On 27 May 2024, Clare Hall and LUT University, an international university of technology in Finland, signed an agreement to establish a Visiting Fellowship programme and joint Global Prize for Solutions to Climate Change Threats. This new, long-term partnership will focus on climate change and sustainability, and strengthen collaboration between the two institutions.

“I am particularly delighted to welcome the Rector of LUT University, Juha-Matti Saksa, Vice Rector Jari Hämäläinen and their colleagues to Clare Hall in this auspicious week in which our two countries have signed a very wide-ranging and comprehensive agreement of collaboration,” Clare Hall President Alan Short said. “We very much look forward to welcoming high-flying academics from LUT over the years to come to our unique interdisciplinary research community.”

The new agreement between Clare Hall and LUT University is especially timely in international news, as it reflects the spirit of a recent joint declaration made between the UK and Finland on their strategic partnership. The joint declaration recognises and enhances the bilateral commitment of these two nations to global issues such as energy, environment and climate, education, science, research, innovation and technology, and people-to-people links.

The Visiting Fellowship will establish two fully funded Visiting Fellows from LUT to Clare Hall per year – one for a period of six months and the second for a period of three months, starting in January 2026. Former Visiting Fellows are eligible to be elected to Clare Hall Life Membership. The Global Prize for Solutions to Climate Change Threats will be a notable annual recognition for finding innovative, science-based solutions to extreme threats posed by climate change, starting in 2026.

Clare Hall is renowned for its international diversity, interdisciplinarity, outstanding scientific quality and relatively informal approach to college life. Founded by Clare College as an Institute for Advanced Study modelled on Einstein’s Princeton Institute, Clare Hall became an independent Cambridge College by Royal Charter in 1985.

Clare Hall has the largest programme for visiting academics in either Oxford or Cambridge. Currently, some 20 Visiting Fellows join Clare Hall annually elected by the College’s Fellowship Committee. The programme is highly competitive, drawing on the world’s Ivy League institutions.

“We are truly honoured to embark on collaboration with such an esteemed and distinguished partner. The new programme is an excellent opportunity for LUT’s talented climate change scholars to network with and learn more from the accomplished scientists of Clare Hall and the University of Cambridge. We are looking forward to exploring all the mutual benefits this collaboration will bring,” says Juha-Matti Saksa, Rector of LUT University.

LUT University is one of the world’s top universities for climate action, and it has systematically been listed among the top 15 small universities in global Times Higher Education rankings. LUT seeks new solutions for clean energy, water and air with its expertise in technology, business and social sciences, helping society and businesses in their sustainable renewal.

The new joint agreement between LUT University and Clare Hall through the Visiting Fellowship programme and the Global Prize for Solutions to Climate Change Threats marks the beginning of a strong partnership between the two institutions and more collaboration to come in the future.