Academy of Finland Newsletter, November 2012
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Finnish R&D expenditure grew moderately
Finland’s R&D expenditure exceeded 7 billion euros in 2011. According to Statistics Finland, the R&D expenditure of business enterprises amounted to 5.0 billion euros, while the higher education sector spent 1.4 billion euros and the rest of the public sector 700 million euros. The growth from the previous year was 192 million euros. The data calculated by Statistics Finland show that almost all of the growth came from business enterprises, where expenditure on R&D increased by 193 million euros from 2010. Although R&D expenditure grew, its share of GDP started to decline and was 3.78 per cent in 2011.
| R&D expenditure by sector in 2005–2012* |
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| *Estimate based on survey responses and other calculations (Statistics Finland, 2012) |
Business enterprises again accounted for more than 70 per cent of total R&D expenditure. At the same time, the proportion of the higher education sector fell to just below 20 per cent. Business enterprises were the biggest provider of funds for R&D with a 66 per cent share. Business enterprises financed the vast majority, or 90 per cent, of their R&D activities themselves.
In 2011, expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP was 3.78 per cent, which was 0.1 percentage point down on the previous year. In 2012, expenditure is estimated to fall by 70 million euros, putting the GPD percentage at no more than 3.6 per cent.
New Academy Board and Research Councils
The Government has appointed a new Board and new Research Councils for the Academy of Finland for the three-year term 2013–2015. The Board is responsible for steering and supervising the Academy’s operations and the four Research Councils for carrying out Academy tasks within their respective fields of expertise. Professor Arto Mustajoki, University of Helsinki, will continue as Chair of the Board for a second term. Two other members will also continue: Professor Päivi Törmä, Aalto University, as Vice Chair and Vice President, Business Development Aino Takala, Orion Diagnostica, as member. Professors Kai Lindström, Olli Mäenpää, Paula Eerola and Tuula Tamminen will join the Board in their capacity as Research Council Chairs.
The Academy Board consists of the President of the Academy of Finland, the Chairs of the Academy’s Research Councils and three members appointed by the Government. The members shall have broad experience of research as well as expertise in science policy.
The new Research Councils (as of 1 Jan 2013) are:
Research Council for Biosciences and Environment:
• Professor Kai Lindström (Chair), ecology and evolutionary biology, Åbo Akademi University
• Professor Alfred Colpaert, physical geography and geoinformatics, University of Eastern Finland
• Docent Hannele Hakola, atmospheric chemistry and climate change, Finnish Meteorological Institute
• Professor Kalervo Hiltunen, biochemistry, University of Oulu
• Professor Riitta Julkunen-Tiitto, plant biology, University of Eastern Finland
• Professor Annika Kangas, forest sciences, forest mensuration, University of Helsinki
• Professor Atte Korhola, environmental change, global responsibility and hydrobiology, University of Helsinki
• Professor Erkki Korpimäki, animal ecology, University of Turku
• Professor Markku Kulomaa, biotechnology and cell biology, University of Tampere
• Professor Lea Sistonen, cell biology, Åbo Akademi University
• Professor Mari Walls, ecology and biodiversity, Finnish Environment Institute.
Research Council for Culture and Society:
• Professor Olli Mäenpää (Chair), public law and administrative law, University of Helsinki
• Professor Anneli Anttonen, social sciences, University of Tampere
• Professor Pauline von Bonsdorff, art education, aesthetics, University of Jyväskylä
• Professor Marja-Liisa Helasvuo, linguistics, University of Turku
• Professor Liisa Laakso, world politics, political science and development studies, University of Helsinki
• Professor Matti Laine, psychology, Åbo Akademi University
• Professor Aila Lauha, church history, University of Helsinki
• Professor Pirjo Markkola, Finnish history, University of Jyväskylä
• Professor Hannu Savolainen, educational sciences and special education, University of Eastern Finland
• Professor Matti Sintonen, philosophy, University of Helsinki
• Professor Juuso Välimäki, economics, Aalto University.
Research Council for Natural Science and Engineering:
• Professor Paula Eerola (Chair), physics, University of Helsinki
• Professor Heli Jantunen, microelectronics and engineering physics, University of Oulu
• Professor Sirkka-Liisa Jämsä-Jounela, chemical technology, Aalto University
• Professor Minna Kellomäki, biomaterials technology, Tampere University of Technology
• Professor Erno Keskinen, mechanical engineering, Tampere University of Technology
• Professor Juha-Pekka Lunkka, geology, University of Oulu
• Professor Jukka Pekola, physics, Aalto University
• Professor Lassi Päivärinta, applied mathematics, University of Helsinki
• Professor Heikki Tenhu, polymer chemistry, University of Helsinki
• Professor Esko Ukkonen, computer science, University of Helsinki
• Professor Kaisa Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, computer science and information technology, Tampere University of Technology.
