Academy of Finland Newsletter, May 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.
Features:
New parliamentary decision-makers for science in Finland
As a result of the parliamentary elections in April 2011, Finland has a new parliament and will have a new Government and new ministers. At present, science and research fall within the mandate of the Minister of Education and Science. The members of the Committees of Parliament have already been elected. The key committees in terms of Finnish science and research are the Education and Culture Committee, the Committee for the Future and the Subcommittee for Education and Science of the Finance Committee.
Raija Vahasalo (National Coalition Party) has been elected chair and Anne Kalmari (Centre Party) vice chair of the Education and Culture Committee. The other members are Ritva Elomaa (True Finns), Satu Haapanen (Green League), Leena Harkimo (National Coalition Party), Ilkka Kantola (Social Democratic Party), Elsi Katainen (Centre Party), Anneli Kiljunen (Social Democratic Party), Pauli Kiuru (National Coalition Party), Kimmo Kivelä (True Finns), Katri Komi (Centre Party), Sanna Lauslahti (National Coalition Party), Silvia Modig (Left Alliance), Mika Niikko (True Finns), Mikaela Nylander (Swedish People’s Party), Tuula Peltonen (Social Democratic Party) and Pauliina Viitamies (Social Democratic Party).
Päivi Lipponen (Social Democratic Party) has been elected chair and Oras Tynkkynen (Green League) vice chair of the Committee for the Future. The other members are Olli Immonen (True Finns), Harri Jaskari (National Coalition Party), Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Social Democratic Party), Eeva Maria Maijala (Centre Party), Markus Mustajärvi (Left Alliance), Elisabeth Nauclér (Swedish People’s Party), Sirpa Paatero (Social Democratic Party), Aila Paloniemi (Centre Party), Jaana Pelkonen (National Coalition Party), Arto Pirttilahti (Centre Party), Leena Rauhala (Christian Democrats), Sinuhe Wallinheimo (National Coalition Party), Sofia Vikman (National Coalition Party), Pertti Virtanen (True Finns) and Ville Vähämäki (True Finns).
Parliament has not yet elected the members of the Subcommittee for Education and Culture of the Finance Committee.
Strengthening the position of scientific research more important than having a science minister
The Finnish Union of University Professors (FUUP) and the Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers (FUURT) see scientific research as the cornerstone of applied research and innovations. According to the FUUP and the FUURT, scientific research has been too much overshadowed by innovation talks in recent science-policy focuses. Both organisations think that innovations and utilitarian thinking are given too much emphasis, for example in the Innovation Union initiative proposed by the European Union. The same line of thought is also seen in the latest policy report of the Research and Innovation Council in Finland, which is chaired by the Prime Minister. In previous years, the policy guidelines drawn up by the Research and Innovation Council have steered the research-policy entries in the Government Programme.
Several bodies in Finland have expressed a wish to have a Minister of Science, a Minister of Science and Innovation or a Minister of Science and Technology in the new government now being formed.
Finland to receive national strategy for marine and maritime research
Finland needs a multidisciplinary centre of excellence for marine and maritime research, new research-based services and stronger multi-field education in maritime research. These are among the key proposals of a recent report submitted to the Ministry of the Environment. “The proposals focus on collaboration across different scientific disciplines and lines of business,” says Director Mari Walls from the Marine Research Centre of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). “The goals will be achieved by strengthening collaboration and improving expertise in maritime research in selected spearhead fields in the long run, by increasing dialogue with end-users of research knowledge and by introducing more flexible funding schemes.”
Within the framework of its economic zone, Finland administers a sea area of considerable size. At the same time, the significance of sea areas outside the Baltic Sea, especially the northern Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, to Finland’s shipping, exports and maritime research expertise is increasing. Finland needs knowledge of these northern sea areas and needs to improve its research expertise in view of the opportunities they can offer.
The report further suggests that new research potential can emerge by combining current knowledge and expertise through new cooperation models with a view to establishing a centre of excellence. This is possible to achieve by strengthening such research areas that are close to the international top. Key issues in future maritime research will be international influencing and networking as well as greater social impact and wider application of research knowledge.
Examples of services based on maritime research knowledge that need to be further developed include marine observation and information services, services designed to support maritime safety and to reduce and manage environmental impacts and services supporting the sustainable use of marine natural resources and the planning of sea and coastal areas.
