The University’s strategic research areas for 2017–2020 include life sciences, the human mind in a changing world as well as the structure of matter and materials science.

Through these strategic research areas, the University seeks to focus its research profile and to guide research in a more multidisciplinary, solution-focused direction. The research areas will be considered when the University’s new Strategic Plan is drafted.

“Scientific research is characterised by independence. At the University level, competence also generates broader strategic units which enable significant multidisciplinary investments in social challenges," states Keijo Hämäläinen, vice-rector in charge of research and education.

The emphases on the selected areas will be apparent, for example, in the Academy of Finland’s application rounds for funding to strengthen universities’ research profiles. On the first round, funding was applied for the life sciences. In future, funding will be applied for the other strategic research areas or their components. The strategic research fields help with operations management and resource allocation.

Why these three?

An obvious difference to previous research focus areas is that there are only three strategic research areas. While the research focus areas covered nearly all research conducted at the University, the strategic research areas are intended to highlight specific areas for the coming strategic period.

Hämäläinen points out that individual researchers or research groups need not worry even if their research topics are not included in the strategic research areas.

“Most of our research is of a very high quality, but it cannot be strategic for the University as an organisation. Such disciplines still have a prominent position and a great deal of respect at the University,” Hämäläinen remarks.

Of these research areas, life sciences are strongly linked to the upcoming Helsinki Life Science Centrewhich will combine biological and environmental sciences into an internationally appealing cluster. The human mind in a changing world area focuses on how individuals and communities are meeting the problems and opportunities in our increasingly global, digital and rapidly ageing society.

The structure of matter and materials science covers top-tier research from fields in which the University has significant research infrastructures. This strategic research area will be defined more closely in the autumn.

The thematic components of the strategic research areas will also be determined in more detail later.

Spearhead research, University brands

According to Vice-Rector Hämäläinen, the strategic research areas share a strong multidisciplinary approach.

“Another criterion for choosing these fields was a high quality of the academic research, measured for example by the number of centres of excellence and Academy professors. In addition, we selected areas with sufficient offspring, i.e., junior researchers,” Hämäläinen explains.

Besides these extensive, cross-disciplinary strategic research areas, the University has recognised two points of spearhead research: the atmosphere and climate as well as mathematics.

“These areas are on the highest global level, at the very top. They are coherent units, nearly brands in themselves. For example, everyone has heard of Markku Kulmala,” Hämäläinen says.

More spearhead research points may be identified when the research areas are thematically defined.

Text: Tiina Palomäki
Photo: Linda Tammisto
Translation: University of Helsinki Language Services

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