Research Council for Health:
• Professor Tuula Tamminen (Chair), child psychiatry, University of Tampere
• Professor Jaakko Kaprio, genetic epidemiology and public health, University of Helsinki
• Professor Ilmo Keskimäki, public health, National Institute for Health and Welfare
• Professor Jarkko Ketolainen, pharmaceutical technology, University of Eastern Finland
• Professor Juhani Knuuti, clinical physiology, University of Turku
• Professor Johanna Myllyharju, molecular biology, University of Oulu
• Professor Asla Pitkänen, neurosciences, University of Eastern Finland
• Professor Anneli Pohjola, social work, University of Lapland
• Professor Pauli Puolakkainen, clinical medicine and gastrointestinal surgery, University of Helsinki
• Professor Sarianna Sipilä, exercise gerontology, University of Jyväskylä
• Professor Anu Wartiovaara, clinical molecular medicine and genetics, University of Helsinki.
Finnish physics research evaluated
The quality of Finnish physics research is quite high and the research covers most major international trends. This is one of the conclusions drawn by an international panel of experts appointed by the Academy of Finland to evaluate physics research in Finland. In its evaluation report, covering the years 2007–2011, the panel also concludes that Finland hosts a number of very successful or even internationally leading units in the field of physics. However, physics research in Finland must also be able to regenerate to allow for the discovery of new, developing fields.
Further, the panel finds that the overall funding situation for physics at Finnish universities is quite good, though the proportion of competitive funding, as compared to that of core funding, is too high. Most units get their largest proportion of external funding from the Academy of Finland. In 2007, at the start of the five-year evaluation period, the proportion of core funding was on average about 50 per cent. By 2011, it had decreased to 37 per cent. In practice, this has led to a situation where many units are highly successful in obtaining competitive funding, while other units struggle to get sufficient support from their universities and from external sources.
The international evaluation panel was chaired by Professor Christian Enss. The English-language evaluation report is part of the Academy of Finland publication series and is available as a PDF download at www.aka.fi/publications > Publication series.
Jan Klabbers first Martti Ahtisaari Academy Professor
The Academy of Finland has appointed Jan Klabbers as the first Martti Ahtisaari Academy Professor. Klabbers is Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki. The Academy-funded five-year Martti Ahtisaari Academy Professorship in peace research and international conflict management research was open for application earlier this year.
Born in the Netherlands, Professor Klabbers is an internationally recognised and noted legal scholar. The reviewers who evaluated the candidates felt that Klabbers, in the capacity of an Academy Professor, is well poised to make a significant contribution to the area of peace research and conflict management. During his Academy Professorship, Klabbers will work to advance the ethics behind global governance, concentrating on the professional roles of key actors in governance and thereby establishing a form of virtue ethics for global governance.
Traditionally, the ethics of global governance has been understood also as the ethics of international policy. International law is studied from many different angles, though none of them is particularly focused on the principles of ethics. However, there have been similar projects carried out in other contexts. Virtue ethics has been applied to decision-making in businesses, for instance, and to the methods of public policy-making. Ethics scholars engaged in this tradition have applied virtue ethics to a number of professions, from healthcare professionals to lawyers and judges.
Currently, the Academy funds 41 Academy Professors at different universities and research institutes. The aim of Academy Professor funding is to facilitate full-time scientific research for internationally top-level researchers. The successful candidate is expected to have an ability to contribute to the progress of his or her own field.
Academy of Finland Awards to Anna-Liisa Laine and Mari Sandell
The Academy of Finland recognised two distinguished researchers in Helsinki in November 2012. The Academy of Finland Awards were presented to Academy Research Fellow, Docent Anna-Liisa Laine from the University of Helsinki, and Academy Research Fellow, Docent Mari Sandell from the University of Turku.
The award for scientific courage went to Academy Research Fellow, Docent Anna-Liisa Laine, who is one of the leading evolutionary biologists in Finland. Based at the University of Helsinki Department of Biosciences, Laine is interested to learn more about why plant diseases occur where they do and why the degree of harm caused to their hosts varies so much as it does: “It’s important to understand this not only because of serious diseases threatening human health, but also because in agriculture plant diseases cause significant crop loss each year,” Laine said.
