Academy of Finland Newsletter, November 2011
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.
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2012 budget proposal includes cuts to Academy funding
The Finnish Government’s budget proposal for 2012 includes an 11.75% cut to the Academy of Finland’s research appropriations. The Academy operates in the administrative sector of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, whose proposed budget for 2012 is EUR 6.7 billion. The Ministry’s budget also includes expenditure cuts, for example, concerning higher education and liberal adult education.
In order to fuel growth in Finland, the proposal includes an additional funding of EUR 4 million for research infrastructures in 2012.
Lottery proceeds give EUR 520 million to science, arts, sports and youth work in Finland
Thanks to active Finnish lottery players, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture will be able to distribute a total of EUR 520.4 million of lottery proceeds to science, arts, sports and youth work in Finland in 2012. National lottery money from Veikkaus, the company that operates lotteries in Finland, makes up 25% of the total budget for science in Finland and 65% of the total funding allocated to arts, culture, sports and youth work.
Finnish universities team up to strengthen their profiles
Universities Finland (UNIFI) has published the final reports from a coordination project to support the strategic profiling and structural development of Finnish universities. The project involved an assessment of the following fields: the humanities, education, the natural sciences and social sciences. The project set out to clarify the distribution of work between universities and support the framework conditions of different fields of education. The aim was also to promote the profiling of universities. In addition, UNIFI wanted to ensure that disciplines will not disappear from a given field of education and that they will not be insufficiently covered.
The reports suggest that there are some small education programmes that can be discontinued and that universities should collaborate more closely both within and among themselves. Except for in a few fields, the major problem in the natural sciences is the poor student completion rate. This means, the reports argue, that the intake of students can be reduced in several fields without affecting the number of students completing their studies. The authors suggest that individual departments both in the natural sciences and the humanities participate more actively in teacher education. This would be a means to better link the education to the latest research in the field.
In the humanities and social sciences, the reports go on to say, individual subjects should be joined into more extensive wholes to create multidisciplinary, integrated degree programmes. The experts in social sciences further suggest that resources in the economic sciences be targeted at building larger clusters. In the field of education, in turn, there is a lack of qualified class, special needs and kindergarten teachers. When increasing the student intake, therefore, attention should be paid to evening out regional differences.
40% of Finns have attained higher education
According to the EUROSTUDENT IV final report “Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe”, some 40% of the Finnish population have gained a higher education degree. While Finland has some overrepresentation of students with a high education background, the overrepresentation is relatively low compared with other European countries. In all, 63% of students in higher education in Finland have at least one parent who has attained higher education. The results suggest that Finnish students who have entered higher education have somewhat varying social backgrounds: 32% of polytechnic students had a mother who had attained vocational education, compared with 21% for university students. In comparison, 31% of university students had a mother who had gained a university degree, compared with only 18% for polytechnic students.
Compared with other Europeans, Finns enter higher education relatively late, on average at the age of 21. In most European countries, 70% of students have a minimal transition period (one year or less) between graduating from secondary school and entering higher education. Of Finnish students, 54% take less than twelve months to enter higher education after obtaining their entry qualification. Only the Czech Republic, Norway, Turkey and Denmark have a longer delay. In most of the countries covered by the EUROSTUDENT project, including Finland, the share of students entering higher education after 24 months or more is higher for the low social background group.
According to the final report, Finnish students in higher education spend an average of 28 hours on their studies in a typical week. In other European countries, this share varies between 22 and 39 hours. The EUROSTUDENT IV report looks at a set of different indicators, including social background, access routes, study programmes, time use, financial resources, types of accommodation, and mobility during studies.
Brazil-Finland-Chile joint seminar in energy coming soon
The Academy of Finland is arranging a seminar on sustainable energy in Rio de Janeiro on 21–23 November 2011. The seminar is arranged jointly with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) in Brazil and the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) in Chile. The aim of the joint seminar is to identify lines of action in energy research and promote the development of joint research projects. The seminar will explore themes such as wind power, bioethanol, solar energy, biodiesel and biomass, and set up future collaboration in energy research.
The Academy has organised joint calls in energy research with CONICYT in 2007 and with CNPq in 2009. More information: Dr Saila Seppo, Programme Manager, Academy of Finland, Programme Unit, email: saila.seppo(at)aka.fi.
