Oulu Deaconess Institute Foundation donates €25,000 to the University of Oulu

Research, teaching and training cooperation between the University of Oulu and the ODL Sports Clinic is close and multidisciplinary. The cooperation has been going on since the clinic was founded in the 1970s.

In recent years, research has focused on the impact of lifestyles, particularly physical activity and nutrition, on the development of physical and sedentary lifestyles, health and well-being, and on the impact of urban and natural environments on physical activity and well-being. The importance of nutrition in sport and physical activity is also a strong theme. The information generated by these studies can be used to promote mobility for people of all ages and to design healthy environments.

“Our foundation wants to use the donation to further strengthen medical research at the University of Oulu. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ODL Sports Clinic, and throughout this time we have been working closely with the university. The cooperation has sparked several multidisciplinary research and development projects, which have resulted in a large number of internationally significant and award-winning scientific publications," says Kaisu Kaikkonen, Head of the ODL Sports Clinic.

In addition to research, the ODL Sports Clinic is the main site for specialist training in sports medicine in Northern Finland, and it also funds a joint professorship in sports medicine at the University of Oulu's Lifelong Health Research Unit.

"I would like to express my warmest thanks to the ODL Foundation for its donation to medical research and at the same time congratulate the 50-year-old Sports Clinic for its significant work in promoting the health and well-being of the people from Northern Finland. Our cooperation in the field of lifelong health research and education will continue to be strong," says Osmo Tervonen, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

ODL's donation is part of an ongoing government matching funds programme that will further increase the impact of the donation. The State provides funding that matches donations to universities from foundations, companies and individuals. A donor can direct a donation of at least €10 000 to the development of the field of their choice. The government’s matching funding period runs until the end of June this year.