Academy of Finland grants funding for second Flagship term

The Academy of Finland has granted continued funding to six competence clusters included in the Finnish Flagship Programme. The Academy’s funding for the Flagships comes to 67.5 million euros for 2022–2026. The continued funding was decided in connection with a mid-term review, which assessed the progress of the Flagships selected in the first and second calls of the programme and their plans for the coming years.

The mid-term review found the activities of the Flagships excellent. Their activities have been very successful and their plans for the future are promising. The review was carried out by an international panel, which also interviewed Flagship representatives. The review material included the original application, a report on the past two years, a stakeholder survey and the new application focusing on the plans for the coming years.

The following Flagships were granted continued funding:

•  6G Flagship – 6G-Enabled Wireless Smart Society & Ecosystem
• FCAI – Finnish Centre for Artificial Intelligence
• FinnCERES – Competence Centre for the Materials Bioeconomy
• iCAN – Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship
• INVEST – Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State
• PREIN – Flagship on Photonics Research and Innovation

The Finnish Flagship Programme includes ten competence clusters. The Academy of Finland’s total funding contribution to the programme comes to more than 100 million euros. The Flagships represent an effective mix of close cooperation with business and society, adaptability and a strong commitment from host organisations. They create future know-how and sustainable solutions to society’s challenges, promoting economic growth by, for example, developing new business opportunities.

Funding for research collaboration with the United States

The Academy also granted funding for research cooperation between Finland and the United States in research fields represented by the Finnish Flagships. The funding, 0.5 million euros in total, was granted for one project (Plasticity and Function of the Rod/Cone Gap Junction in the Retina) under a joint call by the Academy of Finland and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).