Funding to promote research profiling at universities has strengthened quality and impact of research

The final reports of the projects funded through the second round of the Academy of Finland’s funding scheme to strengthen university research profiles (Profi 2, 2016–2020) have been approved. Based on the reports, Profi funding has strengthened the quality of research in selected profiling areas in all universities that received funding.

Johanna Myllyharju, Chair of the Board of the Academy of Finland, is delighted at the new research activities that emerged from the final reports. These include the creation of various joint platforms and hubs for researchers in different fields within the universities. In addition, some platforms have also been set up for research-related collaboration with other research organisations, different actors in society or the business sector.

Myllyharju said: “The impact of Profi funding on the quality of research is evident from a variety of indicators. The research areas have secured a lot of external funding, including funding from the Flagship Programme and the European Research Council. The final reports also show that the number and quality of publications have increased during the Profi funding period.”

Boost for cooperation between universities and business, support for research-based education

In their final reports, the universities highlight the fact that they have, in the profiling areas, successfully improved the transfer of university research to companies and strengthened collaboration between academia and industry.

Riitta Maijala, Vice President for Research at the Academy of Finland, said: “The Profi funding to promote research profiling has also facilitated the formation of new partnerships. High-quality and high-impact research contributes to the development of new products and business models.”

Examples of the results of academia-industry cooperation mentioned in the final reports include new partnership agreements and joint projects, various collaborative platforms, conferences and other joint events, new spin-off companies, patents and inventions.

The final reports also show that the universities have been able to provide effective support for decision-making related to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, new research infrastructure projects have been launched with various actors.

Vice President Maijala also highlights the importance of Profi funding for supporting research-based education.

“The very topical legal issues of global responsibility, digital learning and the importance of art research in art education are examples of the support provided by the funding for the development of expertise requiring a multidisciplinary approach.”

The Academy of Finland has supported Finnish universities with profiling funding since 2015. The aim of the funding is to support and speed up the strategic profiling of Finnish universities in order to improve the quality of research. Six calls for applications have been launched.

Universities submit a final report on the impact of Profi funding in the year following the end of the funding period. Profi 2 funding was granted to eleven universities, totalling 50 million euros for measures to strengthen the quality of research.

• Summaries of Profi 2 final reports (PDF)