire d'Excellence program, providing opportunities for French scholars to engage in research collaboration at Finnish institutes. Grants range from EUR 10,000 to EUR 20,000.
• Aalto UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish university receiving multiple Nokia Foundation grants and recognition awards. Major recipient of Nokia Visiting Professor, Nokia Scholarship, and other grant programs.
• University of OulucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor Finnish university receiving Nokia Foundation grants for ICT research. Home to Centre for Wireless Communications, a center of excellence in radio and wireless technologies.
• University of HelsinkicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish university receiving Nokia Foundation grants and recognition awards. Recipients include professors in space physics, computer science, and science education.
• Tampere UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish university receiving Nokia Foundation grants across multiple ICT research areas including signal processing, communications, and machine learning.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Telia Company Foundation / Telia Foundation: Nordic telecom operator's foundation supporting digital inclusion, education, and ICT research. Comparable as a Nordic telecom-sector corporate foundation with similar mission focus on digital/ICT education and research funding.
• Alfred Kordelin Foundation: Finnish private foundation granting funds for science, arts, and education. Directly comparable as a domestic Finnish grantmaking foundation with similar operating model and historical roots in supporting academic research, though broader than ICT.
• Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation: Finnish foundation supporting science, research, and education through major grants. Comparable as a Finnish private grantmaker with similar science/research focus, with several large multi-year research grants comparable in size to Nokia Foundation's programs.
• Finnish Cultural Foundation: Major Finnish private foundation funding scientific research, arts, and education. Comparable in scale and mission as a Finland-based grantmaking foundation supporting academic work including ICT-adjacent fields.
• Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation: Finnish industry-funded foundation supporting technology research and education. Directly comparable as a Finnish foundation with industry backing that funds ICT and engineering research at Finnish universities, mirroring Nokia Foundation's industry-academia bridge model.
• Ericsson Foundation: Sweden-based corporate foundation supporting ICT research and education, founded by a direct Nokia competitor. Closely comparable as a telecom-industry corporate foundation funding university research in ICT, sharing the same industry-academia funding model and target beneficiary base.

Broad incumbents

• Carlsberg Foundation: Danish industrial foundation funding basic research across sciences including technology. Comparable as a Nordic corporate-origin foundation funding research with a much larger endowment and broader scientific mandate than Nokia Foundation.
• Wallenberg Foundation (Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation): Sweden's largest private research funder, supporting basic research primarily in science and technology. Comparable as a Nordic industrial-family foundation funding ICT, AI, and engineering research at universities — similar model but much larger scale and broader mandate.
• Volkswagen Foundation: Large German corporate-origin foundation funding academic research with focus on STEM and ICT-adjacent topics. Comparable as a major European corporate philanthropy funding science research, though much larger scale and broader scope than Nokia Foundation.

Regional players

• Kone Foundation (Saastamoinen Foundation): Finnish private foundation supporting academic research, science, and humanities. Comparable as a Finland-based private grantmaking foundation with similar scale and operational model, though broader in research scope than ICT-specific Nokia Foundation.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FoundationNokia
• Facebookfacebook.com/NokiaFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nokia-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Nokia Foundation