Seeking to intensify international cooperation and adopt successful practices in the areas of education and research improvement, intellectual property commercialization, and sustainability, the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava is engaging Jari Hämäläinen, a Finnish expert, directly into the University Management since January 2026.
The intention to increase the level of STU internationalization and to attract experts from abroad has been declared as one of the priorities of the new University Management, headed by Maximilián Strémy, the STU Rector. The announced arrival of the Finnish expert is an important step in the process.
"To be better, we must get inspiration from the best and learn from their slips. The recent progress of the Finnish university, comparable in size and budget to STU, has been impressive. We have therefore proposed cooperation to one of the key figures of the rise," explains Maximilián Strémy, STU Rector.
From 2014 to 2024, Professor Jari Hämäläinen served as the Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation at the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT), being responsible for the management of doctoral education as the Chair of the doctoral school steering group and the doctoral dissertation committee. He also led the Finnish national pilot project of doctoral education, while addressing the issues of patenting and commercialization of intellectual property rights, quality systems and sustainability. He developed the LUT strategies, led the Research and Impact Assessment (RIA) at LUT in 2019-2024, and was the leader of the processes leading to the LUT's significant rise in the rankings, QS WUR, THE WUR and THE in particular.
"The key priority is the development of university, rather than the rankings as such. Rankings can help analyse and compare performance indicators with selected partners and competitors," says Professor Hämäläinen.
Jari Hämäläinen is also active in the field of international cooperation, e.g. in the European Council of Academies of Applied Sciences and Engineering (euro-CASE), SAPEA (Scientific Policy Advisory Service of European Academies), SAM (Scientific Advisory Mechanism) for the European Commission and the European University Association; he also chaired the Board of the Alliance of European Universities EULiST, of which STU is a member.
Starting from 1 January 2026, he will hold the position of Advisor to the STU Rector for Strategic Development and Internationalization.
