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    FinlandResearch in

    2006

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    Research in Finland

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    Printed at PunaMusta Oy 2006ISBN 952-485-122-9ISBN 952-485-123-7 (PDF)Graphic design by Jarkko Mki-Kojola, [email protected]

    Cover pictures Tekes, Matias Uusikyl

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    Contents

    Finnish innovation systemGovernment R&D fundingThe development of R&D expenditureR&D activities by sector

    Research trainingCareer in researchCentres of excellence in researchResearch and technology programmesInternationality and mobilityCompetitivenessHigh technology foreign trade and patentsImpact analysis and foresightEqual opportunity in researchResearch ethics

    Contact information

    691011

    12131416182021222324

    26

    For additional information see www.research.fi

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    Finnish innovation system

    Finland is at the forefront of national innovation system

    development. As a result of the long-term progress Finn-ish science and technology policy has evolved from irreg-ular activity to an approach, in which the policy makers,funding organisations, producers and users of knowledgeand know-how are regarded as an entity Finnish in-novation system.

    Central components in the innovation system are educa-

    tion and training, research and development, and knowl-

    edge-intensive business. Varied international cooperationpermeates the whole system.

    The national innovation system has an important partin the government program (20032007) in which themain goal is to further the use of scientific knowledgeand technology in development of economy, employ-ment and society in general.

    Finnish innovation system

    Science and TechnologyPolicy Council Government

    Ministry ofEducation

    Ministry of Trade Other Ministries

    Academy ofFinland

    Tekes Sitra

    Universities, Polytechnics and Government Research Institutes

    Business Enterprises and Private Research Institutes

    PARLIAMENT

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    Policy-makers

    The national science, technology and innovation poli-cies are formulated by the Science and Technology Policy

    Council of Finland, which is chaired by the Prime Min-ister. Science policy is the responsibility of the Ministryof Education as technology and innovation policy is theresponsibility of Ministry of Trade and Industry. Oth-er ministries are responsible for R&D in their sectors.

    Funding organisations

    Nearly 80 percent of the government research fundingis channelled through the Ministries of Education andTrade and Industry. The Academy of Finland and Tekes,the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Inno-vation, are the foremost expert financing organisationsimplementing science and technology policy.

    The Academy of Finland allocates most of the funds at its

    disposal on a competitive basis through universities andresearch institutes to researchers and research projects,centres of excellence in research, researcher posts and re-searcher training.

    Tekes finances and boosts challenging R&D projects car-ried out by business enterprises, research institutes anduniversities. The aim is to diversify the industrial struc-ture, promote exports and create new business and jobs.

    Sitra, The Finnish National Fund for Research and De-velopment, is an independent funding body directly

    subordinate to Parliament. Sitra focuses its operations onprogrammes. The methods are research and training, in-novative projects, business development and corporatefunding. The projects thus launched make a significantcontribution to the development of the new economy inFinland.

    Higher education system and governmentresearch institutes

    The Finnish higher education system comprises two sec-tors: universities and polytechnics. The network of 20universities covers well the whole country. All universi-ties are state-run. The annual enrolment in universities isabout 21,000, which corresponds to 32 percent of an agegroup. Some 13,000 Masters degrees and 1,400 doctor-

    ates are conferred annually.

    The university degree structure and the content and ex-tent of degrees are being revised and studies further inter-nationalised. The level of university core funding is guar-anteed by law. About half of university R&D expendi-ture comes from sources outside the university budgets.However, most of external financing is still governmentfunding, allocated for instance by the Academy of Fin-

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    land and Tekes. The Universities Act has been amendedto include a provision concerning the social impact ofuniversities.

    The network of 31 polytechnics, which was created inthe nineties, admits annually some 26,000 young newstudents and confers over 21,000 degrees total. Poly-technics have an important role in promoting develop-

    ment and business in their regions. Polytechnic R&Dexpenditure, though still modest, is growing rapidly.

    There are 20 government research institutes in Finland.They play an important part in the development ofknowledge-based society, as well as in the higher educa-tion sector. Most of their funding comes from the state

    budget, but the share of external funding is on the in-crease, constituting 44 percent of their R&D fundingat present.

    The largest government research institutes are the Tech-nical Research Centre VTT, the Forest Research Insti-tute, the Agrifood Research Finland, the National PublicHealth Institute, the Institute of Occupational Health,the National Research and Development Centre for

    Welfare and Health STAKES, theEnvironment Institute, the Gameand Fisheries Research Institute, the

    Meteorological Institute and the Geo-logical Survey GTK.

    Cooperation between publicand private sectors

    Cooperation between Finnish univer-

    sities and industry grew substantiallyin the 1990s, and business tripled itsinput into universities. Corporate R&D funding, com-petitive public funding and other external financingrepresent half of university research funding. University-business cooperation is seen to improve economic com-petitiveness by stepping up the diffusion of research find-ings. This cooperation is promoted by the national andEuropean Union R&D and technology programmes,

    Tekes, Matias Uusikyl

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    joint research projects, science and technology parks andregional centres of expertise located in the vicinity of uni-versities. New legislation on intellectual property rightsin universities is being discussed in the Parliament with aview of facilitating the commercial use of research.

    There are well over 200 learned societies in Finland. Theyhave an important place in scientific publication and inthe popularisation of science. The societies are voluntaryorganisations operating within a given discipline. In ad-dition, there is the Finnish Academy of Science and Let-ters and the Swedish-speaking Society of Sciences and

    Letters. The umbrella organisation for learned societiesis the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies.

    The non-profit cooperation partners include the Finn-ish Academies of Technology (FACTE), whose memberorganisations represent the central government, industry,the academic community and business.

