Communications Intern Tuukka Kulppi Is Interested in How People, Ideas and Stories Move Through the World

Tuukka Kulppi is working as a Communications Intern at Kone Foundation during autumn 2026. His work includes creating content for social media and the Foundation’s website, as well as contributing to other communications projects.

Tuukka holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Helsinki, where he studied literature, Finno-Ugric languages and communication. During his studies, he was particularly interested in language and stories, and in how they can help us understand people and society – themes that have accompanied him from his hobbies and studies into his professional life.

Before joining Kone Foundation, Tuukka worked in the tourism sector in Lapland and at an advertising agency in Helsinki. The tourism sector introduced him to an international, people-centred working environment, while at the advertising agency he had the opportunity to explore creative problem-solving and commercial communications.

What particularly interested Tuukka about applying for an internship at Kone Foundation was the intersection of research, art and public debate, and the kinds of ideas that can emerge in such an environment.

“The role of foundations feels particularly interesting at this moment in time. Competition for grants is fierce, while at the same time foundations have the opportunity to create space for research, art and new ideas. In communications, I am interested in how ideas and perspectives like these can move from expert communities into wider public discussion. To me, good communication is not about oversimplifying complex issues until they lose their substance, but about finding their essence and opening up an engaging perspective on them. At its best, communication can spark someone’s curiosity about something they did not yet know they were interested in,” Tuukka says.

Three questions for the communications intern

What has it been like starting work at the Foundation?

It has been great to realise just how much, and how broadly, I have already learnt at this stage by working with projects funded by the Foundation. In the course of a single day, I might encounter research, art, languages, social issues or something completely unexpected that I would not otherwise have come across. When you are surrounded by experts from different fields, it feels as though almost every day leaves you with something new.

I particularly like the fact that working in communications means constantly looking at things from different perspectives. The same project can raise interesting questions for a researcher, an artist, a journalist and someone scrolling through TikTok, and the communicator’s job is to find a way for each of them to engage with the subject without losing its many layers. It has also been interesting to see up close how quickly communications is changing and how new ways of telling stories are emerging. I also want to keep developing as a communicator and find new, creative and effective ways of making the work of the Foundation visible.

I get to work with a great bunch of people, and I’m constantly learning from them – not only through my own work, but also by observing what others do and talking with them.

What do you like to do outside work?

I tend to collect all sorts of interests. Literature and exercise are important to me, and over the years I have done martial arts, dancing and swimming, among other things. I also enjoy trying out new recipes and easily get excited about little projects – often ones that I manage to rope my partner or friends into as well.

At the moment, one such project is Mandarin Chinese, which I have been persistently studying on my own for some time now, with some great highs as well as sudden lows along the way. What fascinates me about learning new things is the idea that you don’t have to know how to do everything beforehand. I am not particularly afraid of failure, either. If something does not feel right, you can always change direction. Perhaps life is not about finding one right path after all; sometimes you can simply turn down an interesting-looking side road and see where it takes you.

I also enjoy giving myself permission to be a beginner. It keeps me curious.

What animal would you be?

A fox.

What appeals to me about foxes is their curiosity, intelligence and adaptability. They are observers, but they do not stay still: they find their own routes and seem able to navigate very different environments.

And although I now live in Punavuori in Helsinki, the landscape of my soul is still at home in Lapland. There is something about a frozen river in spring that feels particularly like home: the light, the space and the sense that, after winter, everything is somehow a little more possible again.

Perhaps there has always been something a little fox-like about me – although these days perhaps more in the form of a city fox.