Academy of Finland supplemented its flagship programme — University of Oulu included in the GeneCellNano project
The flagship is coordinated by the University of Eastern Finland and led by Academy Professor Seppo Ylä-Herttuala, deputy director is Professor Seppo Vainio from the University of Oulu. Other participants are University of Helsinki, Aalto University and Finnish Red Cross Blood Service.
The Flagship Programme’s third call focused on collaboration between research teams and the business sector, and on high-quality research with impact and the capacity for renewal.
University of Oulu also sought funding for the steel research project Advanced Steels Research Towards a Carbon-Neutral Future. The application was based on internationally strong and nationally leading steel research by CASR (Center for Advanced Steels Research). The field of research is part of the long-term profiling of the University of Oulu.
“As the strengths of the application, experts highlighted, among other things, the huge impact of the topic on the Finnish economy and society, as well as the large carbon footprint of the steel sector, the experience and knowledge of the consortium members, and the ambitious objectives for the development of a new generation of steels”, Vice Rector for Research Taina Pihlajaniemi states. According to expert opinion and the views of the Academy, there is also still something to be developed in the application.
The Academy of Finland has previously awarded flagship status to six Finnish consortiums, including one of the University of Oulu's Wireless Communications 6G research.
The Finnish Flagship Programme is an instrument that supports high-quality research and increases the economic and societal impact emerging from the research. The strong commitment of the host organisations to the operation and financing of the Flagships plays a key role in achieving the objectives.