In episode #227 of The Grant – the EU funding podcast, I’m joined by Maria Haglund and Nikolaj Lubanski for a conversation that connects talent attraction with the practical realities of EU funding and regional development. Maria works with a small regional development company on the west coast of Finland, representing seven municipalities and focusing on talent attraction, student retention and regional vitality. Nikolaj brings the long-view perspective from Greater Copenhagen, where he has spent more than a decade working with international talent attraction and with EU-funded projects designed to strengthen national and cross-border collaboration. Together, the episode becomes a grounded discussion between a region that wants to step further into EU funding and a practitioner who has spent years using it as a strategic tool.

What makes this episode especially useful is that it goes beyond the abstract promise of funding and into the actual considerations regions face. We talk about why EU funding matters in this field, what kinds of instruments are relevant, and what has to be in place before a serious application makes sense. The conversation covers student retention, blue-collar shortages, international company readiness, cross-border cooperation between Vaasa and Umeå, and the difference between having a shared ambition and having a funded structure that can actually move things forward. We also dig into the worries many smaller organisations have around administration, reporting, partnerships and impact measurement — and why trust, alignment and early dialogue with programme officers matter so much.

Time codes:

01:32 Guest introduction and fly in