During 1999, information technology continued its expansion in all areas of society. During the late 1990's, Finnish industries have achieved a distinguished position among the leading information technology enterprises in the world. The expansion of industry has continued at a rapid rate, and the position at the leading edge, especially in the area of mobile wireless technology, has created growing requirements for domestic R&D activities. This has generated a remarkable need for new research staff in the field, and it has also opened up new opportunities for research cooperation between the university and the industries.
For the Department, a growth of all activities was the most characteristic feature in 1999. The intake of new students was kept at the level of 270, which is 50% above normal. The total number of students majoring in computer science increased to almost 2000. The amount of class-room teaching increased by 20% to 16.500 class-room hours, and the amount of credit units offered reached the level of 20.000. Total funding increased by 20%, and external research funding reached the level of the basic funding of the Department.
The growing pressures on educational staff and the increasing demand for qualified research staff for challenging industrial R&D started to lead to a severe brain drain at all levels of staff. In areas of the most vital industrial interest there is an imminent threat of draining the research completely and of limiting the education to certain undergraduate level courses. In its strategic planning, the Department has started to formulate new staff policies aiming at improved conditions for the research and for the staff.
The research of the Department is organised into five main areas of interest: algorithms and data structures, intelligent systems, software engineering, distributed systems and data communication, and information systems. The strategic goal is to maintain a high level in all the chosen areas, and to be, in certain special areas, among the leading groups in the world. In the research assessment exercise of 1999, organised by the University of Helsinki, the Department received the maximum overall rating. Especially the algorithms group and the information systems group were considered excellent.
The trends in research strategy are geared towards cooperation with external partners and towards multidisciplinary projects. Characteristic for this direction is the founding of the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT), a joint venture between the University of Helsinki and the Technical University of Helsinki.
In postgraduate education, the Department is involved with two graduate schools, both of them multidepartmental. One is with the Helsinki University of Technology and is specialising in IT; the other one is multidisciplinary -- with biological sciences -- and several departments are involved in it.
The Department emphasises the importance of high-level education. The rapid evolution in information technology and in computer science poses special requirements for the discipline. Keeping the general educational profile and even the basic individual courses at an up-to-date level requires more effort than in many other disciplines.
One of the main problems in education has been the excessive participation of students in the labour market. Although not without its own merits, this has lead to inefficient and prolonged studies. It is also typical for the students of the Department to stay involved in their professional career without finishing their formal studies.
In 1999 the curriculum of the Department was radically reorganised. The essence of the change is to make the curriculum consist of relatively small modules, which adapt themselves into more dynamic degree requirements, which are easier to modify according to the new developments in information technology. The new structure is also expected to be more compatible with the dynamic and project-oriented working style of students.
In order to engage the students more tightly with the Department and to intensify their studies, the Department has undertaken some activities. To the first year students two new courses are offered. In the first one the students are given the basic skills in working with computers. The goal of the second one is to give a broad view about computer science, with a special emphasis on the research work going on in the Department.
For the second and third year student participation in teacher-based tutoring is mandatory. The system provides a platform for student guidance and for direct feedback on educational and other activities within the Department.
The Department started a project of science education collaboration with six upper secondary schools in Helsinki. The results have been encouraging, and the collaboration will be extended within the limits of available resources.
On the initiative of the Ministry of Education a new programme of ``upgrading studies'' was started in the autumn of 1999. The goal is to decrease the shortage of IT staff through IT education for persons with an academic background, but in other disciplines.
Educational cooperation with the industry has lead to an increasing number of software engineering projects and M.Sc. theses that are prepared in cooperation with an industrial partner. In 1999, about 50% of the theses and projects belonged to this group.
Some changes in the staff deserve to be mentioned. Professor Esko Ukkonen, the Head of the Department, was appointed as a professor in the Academy of Finland. As new Head of the Department for the rest of the term Timo Alanko was nominated. Professor Heikki Mannila left the Department after having been appointed professor of the Technical University of Helsinki. Professor Henry Tirri was nominated to a professorship with responsibility for teacher education. A new professorship in software engineering, with special emphasis on cooperation with industry and on technology transfer, was founded in 1999; for a period of 3,5 years the professor will work half of the time at the Nokia Research Center, which also takes over the responsibility for half of the cost of this professorship. Professor Jukka Paakki was appointed to this professorship. A new professorship, responsible for the upgrading studies, was founded. Eero Hyvönen was appointed acting professor.
In the future, we will probably see an expansion of staff members sharing their time between university and industry. This will increase exchanging ideas and transferring technology, but it will also decrease the amount of the highest-level capacities available for the academia.
As a whole, the year 1999 can be considered successful. In the future we have to intensify research in our strategic areas, we must develop a more efficient post-graduate education, and we must keep the high level of education in the chosen vital areas.
It may be worth noting that in the autumn of 1999 three TV and newspaper journalists from the Far East visited the Department to make reports about the high technology in Finland and about the education creating the basis for it. This can be considered as a challenge for the future.
Finally, I want to express my grateful thanks to all our staff -- the students included -- for their intensive and fruitful work benefiting the IT society and the Department of Computer Science.
Timo Alanko
Head of the Department