Community Outreach In Vaisala, we are building a world in which environmental and industrial observations improve daily lives. As a global leader in measurement technology and as an active member of society, we support our stakeholders, promote higher education and research, and help new generations learn more about science. Community Outreach Program Vaisala provides charitable donations of products, funding, or services to non-profit organizations through its Community Outreach Program. The Program’s overall objective is to support organizations and projects that advance environmental awareness and science education. All our outreach activities are in line with our values and resonate well with topical issues close to our business, such as climate, weather, environmental and industrial measurements, and environmental sciences. Vaisala allocates the donations and continuously correlates them with the community outreach program. Vaisala does not donate funds to political parties, causes, or campaigns. Within science education, Vaisala aims to increase understanding of natural sciences, innovation, and the environment by supporting universities, scientists, and researchers focusing on these fields. Scholarships paid in the form of salary are outside the scope of the Outreach Program. Another focus for the Program are non-profit organizations working for environmental disaster prevention and recovery. Furthermore, impartial humanitarian organizations that provide protection and assistance to people affected by disasters are within the scope of the Community Outreach Program. In 2018, donations amounted to EUR 101,000 globally. Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award Vaisala funds the Professor Dr. Vilho Väisälä Award, established in 1985 to encourage and stimulate interest in research in the field of environmental measurement instruments and observation methods. The award is administered by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which selects winners every second year. In 2004, the WMO Executive Council decided to establish a second Professor Dr. Vilho Väisälä Award. The main focus of this award is meteorological instrument work in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Both awards carry a cash prize of USD 10,000, and they are granted in connection with the CIMO TECO conference. In 2018, the awards were granted in October in Amsterdam. Vilho, Yrjö and Kalle Väisälä Fund In the 1960s, Professor Vilho Väisälä, Vaisala’s founder, donated Vaisala shares to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. These shares were used to establish the Vilho, Yrjö and Kalle Väisälä Fund, which provides grants to research in mathematics, physics, geophysics, meteorology, and astronomy annually. The Fund’s available grants are dependent on Vaisala’s dividends, so the Fund’s prosperity depends on Vaisala’s long-term financial success. In 2018, the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters granted over 1.4 million euros of grants and university compensations in total to researchers in the fields of mathematics natural science. The grants were targeted especially to young students for their doctoral studies, in addition to which grants were also given for shortterm research visits abroad. Overall, 77 researchers received grants that were distributed to nine universities and research facilities in Finland. Furthermore, four of the grant recipients work abroad. The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters gave out also four grants from the Väisälä Fund through Post doc Pool: altogether around 140,000 euros. The Pool promotes internationalization of Finnish science by providing young researchers with flexible funding from one source. In 2018, the fund also granted three awards, each worth 15,000 euros, to internationally distinguished researchers in the fields of mathematics and natural science. Within science education, Vaisala aims to increase understanding of natural sciences, innovation, and the environment by supporting universities, scientists, and researchers focusing on these fields.