The award for social impact went to “taste researcher”, Academy Research Fellow, Docent Mari Sandell, who has contributed significantly to increasing public awareness and knowledge about taste research and to increasing public interest in eating behaviour. Her innovative research project on bitter taste reception and eating behaviour addresses an interesting new area of research concerned with food choices and eating. This allows Sandell to combine her expertise in food sciences with behavioural sciences and genetics: “Even though it’s important to understand different food flavours at molecular level, people can still react to them in different ways. Eating behaviour is often controlled by factors impacting the sensory quality of food coupled with individual taste preferences,” Sandell explained.
Academy and FAPESP to fund joint projects
The Academy of Finland has entered into an agreement on research funding cooperation with the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), one of the main funding agencies for scientific and technological research in Brazil. The first calls for proposals from joint projects will target materials research in electronics, photonics and communications technology as well as biodiversity and sustainable development of natural resources. The calls will be opened and the projects will start in 2013. The Academy is prepared to fund at least ten four-year projects.
The State of São Paulo is the most advanced of the 27 states of Brazil in terms of economy and industry and science and research. São Paulo accounts for 45 per cent of all doctoral degrees obtained in Brazil, the total number of doctoral degrees being some 11,000 a year. FAPESP has an annual budget of some 600 million euros.
Academy signs agreement with Indian Council of Medical Research
The Academy of Finland has signed an agreement on collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), one of the oldest funding agencies for medical research in the world. The agreement will enable both Finnish and Indian researchers to apply for funding. The goal is to support joint projects and research mobility between Finland and India.
The exact forms of the collaboration will be decided early next year. The Academy and the ICMR have, however, identified a few mutually interesting fields, such as diabetes research and research into chronic diseases, for example cardiovascular diseases. The idea is to prepare possible joint calls in workshops.
The Academy has previously entered into agreements with two other Indian research funding agencies: the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The Academy also aims to further develop its collaboration with the Indian Council of Social Science Research.
Finland’s educational, scientific and cultural cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean
The Finnish Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has published a report on the current status of Finland’s cooperation with Latin America. The report contains a proposal for future focus areas of this cooperation in the field of education, science and culture and for the development of activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The proposed measures focus on three issues in particular: 1) improving communications and coordination in Finland, Latin America and the Caribbean; 2) strengthening knowledge of the languages and cultures in question in Finland; and 3) supporting sector-specific cooperation in the fields of education, science and culture. The report aims at improving cooperation and the efficiency of activities through developing expertise, networking and cooperation between different ministries.
Latin America and the Caribbean account for a vast proportion of global production, and it is increasing rapidly. As a result of economic development and changes in society, the region is strengthening its position as a significant actor on the global scale. For this reason, the report proposes the overall aim of stabilising the level of cooperation between Finland and Latin America and the amount of funding to be allocated for it to a level corresponding to the significance of the region by 2022.
EUR 8 million in Academy funding to research within Strategic Centres
The Academy of Finland has decided on the funding for research within the Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation. The funding totals 8 million euros. The funding is granted to six research consortia and eight research projects. The Academy had pre-defined two research areas to which the funding was to be allocated: 1) Novel control methods and user interfaces; and 2) New bioeconomy chemicals, materials and production technologies based on innovative forest biomass use.
The Strategic Centres for Science, Technology and Innovation in Finland provide a cooperation platform for innovative business companies and research teams. They form a new kind of network for intensive and long-term collaboration with a view to achieving jointly set goals. The aim is to achieve globally significant breakthrough innovations that can result in growing businesses and social wellbeing. The research projects carried out at the centres are funded by business companies, universities, Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, and the Academy of Finland.
The Academy’s aim is to increase the number of high-level researchers involved in the work of the centres with a view to further strengthening the scientific expertise at the centres. The consortia and projects that will receive funding are affiliated with the thematic areas of five strategic centres: Energy and the Environment (CLEEN), Finnish Bioeconomy Cluster (FIBIC), Metal Products and Mechanical Engineering (FIMECC), Built Environment Innovations (RYM) and Information and Communication Industry and Services (TIVIT).
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 2012, we will make decisions on research funding worth EUR 327 million. For more information, go to www.aka.fi/eng or send a message to maj-lis.tanner@aka.fi.