The steering group boasts a comprehensive representation from outside the university. Its members include leaders from Finland’s food sector, encompassing businesses, associations, and public administration, including project funders from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland and the Finnish Food Authority.
Members include Timo Kaunisto, Executive Director of the Finnish Association of Academic Agronomists; Merja Leino, Atria Group's Executive Vice President for Sustainability; Lili Lehtovuori, Senior Advisor at Business Finland; Marleena Tanhuanpää, Director at the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation; Thimjos Ninios, Director of The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners; Anni-Mari Syväniemi, Executive Director at Finfood – Finnish Food Information; Matti Puolimatka, Deputy Director General, and Minna Talvitie, Special Advisor at the Finnish Food Authority; Terhi Sinkko-Hynninen, Vice President at Valio; and Elina Ovaskainen, Special Advisor, along with Minna-Mari Kaila, Director-General of the Food Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland.
Not all members were able to attend the first steering group meeting, as some were simultaneously promoting Finland's image at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan.
The chair of the steering group, Minna-Mari Kaila, hails from a rural background, is an agronomist, and an alumna of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Helsinki.
Kaila leads the Food Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, which comprises eight units responsible for agricultural support systems, market measures, rural development, food safety, and animal and plant health.
— Experts in growing Finnish food exports are incredibly important. We are launching a unique programme that will highlight food exports and gastronomy in university education. The involvement of companies in our steering group is crucial, as they will employ the specialists who graduate from this master's programme, says Kaila.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland is heavily involved in legislative preparation and implementing the government programme, with EU and international matters playing a significant role.
— Finland has excellent food products for export, but our export expertise is the bottleneck, and this master's programme will contribute to solving that issue. However, it all starts with the need to be proud of Finnish food, which is of exceptional quality, pure, safe, and delicious. We should create a genuinely Finnish narrative about Finnish food for the world, rather than copying others, Kaila reflects.
The designers of the master's programme will participate in several events this autumn and visit businesses and higher education institutions.
Currently, they are considering the curriculum for future food export and gastronomy specialists. If you have experience in exports or are an expert in the food sector, please share what should definitely be included in the curriculum.
You can engage with the master's programme designers at the Food Days event in Seinäjoki from 16th to 18th September 2025 or at the Lahti Science Day on 13th November 2025, where Janna Pietikäinen, the responsible leader of the master's programme project at the University of Helsinki, will discuss the reasons behind and the development of the master's programme.