Five Years as Director General of GTK – Thank You and Looking Ahead

My five-year term as Director General of the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) ends on 31 May 2026.

My journey at GTK has been unforgettable. Together with GTK people, we have achieved significant results and delivered solutions that support the transition towards a sustainable and carbon-neutral world.

My years as Director General have been turbulent both globally and in Finland. I started my role in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, I remember how at GTK the focus was firmly on the future and on developing new ways of working. GTK did not dwell on the situation; instead, we worked to ensure that collaboration runs smoothly, information flows, and working methods support multi-location work also in the post-pandemic world.

Like the rest of the central government, GTK has faced significant budget cuts in recent years. However, GTK has managed well despite them. The share of external funding has increased from around EUR 15 million to well over EUR 20 million during the years, and funding from Horizon Europe and the Academy of Finland has strengthened. We have also succeeded in increasing our commercial services. Our goal is satisfied customers, and we monitor this through external evaluations. In the latest customer satisfaction survey, our Net Promoter Score (NPS) was 60, which is an excellent achievement. The number of our experts has also increased slightly, which is exceptional in the current circumstances.

GTK is a research organisation, and the number of scientific publications produced by GTK people has increased significantly. Last year alone, 152 peer-reviewed publications were completed, exceeding the target level. This is a good example of how the ambition and impact of GTK’s research have strengthened, and how publications can also be produced through co-funded research.

My tenure has also included major infrastructure renewals: we upgraded the laboratory facilities of GTK Mintec and built SMARTTEST, an intelligent circular economy pilot platform for extractive waste and side streams. We secured funding for a new GTK Mintec pilot plant, and the investment project is progressing as planned. We have significantly modernised our geoscience information systems, and our geodata now serves customers and research better than ever.

Our international operations have strengthened significantly. We work closely with numerous geological surveys, companies, ministries, international organisations, development cooperation actors and UN organisations. GTK is currently active in 15–20 countries.

A particularly important development is GTK’s central role in implementing the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), especially in supporting raw materials partnerships with third countries. In addition, we have supported several EU strategic projects through GTK Mintec’s laboratory and pilot plant services.

In connection with our international work, I would like to especially thank the Commission’s DG INTPA, DG GROW, DG TRADE and DG ENEST for excellent cooperation. I hope that GTK’s pillar assessment process will be completed soon, as it will open up even better opportunities for GTK to advance EU objectives.

GTK is made by its people. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with top experts and a genuinely supportive community. In personnel surveys, the overall satisfaction of GTK people with their work and with GTK as a workplace has improved significantly. It is now clearly above the average of Finnish central government organisations. Strengths of the GTK work community include a good atmosphere, mutual support, low hierarchy and flexible working arrangements. Our strategy includes a commitment to human-focused working life, and although this is a challenging—if not impossible—goal to fully achieve, it has nonetheless helped to build a warm and respectful culture at GTK. I would like to thank GTK people for the numerous messages I have received through various channels. I greatly appreciate them—they mean a lot to me.

I am proud of GTK and of my five-year journey as Director General. I hope that my experience at GTK and my earlier career will open up new opportunities for me to work on the themes I have engaged with at GTK. It would be great if, in one way or another, I could continue collaborating with GTK.

GTK has excellent prospects for continued success, and I am confident that the new Director General will do everything possible for the benefit of GTK and for Earth and for Us.

Thank you.

Kimmo Tiilikainen
Director General, Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)