Academy of Finland Newsletter, June 2008
The Academy of Finland newsletter will keep you updated on basic 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 future, please let us know at viestinta@aka.fi.
Features:
€22 million to Baltic Sea research
Finland to receive national innovation strategy
Academy to launch cooperation with Japanese JST
Finland and Japan open joint funding call within functional materials
FinNode network expanded to Japan
India proposes establishment of Finnish-Indian diagnostics centre
FiDiPro programme brings twelve new top researchers to Finland
Five new Academy Professors appointed
Successful multidisciplinarity in Academy research programme on GMOs
Survey: an increasing part of Finnish research done on grants
Scroll down for more on these stories
€22 MILLION TO BALTIC SEA RESEARCH – ACADEMY FUNDING €4 MILLION
Research funding agencies in the nine Baltic Sea countries together with the European Union have decided to fund research supporting the sustainable development of the Baltic Sea with a total of 22.1 million euros. Research themes in the submitted proposals include governance of environmental risks in the Baltic Sea; societal conditions for the effective protection of the Baltic Sea; mapping Baltic Sea genetic biodiversity; assessing acceptable impact of pollutants in the Baltic coastal areas; and integrative environmental decision models for some parts of the Baltic Sea.
Altogether 16 projects will be funded, with participation of more than 100 research institutes or universities around the Baltic. Both the evaluation panel and the Call Advisory Board representing key stakeholders agreed on the exceptionally high level and potential practical impact of the projects.
Of the total funding of 22.1 million euros, 14.8 million euros comes from national sources and the rest is ERA‐NET+ funding from the EU. From Finland, the Academy of Finland funds Baltic Sea research with a total of four million euros.
The background organisation of this Baltic Sea research funding is BONUS Baltic Organisations Network for Funding Science EEIG, which comprises ten Baltic Sea region research funding agencies from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Russia. The BONUS‐169 Baltic Sea research programme is set to start in October 2008 and run until the end of 2011. The European Parliament is expected to make the decision regarding the Article 169 status of BONUS during its present session. For more information, please contact Executive Director, Dr Kaisa Kononen, BONUS EEIG, tel. +358 40 581 1189, www.bonusportal.org.
FINLAND TO RECEIVE NATIONAL INNOVATION STRATEGY
A proposal for a national innovation strategy for Finland was submitted in early June to Mauri Pekkarinen, Minister of Economic Affairs. The proposal for the strategy, entitled ‘Towards New Demand- and User-oriented Innovation Policy’, proposes new outlines for reforming Finland’s innovation policy and an action programme for their implementation. The strategy aims at securing the high quality, international competitiveness and attractiveness of the Finnish innovation environment. Finnish innovation activities should be reinforced by a number of means, such as reinforcing international operations, increasing involvement of users and customers in innovation processes, and taking broader approach to creativity and innovation.
The drafters of the proposal believe that the strategy provides a solid foundation for finalising the national innovation strategy. According to Minister Pekkarinen, the development of a broad-based innovation policy will be built on Finland’s strong competence base and research system. He says that if Finland desires to be a leading country in terms of research, technology and innovation, it must augment its investments in research and technology, with a new demand- and user-oriented innovation policy. The final strategy will be presented to the Government in autumn 2008 and, later, to Parliament.
ACADEMY TO LAUNCH COOPERATION WITH JAPANESE JST
The Academy of Finland and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on scientific cooperation. The MoU makes it possible for the two organisations to launch joint funding cooperation. Also Tekes, the Finnish funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, signed a similar MoU at the same time in Helsinki. The aim is to fund annually a minimum of three Finnish-Japanese research projects.
JST, operating under the auspices of the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, is one of the major organisations implementing Japan’s science and technology policy and responsible for the implementation of the national science and technology plan.
FINLAND AND JAPAN OPEN JOINT FUNDING CALL WITHIN FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
The Academy of Finland, Tekes and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) will open a joint funding call in the field of functional materials. The aim is by developing the functionality of materials to achieve technological and scientific breakthroughs in the field of material engineering. In addition to research, the funding is also aimed at promoting researcher mobility and arranging joint events. There is already existing cooperation between Finnish and Japanese researchers in the field of functional materials.
The call for proposals will be posted in early September on the Academy and Tekes websites. The description of the thematic area and funding agency-specific detailed guidelines will be published in connection with the call. The aim is to specify the thematic area of the call differently each year. JST plans to open a call in Japan in August 2008.
FINNODE NETWORK EXPANDED TO JAPAN
FinNode Japan is the latest in the line of Finnish innovation centres abroad, opened in Tokyo in June 2008. Its aim is to strengthen cooperation and joint activities between Finland and Japan in research, development and innovation. For Japanese partners, FinNode Japan offers an opportunity to reach Finnish key actors through a single point of contact. For Finnish parties, the innovation centres relay observations about the development of the innovation environment in the country of location and establish contacts with key operations. FinNode Japan was established by Finpro, Tekes, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and the Academy of Finland. In addition, the Finnish Institute in Japan will also participate in its operation.
FinNode Japan is the fourth link in the international network of Finnish innovation centres. The previously established innovation centres include FinNode USA in Silicon Valley, California, FinChi in Shanghai and FinNode Russia in St. Petersburg. Expansion of the network to India is currently being considered.
