Academy of Finland Newsletter, March 2010

The Academy of Finland newsletter will keep you updated on 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:
Academy of Finland funded scientific research with 304 million euros in 2009
Academy President Markku Mattila calls for substantial investment in scientific research
Academy of Finland promotes research collaboration with China
Academy of Finland continues to fund development research
One Finnish enterprise in two had innovations or activity aimed at innovations
Obituary: Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie, Academician of Science
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Academy of Finland funded scientific research with 304 million euros in 2009

The Academy of Finland provided a total of 304.2 million euros in funding for high-level scientific research and research projects that promote research careers. In 2008, the figure was 287.2 million euros, and the money available for 2010 comes to about 314 million euros. The bulk, or 46 per cent, of Academy funding was awarded to research projects, while research programmes accounted for 10 per cent. The majority, or 80 per cent, of the funding awarded went to researchers working at universities. The Academy has four Research Councils, and the biggest sums of funding are awarded by the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering.

In 2009, the Academy received some 4,400 applications for funding worth a total of 1.6 billion euros. Each year, the Academy is unable to fund a great number of excellent applications.

The Academy’s Annual Report and a PowerPoint presentation of the figures will be available on the Academy’s website in early April.

Academy President Mattila calls for substantial investment in scientific research

Academy of Finland President Markku Mattila draws attention to a growing tendency in Finland to focus on applied research at the expense of scientific research. According to Professor Mattila, long-term scientific research provides a solid basis for innovation activity and technological development. In terms of policy, it particularly makes sense to provide funding for science in an economic downturn. Scientific research embodies an investment in the future and a boost for economic recovery efforts. Science and research also have a job-creation effect.

“Finland needs a national science strategy that outlines the development goals for the next ten years. One of the key principles of this new science policy must be to consolidate the position of scientific research within the Finnish innovation system,” Mattila says.

Investments in research and development have remained unchanged in Finland throughout the 2000s. The percentage of R&D expenditure of GDP rose to 3.9 per cent in 2009. According to Mattila, the target must be to maintain a level of 4 per cent as soon as economic recovery sets in.

Academy of Finland promotes research collaboration with China

The Academy of Finland conducts active research collaboration with China, particularly with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).The Academy and the NSFC open a joint call annually in a field that is separately agreed each year. The most recent call was in the field of computational sciences and signal processing, and within it, four projects were funded. At present, the Academy has 12 jointly funded projects with China, and the Academy provides funding to the Finnish researchers in these projects to a total of 3.9 million euros.

The Academy is also involved in agreement-based research funding cooperation with two other research funding agencies in China: the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). The Academy has further arranged joint seminars with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS). The Academy has a programme for researcher mobility with the NSFC, CAS and CASS. A total of 64 Finnish researchers visited China in 2005−2009 with funding from these programmes, while 85 Chinese researchers visited Finland. “There has been a steady level of interest in the mobility programme,” says Programme Manager Mika Tirronen of the Academy of Finland.

Academy of Finland continues to fund development research

The Academy of Finland will fund development research with a total of six million euros in 2010 and 2011. The Cabinet Finance Committee supports the proposal. According to the proposal, pilot studies and 1–4-year research projects will be funded through Academy-administered annual calls for research grants. Development research is designed to serve the planning and monitoring of cooperation with developing countries, and to promote collaboration between Finnish researchers and researchers in developing countries with a view to supporting progress in developing countries in accordance with Finland’s Development Policy Programme.

One Finnish enterprise in two had innovations or activity aimed at innovations

During 2006–2008, 48 per cent of Finnish enterprises employing at least ten persons were engaged in activity connected with product or process innovations. As in the past, innovation activity relating to product and process innovations was more widespread in manufacturing than in services; in manufacturing the percentage of enterprises with innovation activity was 54 per cent and in services 43 per cent. The data derive from a survey on innovation activity among Finnish enterprises conducted by Statistics Finland.

The vast majority of enterprises that were engaged in innovation activity, or 45 per cent of all enterprises, also reported product or process innovations. A total of 34 per cent of manufacturing enterprises had launched product innovations on the market in 2006–2008, while the percentage was 29 per cent in services. The percentage of enterprises that had introduced process innovations was 40 per cent in manufacturing and 32 per cent in services.

Among the manufacturing industries, innovation activity and introduction of innovations were most widespread in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products (incl. pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations) and in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products. In the service industries examined, innovation activity connected with product and process innovations was most common in IT services (computer programming, consultancy and related activities), and in telecommunications.

Obituary: Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie, Academician of Science

Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie, Academician of Science, MD, PhD, has passed away after a serious illness. Professor Peltonen was one of the world’s foremost experts in genetic research. Her research serves as an excellent example of how basic molecular biology can be combined with medicine to gain a better understanding of different diseases. She was the recipient of several international accolades, including the Antoine Marfan Award, the Anders Jahre Prize, the European van Gysel Prize for Biomedical Research and the Eric K. Fernström Prize.

Over her career that spanned 37 years, Academician Peltonen ran research groups at the University of Oulu, the University of Helsinki, the National Public Health Institute of Finland, the University of California Los Angeles, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Boston and the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. Her team identified genetic mutations associated with dyslipidemias, lactose intolerance, MS disease, schizophrenia, obesity and heart diseases. The team also established how these mutations mechanically lead to the actual onset of disease. Their efforts have paved the way to new diagnostic tests and to screenings for disease carriers.

She held several professorships and other significant positions at research organisations both at home and abroad. She was a Professor at the National Public Health Institute in 1991–1994 and at the National Public Health Institute and the University of Helsinki in 1995–1998 and again in 2002–2003. In 1998 she moved to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) to establish a major genetic research centre. Nine years later she was invited to become Head of Human Genetics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Europe’s leading genome research centre. She continued to work at the Sanger Institute in the UK for as long as her health permitted. In addition to her work at the Sanger Institute, Peltonen was Research Director at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) and at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, as well as Visiting Professor at Broad Institute, Boston. She was also a member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the US National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine.

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Academy of Finland in brief: 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. The Academy makes decisions on research funding worth 314 million euros. Each year about 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.