Academy starts collaboration with South Africa
The Academy of Finland and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the funding of joint research projects and research mobility. The MoU also covers support for investigator-driven seminars. The theme of the first Academy-NRF call will focus on the education, social exclusion and virtual lives of children and young people.
The Academy and the NRF have also discussed other themes for collaboration, including welfare, civic activity, the environment, media and society, water, synthetic biology, regionality and development research. In addition to these themes, the Academy wants to highlight a number of major challenges facing society that will be given priority focus in research policy over the next few years: the Northern Climate and Environment; Sustainable Energy; Dialogue of Cultures; A Healthy Everyday Life for All; Knowledge and Know-how in the Media Society; and Ageing Population and Individuals.
In spring 2012, the Academy and the NRF will organise a seminar or workshop to define and outline the exact focus of the joint call. The new MoU will enable the two organisations to provide joint support for researcher mobility and investigator-driven seminars. At present, Finnish and South African researchers have active collaboration in several fields, and South Africa is keen to further increase cooperation in mobility.
Finland and Korea explore joint opportunities in ICT and green technology
On 14 October 2011, Finland and the Republic of Korea came together at the fourth Korea-Finland Joint Committee Meeting and Forum in Seoul. At the meeting, ICT and green technology were defined as new themes for research collaboration between the two countries. In connection with the meeting, the Academy of Finland and the National Research Foundation of Korea signed a Memorandum of Understanding on enhancing collaborative activities and promoting researcher mobility. In the future, the two organisations plan to negotiate on funding joint research projects between Finland and Korea. Besides research projects, Korean researchers will get an opportunity to collaborate with Finnish researchers through the EU Framework Programme.
In 1989, Finland and the Republic of Korea signed a Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement. The aim of this intergovernmental agreement is to create a framework for joint projects between universities, research institutes and companies. Biennial Scientific and Technological Meetings and Forums are arranged to review the status of collaborative projects and discuss new focus areas for cooperation.
Academy of Finland creates Martti Ahtisaari Academy Professorship
The Academy of Finland has announced plans to establish a new Academy Professorship in peace research and international conflict management research called the Martti Ahtisaari Academy Professorship. The Academy Professor will be selected through an international call. According to Academy President Markku Mattila, the professorship is aimed at supporting expertise in conflict resolution through leading-edge science. Other aims include increasing scientifically-based understanding of complex conflicts and strengthening knowledge in the field through researcher training.
With the professorship, the Academy Board wants to honour President Ahtisaari’s valuable work by promoting research in this very crucial area. President Ahtisaari has extensive experience as a successful mediator of various conflicts between nations as well as ethnic and religious groups.
Earlier this year, the Academy Board identified “dialogue of cultures” as one of six grand challenges currently faced by society that will be given priority focus in research policy over the next few years. The Board says that cultural diversity has historically been a valuable resource but at the same time a source of much conflict. Now, with increasing globalisation and a blurring of national boundaries, different cultures and people interact much more frequently with each other. The world economy and global thinking are built around the idea of an effective interplay and collaboration between different people and different countries.
Finnish foundations award nearly EUR 7 million to professors’ research
A group of Finnish foundations has set up a “Foundations’ Professor Pool” to increase research opportunities for university professors. The foundations have reserved an annual amount of 2,225,000 euros for the next three years. This will enable nearly 300 professors to conduct research full-time for one academic year. Grants are awarded together with a university to finance a research period of one academic year. During the research leave, the university pays 55% of the professor’s gross salary, in which case the 25,000 euros grant awarded by the foundations covers the loss in net salary. The pool grants are available for all disciplines.
The pool of 17 foundations was established due to a concern that Finland’s best scholars have less and less time for research. According to the foundations, teaching resources at universities have not been increased, despite a growth in the number of students and degrees, and professors have also constantly had to take on more administrative duties. The pool’s grants are available to professors who work permanently at Finnish universities and are guaranteed leave from administrative and teaching duties by the university for one academic year. The grants are awarded for research and projects aimed at advancing research. With this research period system, younger scholars may also have the chance to gain experience by filling in for the professors.