INDIA PROPOSES ESTABLISHMENT OF FINNISH-INDIAN DIAGNOSTICS CENTRE
As part of their research collaboration, Finland and India are investigating possibilities to establish a joint diagnostics centre. The initiative for establishing the centre came from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), which operates under the auspices of the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology. The goal of the DBT is to establish a physical or virtual Finnish-Indian centre, with a focus on diagnostics development, that would develop diagnostic products targeted primarily at Indian markets. The centre would work in close cooperation with universities, institutions of higher education, research institutes, hospitals, clinical laboratories and industry. The diagnostics centre could operate in Finland or India or, where applicable, in both countries.
The Academy of Finland and the DBT have negotiated on the establishment of the centre, the interest of Finnish and Indian public and private sector actors and on possibilities to participate in the implementation of the centre. In future, the possibilities to realise the initiative will be charted as part of other Finnish-Indian science and technology cooperation.
The Academy and the DBT have a bilateral memorandum of understanding. Cooperation has been carried out since 2005 in the form of Finnish-Indian research projects and researcher mobility. Within the framework of three calls for proposals implemented with the DBT in the field of biotechnology, the Academy has funded a total of twelve three-year Finnish-Indian research projects.
FIDIPRO PROGRAMME BRINGS TWELVE NEW TOP RESEARCHERS TO FINLAND
The Academy of Finland Board has decided to fund twelve new FiDiPro (Finland Distinguished Professor) professorships at Finnish universities and at one research institute. The funding allocated for this FiDiPro programme totals about nine million euros for a period of five years on average. The new FiDiPro Professors will be placed at the University of Helsinki, University of Oulu, the Finnish Institute of Marine Research, the University of Tampere, Helsinki University of Technology, the University of Turku as well as the Universities of Joensuu and Kuopio for their joint research project.
The professorships to be funded cover a wide range of scientific disciplines including mathematics, linguistics, physics, biochemistry, forest sciences and Baltic Sea research. Also computer science and history are represented among the funded projects. The projects have a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research approach.
A total of 28 FiDiPro Professors are currently working in Finland. A list of FiDiPro Professors is available at www.fidipro.fi. The Finland Distinguished Professor (FiDiPro) Programme is a joint funding programme of the Academy of Finland and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. Within the framework of the programme, foreign or expatriate Finnish top researchers can work in Finland for a fixed period. The FiDiPro Programme is aimed at achieving long-term international collaboration to strengthen Finnish scientific and technological knowledge and know-how.
FIVE NEW ACADEMY PROFESSORS APPOINTED
The Academy of Finland Board has appointed the following persons as Academy Professors: Professor Pertti Alasuutari from the University of Tampere (sociology), Professor Maarit Karppinen from Helsinki University of Technology (inorganic chemistry), Professor Johanna Mappes from the University of Jyväskylä (evolutionary ecology), Professor Mart Saarma from the University of Helsinki (neuroscience) and Professor Tapio Salmi from Åbo Akademi University (chemical reaction engineering). Their term of office runs from the beginning of 2009 until the end of 2013.
Academy professorships are the highest research posts funded by the Academy. The Academy has a total of 40 posts for Academy Professors. Appointments are normally made for five years. In order to be considered for appointment for an Academy Professorship, applicants shall have demonstrated their skills and competence in research and be regarded as contributing to the progress of research within their own field. Holders of Academy research posts work in their own organisations, such as universities and research institutes, but the Academy pays their salaries and covers their research costs.
SUCCESSFUL MULTIDISCIPLINARITY IN ACADEMY RESEARCH PROGRAMME ON GMOs
The Academy of Finland’s Research Programme on Environmental, Societal and Health Effects of Genetically Modified Organisms (ESGEMO) has contributed to strengthening the pool of Finnish researchers and experts in the field and to increasing Finnish scientific knowledge and know-how of GMOs and their effects. This is the view expressed by an international panel in its evaluation report on the ESGEMO programme. According to the panel’s assessment, the programme achieved many of the scientific goals set for it, though the quality of scientific outputs greatly varied among the projects. The panel feels that the multi- and interdisciplinary programme has increased opportunities for Finnish researchers to investigate the societal and environmental effects of genetically modified organisms.
ESGEMO was carried out in 2004–2007. The ten research projects included in the programme were funded with a total of 3.6 million euros by the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Finnish Ministry of the Environment. The report Research Programme on Environmental, Societal and Health Effects of Genetically Modified Organisms 2004–2007 (ESGEMO). Evaluation Report is available at www.aka.fi > publications.
SURVEY: AN INCREASING PART OF FINNISH RESEARCH DONE ON GRANTS
An increasing number of postgraduate degrees and research is in Finland done on grants. A survey conducted by the Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers (FUURT) shows that the importance of grants as a means to fund research has increased markedly. In the previous FUURT member survey, a little more than half (51%) of FUURT members had worked on a domestic grant after gaining their basic degree, Now, the share of those working on grants has increased to more than two-thirds (70%). Among FUURT members with a postgraduate degree, more than 80 per cent said they had conducted research on grants at some stage of their career.
Since there are not enough researcher posts at universities and research institutes, people conducting research apply for funding through other channels. Also the grant periods have become longer. Most typically, people have worked on a grant at least a year but less than three years. More than half of researchers have considered a change of career and one in seven (15%) have already done so. Women have changed careers clearly more actively than men. The majority of those considering a change of career are in the age group 30–39.
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