Description of basic task

The Department of Computer Science is responsible for teaching and research in computer science at the University of Helsinki. As its basic tasks, the department has listed the following:

• Research: the department carries out cutting-edge research in its key areas as well as quality research in new fields.

• Teaching: the department offers an extensive basic scientific education in its Bachelor programme, expert education in its key areas of research in its Master's programmes, and researcher education based on its key areas in its Doctoral degrees.

• Societal interaction: the department actively interacts with the rest of society through both research and teaching.

These operations and their goals will be described in more detail below. With its basic tasks, the department puts the goals of both the University of Helsinki and the Faculty of Science into practice. The [strategy of the University of Helsinki] defines the premisses of the department for each three-year period.

Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT is a research collaboration between the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University of Technology. The mission of HIIT is to carry out internationally high-end basic and advanced research in computer science, and to offer researcher education and the most advanced education connected with its research. The mission of HIIT has been described in its ordinance. The University of Helsinki and Helsinki University of Technology have a contract on their joint ownership of the results of HIIT.

HIIT operates on several campuses in the metropolitan area. At the Kumpula campus, HIIT operates in the facilities of the Department of Computer Science and avails itself of the department's administrative services. This is why its quality manual has been incorporated with that of the department. If the routines of HIIT are different from those of the department, they will be mentioned separately at the end of the sub-chapter.

Research

Basic task. The department carries out cutting-edge research in its key areas as well as quality research in new fields.

Goals. The research units and project groups at the department create new information in their fields to meet the application needs of society (the corporate world, other disciplines, teaching) and to regenerate the department's own discipline, as well as to precipitate future application needs. The primary measurements for research quality are the number of international refereed publications and references as well as the department's success in reviews of the discipline and university research, and applications for centres of excellence.

Execution guidelines The research is concentrated to a few key areas and research units and project groups of adequate size. The extent and variance inside the key areas allowed by the concentration supports the internationally high standard of research. The high profile in key areas also promotes how attractive the department is. The research at the department continues to focus ever more on basic research in computer science, based on which we maintain a high standard of multidisciplinary applied research with a wide foundation of financial backing. In addition to its key areas, the department supports other high-end research that is funded from competitive external funding sources (the Academy of Finland, EU, Tekes). The key areas of the department are enumerated in the department strategy, as are the new focal areas in which the department is investing.

Teaching

Basic task. The department offers an extensive basic scientific education in its Bachelor degrees, expert educations in its key areas of research in its Master's degrees, and researcher education based on its key areas in its Doctoral degrees. The teaching adheres to a high standard.

Goals. The degrees and teaching at the department follow a high standard and are relevant for society at large. The goal of the Bachelor's degree is to lay a foundation for the Master's programmes in computer science, and to give sufficient skills to work in the field of IT for those who do not want to take a Master's degree. The department educates Masters and Doctors for advanced IT expert and research duties in the corporate world, research institutes, and educational facilities. The main goal set for the department is the number of MSc and PhD degrees completed. In this context, the department will improve its efficiency by further developing the standards of teaching and learning.

Execution guidelines. The teaching at Bachelor level covers a wide range. The contents follow international recommendations (especially [http://www.acm.org/education/curricula.html ACM/IEEE-CS Computing Curricula for Computer Science]) modified according to national needs. In addition, the key areas of the department offer education with a somewhat wider range of specialization than recommended. The teaching at the department is based on the research and educates students in a scientific way of thinking from the Bachelor level (basic and intermediate modules). The department admits minor-subject students mainly by allowing free admission to major-subject courses.

The education in Master's and Doctoral programme is based on the key-area research at the department. MSc and PhD theses are written on topics, in which there are expert instructors at the department. This means that the department fulfils the goal set by the university to base teaching on research, while ensuring high-standard, current teaching and specialization areas that are extensive enough. Since teaching has been profiled as one of the strengths of the department, it contributes to making the department attractive for international cutting-edge Master's and Doctoral students.

The work with improving teaching at the department has been persistent and open; this work will continue actively while the department also participates in similar projects at the faculty and university level. The quality assurance in teaching and learning will also continue actively at both department and university levels. The department will maintain the high standard of education that it has achieved, and will improve it further in those areas where external reviewers as well as staff and students have found it lacking. The work for improvement is carried out openly in the department community, with inclusion of the students.

Societal interaction

Basic task. The department ineracts actively with the rest of society through both research and teaching.

Goals. Through its varied research cooperations and high-end teaching, the knowledge and skills of the department are disseminated through all levels of society. The main measurement for societal interaction is that the department is a popular partner for collaborations (as can be measured in the amount of funding and the number of joint publications), and graduates from the department are in great demand among employers.

Execution guidelines. A good balance between theory and interaction with companies and application fields has been reached in the research at the department. Master's graduates from the department have been employed in demanding positions in the corporate world and other organizations.

Administration and other support

Goals. The department administration team supports teachers and researchers to carry out their basic tasks. The administration team offers efficient administration and support in en expert, service-oriented and expedient way, reducing administrative and support duties for the teachers and researchers.

Execution guidelines. The department administration will be maintained at its current high standard, and the administrative services will be produced in collaboration with the campus service unit.

