Overview

The Department of Computer Science was founded in 1967 when the first full professorship in computer science was established at the University of Helsinki. It is within the Faculty of Science, along with the departments of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and others.

Our current teaching faculty (May 1998) comprises 46 full time teachers. It can be categorized using American academic terminology: 5 full professors (Mannila, Tienari, Ukkonen, two vacant positions), 4 associate professors (Mäkelä, Paakki, Raatikainen, Sippu), 23 assistant professors (9 research oriented senior assistants and 14 teaching oriented lecturers) and 14 teaching assistants. We also employ approximately 40 of our students in teaching on a part-time basis. Fourteen senior experts are also associated with the department. These so-called docents work mainly outside the university but occasionally give courses or supervise theses in the area of their speciality. Approximately 60 research positions are financed from outside sources. We also have a staff of 12 persons.

The department annually admits 240 students to major in computer science. The students are selected according to their standing in a national student examination or in a special entrance examination (or both). The number of completed M.Sc. degrees (5 year degree) was 44 in 1995, 51 in 1996, and 62 in 1997. The study time for a M.Sc. degree ranges from five to eight years. Many of our students work in industry, which slows down or stops the progress of their studies. Fairly frequently our students, after having acquired the basic skills in computer science, redirect their studies by transferring to the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, or some other educational institution. Many students study computer science as a minor while pursuing a major in another subject, such as mathematics, physics, economics, psychology, or social sciences. We offer two curricula for students minoring in computer science. In 1997 our ``approbatur curriculum in computer science'' (15-34 credit units) was completed by 141 students and our ``cum laude curriculum in computer science'' (35-69 credit units) was completed by 117 students.

There are two graduate degrees in Finland: the Ph.Lic. (3 years) and the Ph.D. degree (4 years). The latter has higher quality requirements. Both build upon the M.Sc. degree (5 years). The high demand for our M.Sc. graduates to fill well-paid jobs in industry is a fact which has hampered our Ph.D. education. Our department granted five Ph.D. degrees and five Ph.Lic. degrees in the two year period 1996-97. In postgraduate education we cooperate with the Helsinki University of Technology within the Helsinki Graduate School in Computer Science and Engineering (HeCSE) and with the University of Turku and the Center for Scientific Computing of Finland within the Graduate School in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, and Biometry (ComBi).

Three principal sources provide funds for computer science research in Finland. The Academy of Finland under the Ministry of Education and Science provides funding for basic research. The second important research financier is the Technology Development Centre (TEKES) under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. We also enjoy financing of the European Commission in the research and development programs ESPRIT and ACTS.

The department maintains jointly with the University Computing Centre a good computer science library. It subscribes to most major international journals in computer science and related fields and acquires a majority of the most important computer science books and conference publications. The library is run by a librarian and a secretary.

The Computing Centre maintains a communication backbone network and offers UNIX and PC services. In addition, the department maintains its own workstation network of approximately 280 Linux PCs and about 10 servers. Windows 3.1, Windows 95 or Windows NT can be used as an alternative for Linux. About 30 of the Linux workstations are mobile laptops which can join and leave the network dynamically. Classrooms with Linux PCs are available. Each office of the department has a PC or a workstation.

The department has three informal sections that are used in the planning of the curricula and in administration. The division is not strict, and several research projects span two sections. The sections cover roughly the following subject areas:

1.

General Computer Science (Prof. Esko Ukkonen, Assoc. Prof. Matti Mäkelä): algorithms and data structures, computational complexity, computational geometry, machine learning, Bayesian networks, neural networks, computer graphics, numerical and symbolic computation, computational biology, geoinformatics, computationally intensive tasks, computer-aided instruction, computers in education

2.

Computer Software (Prof. Martti Tienari, Assoc. Prof. Jukka Paakki, Assoc. Prof. Kimmo Raatikainen): programming languages, compilers, formal specification and verification, software engineering, distributed systems, computer networks, operating systems, performance evaluation

3.

Information Systems (Prof. Heikki Mannila, Assoc. Prof. Seppo Sippu): databases, human-computer interfaces, computer supported co-operative work, information system design methodology, design of databases, text databases, object-oriented databases, logic databases, database structures and algorithms, document management, data mining and knowledge discovery, management of spatial data (GIS),

The University of Helsinki has many diverse teaching and research offerings related to computer applications. At the Department of Mathematics there is an active group in mathematical logic, numerical analysis and symbolic computation as well as some interest in theoretical computer science. The Rolf Nevanlinna Institute under the Faculty of Science is a research Institute of mathematics, computer science, and statistics with the main tasks of research and doctoral education. Our students also benefit from the hardware-oriented teaching (e.g. electronics, digital electronics, microcomputers, interface electronics) given at the Department of Physics. In the Faculty of Social Sciences some teaching and research is devoted to computational statistics, administrative information systems, and the social effects of data processing. In the Faculty of Arts there is a research unit in computational linguistics and a degree program in linguistic theory and cognitive science.