Academy of Finland funds research collaboration between Finland and USA

The Academy of Finland has granted 3 million euros in funding for joint research projects between Finnish and US researchers. The funding was for seven projects involving eight parties from Finland and nine from the United States.

The projects were selected in cooperation with the National Science Foundation (NSF). The call for applications was open in early 2021. The Academy’s funding decisions were made by the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering as part of the research, development and innovation programme ICT 2023. The US project partners will receive funding from the NSF.

The funded projects were reviewed as excellent and high-impact. The projects will develop, among other things, new material solutions for the utilisation of artificial intelligence as well as AI-based solutions for wireless communications.

Johanna Myllyharju, Chair of the Academy of Finland Board, said: “Versatile and continuous cooperation with US funders contributes significantly to the quality, impact and renewal of Finnish research. Our aim is to continue the cooperation at least until 2023, provided there is funding available.”

The call was implemented under the so-called Lead Agency model, whereby the full application was submitted to the US funder. Proposers from Finland submitted a version of the proposal to the Academy as well. The applications were reviewed based on the usual criteria of the US funder. The criteria included the quality and impact of research and the quality of the research environment.

New funding opportunities for cooperation between Finnish and US researchers

The Academy of Finland has opened new joint calls with the NSF and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Like before, these calls also support research cooperation in the areas represented in the Academy of Finland’s Flagship Programme. The calls will be implemented under the Lead Agency mechanism. Watch the replay of the call info webinar (available until 22 December 2021).