Basic task of the University of Helsinki

[Source: [[the quality manual of the University of Helsinki 1.3]

According to the Universities Act, mission of all the universities in our country is to promote free research and scientific and artistic education, to provide higher education based on research, and to educate students to serve their country and humanity. In carrying out their mission, the universities shall interact with the surrounding society and promote the societal impact of research findings and artistic activities.

In its strategy, the University of Helsinki has defined its mission:

• to create new knowledge and scientific approaches
• to educate versatile and responsible experts for various fields
• to support education, social development and wellbeing.

The University of Helsinki wants to:

• be the most versatile institution for education and spiritual revival in Finland in future as well as today
• consolidate its position among the best multi-disciplinary research universities in Europe
• profile itself especially in research and researcher education
• social collaboration based on active reciprocating partnerships

In its strategy, he University of Helsinki has defined its mission:

• to create new knowledge and scientific thinking
• educate versatile and responsible specialists in several fields
• support education, social development, and prosperity.

Research and researcher education: creating new knowledgeThe University of Helsinki creates new knowledge and scientific thinking. Its research is constantly being improved and gaining increasing respect internationally. The university has been profiled as a research institution especially through the basic research carried out under its auspices. Its strategic choices are based on the high standard of the research. Ethical viewpoints are always considered in the research.

Teaching and studying: learning new informationThe university educates its students into versatile and responsible specialists. The teaching is based on scientific and academic research, utilising results from research into university teaching and studying. All the university's teachers carry out research and all the researchers teach.

Societal interaction: reciprocal companionshipThe societal interaction of the university is realised through research and teaching as well as through cooperations based on reciprocal collaboration. The university ensures that societal interaction is incorporated into the research and teaching carried out in the faculties and separate units. The university brings added value based on research and teaching into national and international partnerships, expecting reciprocal benefits for its fundamental mission - teaching and research.

Please see the university's quality manual, Chapter A.1.1.1 for more details.

Basic task of the Faculty of Science

[Source: the faculty strategy 2007-9]

The Faculty of Science has an extensive national responsibility for science skills and the development of the IT society as emphasized in the national science and education policy. The foundation of operations is basic research in the exact natural sciences and their application and complementary fields, geography and geology.

The faculty offers versatile and advanced teaching based on research in its various fields. Teaching at the faculty also takes the general education mission of the university into account. The education answers both to national needs in the fields of science and minor-subject teaching needs inside the university. The degree structures are flexible, taking into consideration both the needs of research and graduate education and the job market.

The main points of the basic task are as follows (full description in faculty policy 2007-9):

• The research and teaching at the faculty maintains a high international standard and is highly appreciated in our society. The foundation of its operations consists of expert staff, motivated students, extensive quality assurance and a sense of community.
• Research and researcher education: research at the faculty, maintaining a high international standard, is multidisciplinary and socially relevant in all its fields.
• Teaching and studies: the management of teaching promotes the achievement of the goals set for the quality of teaching and learning.
• Societal interaction: the faculty is a nationally well-known and dependable expert in all the disciplines it represents.

Goals

The goals of the basic mission of the Department of Computer Science have been described above in connection with he basic missions (teaching, research, societal interaction). The department specifies its goals in accordance with the university strategy, the university policies, and the faculty strategy. The department negotiates with the faculty about quantitative goals and parameters. The goals of the department have been described in its three-year strategy.

The research strategy of HIIT describes the goals of HIIT.

The mission of HIIT is to elevate the contents, visibility and effect of Finnish IT research to the highest international standard, and thereby promote the interaction between universities and the IT industry on the one hand and the key research institutions and universities internationally on the other hand.

HIIT wants to promote the long-term competitiveness of the Finnish IT industry and IT society so that the scientific research carried out at universities can be tied to the long-span and risky strategic research and development of the IT industry, and to the improvement of the IT society.

Visions of the future

In future, the Department of Computer Science will further focus on its key areas in teaching and research, and will be known for its high standards in teaching and research. The staff will be very professional and motivated. The students will be the best of their peer group, extremely motivated to study this field.

When the programmes for additional funding for education have ended and as the demand lessens, the number of students and amount of permanent teaching will be cut back to the level of the department's permanent funding. However, teaching at the department will retain its extent of sub-fields. It will take into account the needs of both the job market and research and researcher education. The relations between teachers and students will be improved, and teaching will be developed further in an open-minded way. Researcher education and post-graduate tutoring will be more effective. In research, the quality will take precedence.

Quality policy

It is part of the quality policy of the Department of Computer Science and Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT that the units

• maintain a system for quality assurance based on which the units can carry out their basic missions dependably and with good quality in all its fields of operations,
• are innovating, appreciated nationally and internationally, and attractive as study, working and research communities as well as partners for cooperation, and
• promote the well-being of their staff and students.

In practice, this means that the operations of the units have been documented in the quality manual and the complementary instructions. In monitoring and improving the quality, the re-evaluations of the basic missions recurring on a regular basis and the feedback from students and other partners will be taken into account systematically. The members of the staff will participate in the quality assurance through the annual strategy meeting and through the reviews held with their immediate superiors.

For more details, please see Chapter A. 1. 2. of the university's quality policy.