Chair’s Welcome – June 2026
12.6.2026
As summer approaches, it feels like a timely moment to pause and reflect on what we have managed to accomplish during the first half of the year, and why it matters. This spring, I have found myself thinking in particular about the importance of the work carried out by the Finnish Society for Cell Biology at a time when many students and professionals in our field are looking towards the future with a degree of uncertainty. When concerns about employment prospects begin to weigh more heavily, our role in supporting networks, working-life skills and a sense of community becomes ever more significant.
The difficult labour market situation was reflected in our activities early this year. Instead of our full summer job webinar series, we were able to organise just one webinar, delivered in collaboration with Admescope. I had the opportunity to open the session at a time when the news was dominated by reports of Finland rising to the top of European unemployment statistics. Feedback from the webinar offered a sobering glimpse into the student perspective: one participant described the employment situation in our field as so weak that it undermines motivation to continue their studies. In this context, events related to internships, summer jobs and employment opportunities are among the most valuable forms of support we can provide. As the respondent put it, our work is therefore of critical importance. I have always felt a strong sense of pride and gratitude for what our society has achieved throughout its history, but perhaps especially so in times like these. Supporting networking and working-life skills has always been central to our activities, and for this reason we are committed to strengthening this focus further in the coming autumn.
Our board is currently organising a working life seminar in Kuopio for the autumn. Members from across Finland will be able to join via Zoom, but I would warmly encourage attending in person, as the informal networking session following the seminar offers valuable opportunities alongside the formal programme. Within the board, we have been reflecting on how to further develop this relaxed drinks-and-snacks-style gathering so that it better serves and supports our participants. Various mentoring initiatives have been under discussion for some time, and I am hopeful that this autumn’s seminar will provide an opportunity to pilot something new in this area.
Alongside our working life initiatives, one of the highlights of the spring was our participation in the ChemBio fair for the first time in March. Planning and discussions around this began as early as autumn 2024, so it was genuinely rewarding to finally find ourselves at Messukeskus hosting our very first SSB ChemBio event. We approached the event with some anticipation and, admittedly, a fair degree of uncertainty, as many aspects were entirely new to us. The venue and seminar facilities were unfamiliar, and unlike our usual events, fair visitors do not register in advance but move between sessions according to their own interests and schedules.
To our great delight, the event attracted a very encouraging number of participants. The ChemBio fair also provided an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our years of experience in organising events, the professionalism of our board members, and our practical, can-do approach. Indeed, we were asked on site whether we were some kind of company; an observation prompted by how professional our activities appeared. At our annual meeting, we also received positive feedback from one of our long-standing supporters and members, Harri Kämäräinen from Nuppulinna, who remarked on how strong and vibrant the society appears. I would like to extend my sincere thanks for this kind of feedback to our entire board and to the editorial team of Solubiologi. It speaks to the fact that our long-term efforts are bearing fruit: the Finnish Society for Cell Biology is visible, active, and recognised as a valued contributor within the field.
We are also delighted to welcome two new members to the board: Kirsti Härkönen from Kuopio and Beata Hanhisalo from Tampere. Kirsti will already be familiar to many, as she designed our striking overall patch when it was renewed a couple of years ago. Beata, in turn, is known as a highly active contributor to academic communities and serves, among other roles, as an innovation ambassador at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University. I would like to once again extend a very warm welcome to both Kirsti and Beata. They are an integral part of the work we began this spring to introduce a new logo and visual identity for the society, and to further develop our social media communications.
The arrival of summer also means that a freshly published issue of Solubiologi will soon be delivered to your home. Once again, the editorial team has prepared an excellent collection of reading, which we hope will offer a moment of calm after a busy start to the year. Perhaps you might share a photo on social media, using the hashtag #SuomenSolubiologit, of the summery setting in which you find yourself reading our journal?
Wishing you a restful and sun-filled summer!
5 June 2026
Johanna Matilainen
Chair, Finnish Society for Cell Biology