Academy of Finland Newsletter, January 2012
The Academy of Finland newsletter keeps you updated on leading-edge scientific research funded in Finland and on other news from the Finnish world of science and research. If you want 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:
Heikki Mannila appointed President of the Academy of Finland
The Academy of Finland will have a new President in March 2012, as Professor Markku Mattila’s term will come to an end. The Government of Finland has appointed Professor, Vice President for Academic Affairs Heikki Mannila President of the Academy of Finland for the period 1 March 2012–28 February 2017.
Mannila has been Vice President for Academic Affairs of Aalto University since 2009. In 2002–2004 and 2009, he worked as Director and Research Director of the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT), a joint research institute of Aalto University and the University of Helsinki. In 2004–2008, Mannila was an Academy Professor of the Academy of Finland. In 1998–2001, he held various research positions at private companies’ research centres. He has a long and distinguished career as a researcher, with diverse and significant publications. Mannila also has extensive national and international experience in serving as an expert and in positions of trust in projects related to education and science policy.
Academy and Tekes outline key phenomena and indicators in R&D&I
In December 2011, the Academy of Finland and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, published a report commissioned by the Research and Innovation Council outlining the key phenomena and indicators of research, development and innovation in Finland. The report, Better results, more value: A framework for analysing the societal impact of research and innovation, looks at different impact areas for societal challenges and opportunities: the economy and economic renewal; the environment; wellbeing; and skills and culture. Next, the work will involve putting the outlined framework to the test.
Also included in the indicator project was a short international benchmarking study that analysed similar approaches internationally and compared these with the exercise at hand. Future work, the authors say, should enable the continued development and international benchmarking of the Finnish innovation system. The report is available online on Tekes’ website: http://www.tekes.fi/u/Better_results_more_value.pdf.
Impact assessment of R&D&I activities is overall of huge interest to Finnish policy-makers and other actors in the field. It also forms an integral part of the Academy of Finland’s review of the state of scientific research in Finland 2012, which will be completed at the end of the year.
Academy to intensify collaboration with the US in education and learning
The Academy of Finland is proposing a new mode of cooperation with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) in the field of education. The Academy, Tekes and the NSF already have experience of a new kind of collaboration in the form of the virtual institute WIFIUS (Wireless Innovation between Finland and US). A similar, virtual approach could be used in the field of education as well, says Professor Markku Mattila, President of the Academy of Finland.
Mattila maintains that education and learning is one of the most important research areas in our global world, and one of the most significant in terms of the future. In particular, there is a growing need for multidisciplinary research that successfully incorporates and combines elements from different cultures. Technological innovations in education and learning also have the potential to create new kinds of learning environments and new opportunities. Finland has a lot to offer in this respect, especially in the education of children and young people. The outstanding success of Finnish students in the OECD’s PISA programme, for instance, is a clear indication of the strength of the Finnish education system. The proposed cooperation in the field of education could benefit from the high level of scientific expertise in both Finland and the US.
Immunology research gets funding boost through international collaboration
The Academy of Finland, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) have agreed to provide funding to joint projects between Finnish, German and Chinese researchers in the field of immunology. The Academy’s funding contribution to Finnish researchers within the collaboration comes to slightly more than EUR 2 million. The research projects receive funding for three years. The objective is to promote immunology research cooperation between Finland, Germany and China. Read more in the Academy’s news release.
Call to open for Martti Ahtisaari Academy Professorship
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The Academy of Finland will open a call for a new Academy Professorship in peace research and international conflict management research called the Martti Ahtisaari Academy Professorship. The position is available to researchers of all disciplines and the research can cover a variety of themes, including: the economic, historical and societal causes of conflicts; conflict prevention, mediation and resolution, peace mediation; the political, ethnic and religious factors influencing conflict management; and intercultural dialogue and understanding.
The successful candidate and the site of research agree among themselves where the research will be carried out. In the interests of strengthening research in the field, the Academy would like to have most of the work done in Finland. The Academy Professor is expected to have an ability to contribute to the progress of the field and the development of creative conditions for research. He or she will pursue a set research plan, head a team and provide supervision to junior researchers. When applying, candidates should seek a commitment from a Finnish university or research institute to be employed there upon appointment. Read more in the Academy's news release.
Research Programme on Climate Change expanded with international joint projects
The Academy of Finland’s Research Programme on Climate Change has expanded to include international joint projects. Six Finnish-Chinese and Finnish-Russian research projects have been provided funding on the basis of the joint calls between the Academy, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Russian Foundation for the Humanities (RFH). The Academy funds Finnish researchers within the joint projects with a total of EUR 3.1 million.
Three research projects are granted funding within the Academy-CAS call. The University of Helsinki is researching biosphere-atmosphere interactions on the basis of available long-term field observations and process modelling. The project makes use of field data from Finnish and Chinese agriculture, lake and wetland measurement sites. Process modelling is used for investigating wetland methane production in particular. The research project of the Finnish Environment Institute, in turn, is expected to produce new information on two key ecosystem services: carbon sequestration and water-based services. The project will also assess the impact of both climate change and land-use change processes on ecosystem services on the regional level. Thirdly, Pyhäjärvi Institute and the University of Helsinki are investigating the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems. It is widely accepted that eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems is a most severe threat worldwide. Climate change causes changes in nutrient and hydrologic cycles and temperature, which may alter natural processes and become a severe threat to vital ecosystem services.
Within the Academy-CASS call, funding is granted to a research project investigating climate change and its impacts on the world economy. The University of Turku is carrying out future analyses (global trend and scenario analyses) from the point of view of China and the European Union. The project makes use of modern statistical forecasting and foresight methods.
Two Finnish-Russian projects are funded within the Academy-RFH call. Aalto University will research the socioeconomic consequences of climate change in Russia. The project aims at detecting the long-term socioeconomic impacts on Russian regions of different climatic types. The research approach involves studying the impacts of climate change in relation to various regional economic indicators and combining these results with long-term climate change scenarios. MTT Agrifood Research Finland, in turn, studies the adaptation of the food sector to climate change and the socioeconomic impacts of climate change in north-east Europe. The project will investigate the need for changes in farm management of livestock farms as part of adaptation and possible production expansion in Finland and north-west Russia. It will further assess the socioeconomic changes expected from changed production organisation on farms and in the food sector.
Academy joins JPI on water research
The Council of the European Union has decided to launch the Joint Programming Initiative “Water Challenges for a Changing World”. The decision, adopted on 6 December 2011, will contribute to the reduction of fragmentation of efforts by Member States and step up the mobilisation of skills, knowledge and resources, with a view to strengthening Europe's leadership and competitiveness in water research and innovation. In all 14 European countries are involved in the initiative. The Academy of Finland will be coordinating Finland’s participation.
“Water Challenges for a Changing World” is one of ten Joint Programming Initiatives set up to tackle major societal problems in Europe. The initiative responds to the grand challenge of achieving sustainable water systems for a sustainable economy in Europe and abroad. Europe currently leads world water industry, research and innovation, with one-third of the global business, scientific publications and international patents.
Europe invests an estimated EUR 500 million per year in funding water-related public research and innovation activities. While European countries invest EUR 370 million, the European Commission invests EUR 130 million.
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, the Academy makes decisions on research funding worth about EUR 320 million. For more information, go to www.aka.fi/eng or send a message to maj-lis.tanner@aka.fi.