2012 Millennium Youth Camp in Finland: Call for Applications - apply by 19 Dec

2012 Millennium Youth Camp in Finland: Call for Applications

A group of 30 talented young people will meet once again in Finland next June at the third Millennium Youth Camp. The application process for the 2012 Millennium Youth Camp has now begun, the first round closes on 19thof December 2011.

Online applications can be made starting from 19th of October, and participants will be chosen using a two-phase selection process which will end in the middle of March 2012. This international camp offers like-minded young people who are interested in mathematics, science and technology a chance to spend a week doing project work together and also meet top scientists, the 2012 Millennium Technology Prize winner and people working in Finnish companies and organizations.

Arranged on an annual basis, the Millennium Youth Camp welcomes students from all continents. In 2011, almost 1500 young people from a hundred different countries applied to take part. One of the camp's primary goals is to encourage young scientists to network at an early stage in their careers and help them launch a career in science or technology. 

At the camp, Millennium Youth Campers are presented with an overview of Finnish expertise and top-level research in the natural sciences, mathematics and technology. They are introduced to a number of Finnish companies and institutes of higher education. In addition to lectures, workshops and visits to Youth Camp partners, the camp programme includes project work supervised by top-level experts and carried out in small multi-national groups. The Millennium Youth Camp's official language is English. 

The week-long 2012 Millennium Youth Camp will take place in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and start on 9 June 2012. Participation is free of charge. As in previous years, the project themes are climate change, renewable natural resources and energy, water, ICT and digitalisation, and applied mathematics.

The camp's main organisers are Technology Academy Finland and the Finnish Science Education Centre LUMA.

The two-phase application process

In the first phase, young people from all over the world who were born between 1993 and 1996 are eligible to apply for a place in the 2012 Millennium Youth Camp using the online application form. The names of the 100 applicants selected for the second phase of the application process will be published on 1 February 2012, and they will be given a period of four weeks to produce project plans. Some applicants will be interviewed by telephone in connection with their proposals.

The 30 camp participants will be selected by a steering group consisting of representatives of Finnish higher educational institutions and Millennium Youth Camp partners. The names of the successful applicants will be published on 15 March 2012.

The application form and further information on the application process can be found on the Millennium Youth Camp website.

Further information:

Maija Aksela, Professor, Chair of the Millennium Youth Camp Steering Group
The Finnish Science Education Centre LUMA, University of Helsinki
maija.aksela(at)helsinki.fi, tel.             +358 50 514 1450      

Riikka Öörni, Project Coordinator, Technology Academy Finland
riikka.oorni(at) technologyacademy.fi, tel.             +358 40 5077 916      

Media Contacts:

Riina Vänttinen, Communications Officer, Technology Academy Finland
riina.vanttinen(at)technologyacademy.fi, tel.             +358 400 420 922