On 31 October 2023 we were delighted to host a networking event with Finnish Ambassador Jukka Siukosaari, Councellor Birgitta Vuorinen and over 20 Finnish students from the University of Oxford. We discussed strengthening UK-Finnish connections in education and science.
Our Head of Department Professor Kevin Talbot began the event with an introduction to the University and our Department. This was followed by Professor Robert MacLaren presenting on his strong collaborative connections to Finland which led to the first retinal gene therapy in Helsinki in 2018. We also heard fantastic talks from Finnish graduate students and post docs.
The meeting, which was organised by Professor Laura Parkkinen together with Finnish Embassy, was followed by the Ambassador visiting the Oxford Brain Bank and learning to pathologically diagnose Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.