Research Council of Finland Awards go to Simo Hosio and Timo Miettinen

Simo Hosio, who studies how to harness crowd intelligence, and Timo Miettinen, who explores the ideas and ideologies behind modern Europe, have won the Research Council of Finland Award for their exceptional scientific courage and creativity and for their work to promote the impact of science on society.

The Research Council of Finland has selected two distinguished early-career researchers to receive the 2023 Research Council of Finland Awards. The Awards, granted in recognition of significant scientific and societal impact, go to Simo Hosio and Timo Miettinen. Hosio is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering of the University of Oulu, and Miettinen holds an Academy Research Fellowship at the Centre for European Studies of the University of Helsinki.

Both winners have demonstrated their ability to produce high-quality and high-impact research. The research conducted by Hosio and his team in the field of computer science has received widespread international media coverage, including outlets such as the BBC, The Economist, Futurity and New Scientist. Miettinen’s European and EU studies combine solid fundamental research, active participation in societal debate and perspectives to support policymaking.

Harnessing crowdsourcing to tackle mental health issues, back pain, sleep quality and Parkinson’s disease

Simo Hosio boldly approaches difficult societal problems with the help of crowd computing and crowdsourcing. How can the inherent intelligence of large numbers of people, crowds, be harnessed through technologies such as the internet, artificial intelligence and algorithms, in particular to tackle health-related challenges? The technology developed by Hosio’s research team has been widely applied in research on mental health among young people, back pain, sleep quality and Parkinson’s disease, among others.

“Crowdsourcing is one of the best ways to feed AI with reliable data. By tapping into the collective knowledge and insights of crowds, we can solve societal problems and bring concrete help to people suffering from health problems, for example,” Hosio says.

Since 2020, Simo Hosio has been Assistant Professor and Head of the Crowd Computing Research Group at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering of the University of Oulu. He obtained his Doctor of Science in Technology degree in 2014 as the first Finn to be funded through the Microsoft Research Cambridge programme. Hosio has active research collaborations with a number of international universities and research institutes. He has received, among others, the Research Council of Finland’s Postdoctoral Researcher and Academy Research Fellowship funding and is the principal investigator of one of the subprojects of the CRITICAL consortium funded by the Strategic Research Council. Currently, Hosio is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Tokyo.

Using philosophy, politics and history to gain a new understanding of Europe

Timo Miettinen explores the ideas and ideologies that underlie contemporary Europe, especially from the perspective of politics and societal thinking. He combines research in philosophy, politics and history in an exceptionally creative way. Miettinen’s research has influenced the debate on political phenomena and brought new perspectives to the understanding of European economic policy, for instance.

“I’m fascinated by understanding and analysing the present day. We gain analytical tools for understanding contemporary Europe and the EU by looking at when different ideas were born and what kind of thought patterns and prejudices they carry with them,” Miettinen says.

Since 2021, Miettinen has held an Academy Research Fellowship at the Centre for European Studies of the University of Helsinki. He obtained his PhD in Theoretical Philosophy from the University of Helsinki in 2013 and was awarded the title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) in Practical Philosophy in 2019. His previous positions include Director of the Centre for European Studies and team leader of the Centre of Excellence in Law, Identity and the European Narratives, a Finnish Centre of Excellence funded by the Research Council of Finland. Miettinen has made a significant contribution to the promotion of scientific research and has participated as a researcher in societal debate and policymaking.

Research Council of Finland Awards encourage talented researchers

The Research Council of Finland Awards are granted annually to researchers who have shown exceptional scientific audacity, creativity or innovation in research. The winners have significantly contributed to increasing public awareness of scientific research or the researcher’s job, inspired interest in science, actively contributed to public debate in society, or otherwise strengthened the role, application and impact of science and research in society.

The Awards are granted to researchers whose scientific careers are still mostly ahead of them. The winners must be Academy Research Fellows, Postdoctoral Researchers or Clinical Researchers funded by the Research Council of Finland or be principal investigators of an Academy Project. Nominations are submitted by the scientific councils to the Board of the Research Council of Finland, which makes the final decisions. The winners are presented with a mouth-blown glass ornament, “The Moment”, designed by Miia Liesegang.

This is the 21^st time that the Research Council of Finland Awards are presented. This year’s award ceremony will be held at the Research Council of Finland in March.