Ten Finnish researchers receive ERC funding
Ten young Finnish researchers have been granted substantial funding from the European Research Council (ERC) within its call for Starting Grants. The maximum amount of funding granted for a project is EUR 2 million for five years. This year, Finland was more successful than in 2010, when five researchers working in Finland received ERC Starting Grant funding. Comparing the success of the Nordic countries, Finland came second after Sweden. Sweden received ERC funding to 13, Denmark to nine and Norway to four researchers.
Within the 2011 call, a total of 480 projects received funding, worth EUR 670 million in total. The call attracted applications from more than 4,000 researchers representing all scientific disciplines. The funding is targeted at individual researchers for setting up a research team to carry out the proposed research project. The Finnish ERC Starting Grant winners are: Ville Hietakangas, Iiris Hovatta, Tuomas Hytönen, Anna-Liisa Laine and Mikko Niemi from the University of Helsinki, Rami Korhonen from the University of Eastern Finland, Jukka Leppänen from the University of Tampere, Peter Liljeroth and Mikko Möttönen from Aalto University, and Ilona Riipinen, who will transfer from the University of Helsinki to Stockholm to carry out her research project. Eight of the Finnish ERC grant winners have had, or currently have, a research post as Academy Research Fellow, and several of them are working within Finnish Centres of Excellence appointed by the Academy of Finland.
More than 3,000 applications in the Academy’s September call
The Academy of Finland received 3,043 applications within its September 2011 call. The Academy’s key funding instruments have now been concentrated into one call, arranged this year for the first time in September. The Academy’s next main call in April 2012 will mainly involve funding opportunities within the Academy’s research programmes.
Academy Project funding attracted a total of 1,087 applications. The Academy also received a great number of applications for research posts: 136 applications for research posts as Academy Professor, 444 as Academy Research Fellow and 763 as Postdoctoral Researcher. Most applications (1,051) were submitted to the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering, followed by the Research Council for Culture and Society (766) and the Research Council for Biosciences and Environment (513). The Research Council for Health received 482 applications.
Research on virtual acoustics and mathematical inverse problems receive Academy prizes
Two outstanding researchers were recognised by the Academy of Finland in October 2011. The Academy of Finland Awards were presented to Academy Research Fellow, Adjunct Professor Tapio Lokki from Aalto University School of Science, and Academy Research Fellow, Adjunct Professor Mikko Salo from the University of Helsinki. Lokki was recognised for the social impact of his work and Salo for his scientific courage.
Tapio Lokki is one of the world’s foremost researchers of acoustics and audio signal processing. With his work, Lokki has proved that scientific research is of vital importance and highly applicable, and that it has major social impact. He has also significantly contributed to increasing public awareness of science and the researcher’s job in different media. Mikko Salo is a highly versatile mathematician who is based at the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Inverse Problems at the universities of Helsinki and Jyväskylä. Salo has provided an excellent example of an unprejudiced scientist by tackling the anisotropic Calderón problem, a very complex inverse problem that, so far, has yet to be solved. Salo’s wide scope of expertise is also demonstrated by his many articles on pattern recognition together with the Information Processing Laboratory of the University of Oulu.
Academy Professor Saarma receives significant grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has awarded a significant research grant to Academy Professor Mart Saarma and his team at the Institute of Biotechnology of the University of Helsinki. The grant comes to about EUR 133,000. The grant was awarded for the development of new forms of therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Saarma’s team has previously discovered the novel neurotrophic factor CDNF, which protects and has a capacity to repair injured neurons in animal models of Parkinson’s disease. The MJFF grant now awarded will be used to further explore the therapeutic potential of CDNF.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has proved a valuable source of funding for Saarma and co. In October 2010, the foundation awarded the team a grant of about EUR 370,000 for their preclinical studies addressing the therapeutic potential of the neurotrophic factor CDNF. The additional funding now received will be used for continued preclinical trials on non-human primate models. The research builds on the team’s earlier discoveries concerning CDNF. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through a targeted funding programme for research.
A research post as Academy Professor is one of the Academy of Finland’s funding opportunities and it is available to leading-edge researchers who have demonstrated skills and competencies in research and can be regarded as contributing to the progress of research within their field of research. The posts are intended for full-time, fixed-term research at universities and research institutes.
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. For more information, go to www.aka.fi/eng or send a message to maj-lis.tanner@aka.fi.