Matina Mitsobonou started at the EU Affairs manager position as of November 1st 2023 in Technology Center Merinova.

Matina has a bachelor’s degree in social Anthropology from Panteion University in Athens, Greece. After a short training in United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (U.N.H.C.R) in the fund-raising department, she continued her studies in Leiden University in The Netherlands. From there she took her master’s degree in social Anthropology and Development Sociology, with specific interest in gentrification and urban development. Matina moved to Vaasa, Finland in 2018, and since then she has participated in several volunteer actions and worked in 2020-2021 in Merinova as a Communications Specialist for EnergySpin.

In her role as EU Affairs Manager, she will promote the active cooperation of universities and business world stakeholders in European and international research cooperation. She also acts as a contact point and mediator in the development of project ideas together with the actors of the Vaasa region’s energy ecosystem.

The EU Affairs Manager position was created in 2014, with the aim to form a new and effective approach in attracting EU funding to the Vaasa region. The first project started in 2016 and currently there are six ongoing projects and two more starting in the beginning of 2024. During these years, numerous project applications have been prepared, bringing up a total of 6.3 million euros of EU funding for the Vaasa region.

EU Affairs Manager activities have been co-financed by ten partners: City of Vaasa, VASEK, Merinova, Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, University of Vaasa, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, Novia University of Applied Sciences, Åbo Akademi University, University of Helsinki, and Hanken School of Economics.