Academy of Finland Newsletter, March 2011
The Academy of Finland newsletter will keep you updated on high-quality scientific research funded in Finland and on other news from the Finnish world of science and research. In case you wish us to send this to someone else in your organisation or if you do not want to receive these newsletters in the future, please let us know at viestinta@aka.fi.
Features:
Finnish Government R&D funding close on EUR 2.1 billion in 2011
Finnish chemistry research scores high marks
Next Academy discipline evaluation targets plant science
Academy Professor Hanski receives the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences 2011
Academy of Finland at a glance
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Finnish Government R&D funding close on EUR 2.1 billion in 2011
The total funding of research and development in Finland goes up to EUR 2,065 million in the 2011 Government Budget. According to Statistics Finland, R&D funding will grow by EUR 76 million from the previous year, which corresponds to nearly 4 per cent. The increases will focus on universities’ research funding. The proportion of funds allocated to R&D activities of overall government spending exclusive of debt servicing is 4.3 per cent.
The administrative sector of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture receives 46 per cent of Government R&D funding and that of the Ministry of Employment and the Economy 36 per cent. R&D funding by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is set to increase by EUR 79 million to nearly EUR 950 million. The Academy of Finland operates within the Ministry’s administrative sector. Nearly two-thirds of the increase in funding by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture comes from growing research funding for universities. Of the Academy of Finland’s research funding, awarded on a competitive basis, a total of 84 per cent is granted to universities.
The Academy’s funding accounts for 17 per cent of public research funding and totals EUR 350 million. Funding by the Academy grows by a good EUR 30 million. R&D funding by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, totals EUR 590 million and its proportion of public research funding is just under 29 per cent.
In total, EUR 105 million of the R&D funding paid from different items in the Budget is allocated to international operators. Of this, EUR 80 million is awarded to European research organisations and programmes.
Finnish chemistry research scores high marks
Chemistry research in Finland is of a very high standard, with some research units placed at the international cutting edge of their respective subfields of chemistry. The research conducted by the units covers all significant aspects of chemistry and caters well to the Finnish chemical industry. These are among the findings of an international panel of experts, commissioned by the Academy of Finland to evaluate the level of Finnish research in the field of chemistry.
The panel evaluated 41 chemistry units in Finland as to their research quality, funding, infrastructure and international engagement. One unit belongs to a large governmental research institute while the remaining units are research groups, laboratories or departments from nine universities. The panel also looked at the social impact of the units’ research. Covering the years 2005–2009, the evaluation was also focused on the quality and performance of the different subfields of chemistry.
The panel’s report is available as a PDF download on the Academy’s website at www.aka.fi/publications > Publication series.
Next Academy discipline evaluation targets plant science
The Academy of Finland sees evaluations of scientific disciplines and individual fields of research as an important development tool for research and science policy. Their main purpose is to provide feedback to the scientific community and to funding agencies. Furthermore, they provide an opportunity for learning and development for all those involved. Evaluations inspire discussion and debate and help researchers and funding organisations to identify potential problems and areas of development.
At present, the Academy has two evaluations in the pipeline: Sport Sciences in the Nordic Countries and Plant Science in Finland. The latter is set to be published in spring 2011 and will focus especially on plant biology, plant molecular biology, plant physiology and plant technology on the molecular, cellular or individual level. The evaluation will analyse the quality of the research and doctoral training in the field, identify the strengths and weaknesses, and assess the quality and efficiency of the research environments and their organisation. Additionally, the evaluation will look at the research system as a whole, at its focus, synergies and cooperation.
Academy Professor Hanski receives the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences 2011
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences 2011 to Academy Professor Ilkka Hanski from the University of Helsinki. The Prize is awarded “for his pioneering studies on how spatial variation affects the dynamics of animal and plant populations”. The award ceremony will be held at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on 10 May 2011. The prize sum of SEK 4 million is intended to fund further research by the prize winner.
Hanski, with a career spanning more than 30 years, is one of the most prominent ecologists in the world. He receives the prize for developing a range of new analytical methods and mathematical models in ecology. Today, these are widely used to help scientists investigate how animal and plant species are affected when their habitats undergo splitting owing, for example, to urbanisation, deforestation and climate change.
Hanski’s studies on animals ranging from butterflies, dung beetles and water fleas to voles, lemmings and bears have made metapopulation ecology a substantial research area in ecology. It focuses on species that inhabit fragmented habitats, in order to assess the risk of local extinction and discern what may help the species to survive in a landscape subject to growing human influence. Today, Hanski’s metapopulation theories are among the cornerstones of research on biodiversity, and also have a major bearing on conservation policy and the practical management of the natural environment.
Hanski heads the Metapopulation Research Group at the University of Helsinki, which combines theoretical and experimental population biology. The group is a Finnish Centre of Excellence in Research appointed by the Academy of Finland. Hanski has been an Academy Professor (a research post funded by the Academy of Finland) since 2006.
Academy of Finland at a glance
The Academy’s objective is to promote scientific research of a high standard through long-term quality-based research funding, research and science policy expertise, and efforts to strengthen the position of science and scientific research. In 2011, the Academy makes decisions on research funding worth EUR 340 million. Each year some 5,000 people benefit from Academy research funding. For more information, go to www.aka.fi/eng or send a message to maj-lis.tanner@aka.fi.
Photos: Picmax.fi, Vesa Lindqvist/Parliament, Tapio Vanhatalo (Hanski)