The national strategy for marine and maritime research was prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Bodies involved in the strategy work also included the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, the Geological Survey of Finland, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Universities of Helsinki and Turku, Åbo Akademi University, the SCOR Committee of the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, BONUS EEIG, the Academy of Finland and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.
Finnish science receives lottery funds
In 2010, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture distributed a record-high amount of EUR 462.7 million of lottery proceeds to arts, science, sports and youth work in Finland. The proceeds of Veikkaus (the Finnish lottery, betting and pools games company) account for the bulk of the total funding allocated by the Ministry to sports (99%) and youth work (74%). Lottery proceeds account for some 29% of the total funding allocated to science and for some 54% of the funding to the arts.
The major recipient of the funds (65%) allocated to science is the Academy of Finland. Each year, the Academy uses these funds to provide funding to several hundred research projects, for instance. Lottery proceeds allocated to science are also used to support the prerequisites for research, the preservation of material included in the national cultural heritage, scientific libraries and archives, research into domestic languages and the translation of scientific literature. Other recipients of Veikkaus funds include scientific associations that complement the national research system, such as the Finnish Science Centre Heureka and the Finnish academic institutes abroad.
Academy’s international collaboration to be strengthened
The Academy of Finland is strengthening its collaboration with the Republic of Korea, India and South Africa. Dr Riitta Mustonen, Vice President (Research) of the Academy of Finland, and Dr Se-jung Oh, President of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning support for research collaboration between the two countries in June 2011. During his visit to Finland, the President of the NRF will also give a lecture on Korean Green Technology.
At present, the Academy has two partners in India: the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). In order to support research collaboration within the research areas of health and medicine, the Academy and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have drafted a MoU with a focus on funding joint research projects. The mutual aim is to sign the MoU during 2011, the 100th anniversary of the ICMR.
South Africa is a new partner for the Academy, although Finland has had successful collaboration projects in South Africa in the fields of ICT and biosciences. In addition, Finnish researchers themselves have reported about a number of projects and links they have with South African partners in the social sciences and the humanities as well as in health research. The Academy’s partner in South Africa is the National Research Foundation (NRF), with whom a MoU will be signed in October 2011.
Within the framework of these Memoranda of Understanding, the Academy aims to provide more opportunities for Finnish researchers with a view to encouraging and supporting collaboration between Finnish and foreign researchers.
Academy Professor Markku Kulmala the world’s most-cited geoscientist
Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge, which keeps tabs on the use of reference in the scientific world for its Essential Science Indicators (ESI) service, has listed Academy Professor Markku Kulmala from the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, as the most-cited scientist in the geosciences. Academy Professor Kulmala is also the first Finn to be the most-referred scientist in any of the very exclusive ESI lists. He has published a total of 264 studies in the specific field and these studies have been referred to 6,152 times. The mean amount of references is 23.30. In addition to the geosciences, he has published a number of notable works in the fields of chemistry, physics and the environmental sciences. In addition, of all Finnish scientists, Kulmala has published the most articles in the prestigious Nature and Science journals.
The global list of referred scientists and scholars serves as an indicator of how significant a researcher’s work is to the scientific community of his or her field. Markku Kulmala, Professor in Aerosol and Environmental Physics at the University of Helsinki, is an internationally highly recognised expert in the atmospheric sciences. He has published articles on aerosol particles in the atmosphere, on clouds and on atmosphere-biosphere interactions.
Viksu science competition gets young students into doing science
The Academy of Finland’s science competition for senior secondary students, known simply as Viksu, was arranged for the thirteenth time in 2010. Students can enter the competition by preparing a study in any subject taught at upper secondary schools. Viksu comprises two categories, one for students studying for the national matriculation examination and the other for students studying for the International Baccalaureate examination. The competition provides students with an opportunity to try their wings in the field of scientific work. With the competition, the Academy wants to show young people the potential of the researcher’s job as a career option. Successful schools and active and encouraging teachers also receive prizes.
In the 2010 round of Viksu, the Academy received 145 competition entries from 39 upper secondary schools. This was a significant increase on the number of participating schools in the previous year. The majority of entries were in the fields of literature, the Finnish language, history, physics, psychology and mathematics. The two first prizes in Viksu 2010 went to a study on cancer genes and a study classical geometry. The celebration took place in April 2011.
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. Each year some 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.
Photos: Government/Vesa Moilanen, Pixmac.fi, Nina Dodd and Academy of Finland’s photo gallery