    Enterprise-level innovation is also supported by the gov-ernment. Apart from Tekes, such support in the Minis-try of Trade and Industry sector is provided by Finpro,Finnvera, the Foundation for Finnish Inventions, theemployment and economic development centres, andFinnish Industry Investment Ltd.

    Government R&D funding

    Research and innovation are being strengthened accord-ing to a Government Resolution for the period 20032007. Both university core funding and science andtechnology financing are being increased. The aim is topromote the utilisation of research findings and technol-ogy for the good of the economy, employment and soci-etal development.

    Government budget appropriations or outlays on re-search and development for 2006 amount to nearly EUR

    1.7 billion. Increase from the previous year is EUR 83million. In nominal terms R&D funding rises by 5.2percent. Government R&D funding as a proportion ofoverall government spending exclusive of debt servicingstands at 4.5 percent.

    In the EU countries, the share of public R&D fundingof the gross domestic product was the highest in Finland,1.03 percent in 2004. The EU-15 mean was 0.71 per-cent. In 2006, the share in Finland is 1.05 percent.

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    GDP share of R&D expenditure is in Finland the sec-ond highest in the OECD countries. Unlike in the EU

    countries in general, the share in Finland has been goingup yearly.

    The number of people involved in R&D in Finland hasrisen from 48,000 to nearly 77,000 during the last tenyears. Counted in person-years (FTE), the relative shareof all labour force is the highest in the OECD, over twoper cent.

    Finland invests more in R&D in relation to the grossdomestic product (GDP, share 3.5% in 2004) than al-

    most any other OECD country. To meet the demandsof technological competitiveness and high quality re-search, the public research and innovation funding is tobe increased. The objective of government strategy pro-gramme is to increase the expenditure of R&D activitiesto the level of 4 percent of GDP.

    Finnish research and development expenditure grew by

    five per cent to nearly EUR 5,3 billion in 2004. The

    4.5

    4.0

    3.5

    3.0

    2.5

    2.0

    1.5

    GDP share of R&D expenditure

    The development of R&D expenditure

    Sweden

    Finland

    Japan

    USA

    Denmark

    EU

    Norway

    1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005

    Source:

    Statistics Finland

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    R&D activities by sector

    R&D expenditure grew rapidly during the 1990s, mainlyowing to an increase in business enterprise input. Theprivate sector plays a major role in both funding and per-forming R&D. Its share of R&D funding is about 70 per-cent. The increase in public R&D funding in the 1990shad a positive effect on corporate R&D financing.

    R&D expenditure by sectors ( million)

    Higher education sector

    Public sectorBusiness Enterprises

    1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005*0

    1000

    2000

    3000

    4000

    5000

    6000

    Electrotechnical industry represents well over half of allbusiness enterprise R&D expenditure. In recent years the

    growth in the R&D input has also been fast in knowl-edge-intensive services.

    Source:

    Statistics Finland

    * preliminary data

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    Doctorates 1995-2005

    Women

    Men

    1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

    0

    200

    400

    600

    800

    1000

    1200

    1400

    Research training

    Finland is making a determined effort to develop re-searcher training by strengthening the graduate school

    (i.e. doctoral programmes) system. The main goal is toimprove the attraction and competitiveness of the careerin research and maintain the high quality and sufficiencyof the research community.

    The Finnish graduate school system was established in1995 to supplement traditional doctoral education. Thesystem has been expanded gradually and the numberof doctoral programmes has doubled from the original.

    The aim is high-quality doctoral education and dynamicresearcher communities which have close international

    contacts and work in collaboration with Finnish societyand industry.

    The graduate schools have made doctoral studies moresystematic and increased their efficiency. A central objec-tive is securing the quality of post-graduate education,shortening the period of time used in work on the dis-sertation, and thus lowering the age when doctoral can-didates defend their dissertation.

    The graduate school system has helped to step up doc-

    toral studies, and has improved the quality and efficiencyof researcher training. The number of doctorates in Fin-land more than doubled over the nineties.

    Source:

    Ministry of Education

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    Career in research

    The key target area in Finnish science policy is todevelop research training and career in research.The aim is to ensure an adequate supply of highquality researchers and experts both in the publicand private sector.

    One objective is to increase the number of peo-ple with a doctoral degree in the enterprise sector.This is essential in the efforts of furthering the useof scientific knowledge and technology in devel-

    opment of economy, employment and society ingeneral. Currently 53 percent of R&D personnelis employed by the enterprise sector, 33 percentby the higher education sector and 14 by otherpublic sector.

    The Academy of Finland has different forms offunding targeted at supporting careers in research

    from the researcher training phase to the established re-searchers. The Academy of Finland gives grants to postdoctoral researchers and for researcher training and re-search abroad. To researchers gaining independence orto more established researchers, Academy provides Acad-emy Research Fellow posts, Academy professorshipsand grants for hiring senior scientists. In addition, in

    other research projects persons at different stages of aresearchers career are hired with the funding granted bythe Academy of Finland. Each year some 5,300 people(altogether 3,000 person-years) benefit from Academyresearch funding.

    Stora Enso, 2002

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    Centres of excellence in research

    The national centre of excellence policy is aimed at

    raising the goals and quality standards of Finnish re-search and at increasing its international competitive-ness, exposure and the esteem of research.

    The centre of excellence programme covers all fieldsof science and research. One of the key objectives is topromote interdisciplinary research.

    Units appointed to the program are research and re-searcher training units that consist of one or morehigh-profile research groups that are either at or veryclose to the international cutting edge in their ownfield of expertise. They will also share a clear set ofobjectives and work under the same management. Acentre of excellence may operate within a universityand/or research institute.

    The first six-year programme was launched by theAcademy of Finland year 2000. In the beginning of2006 there are altogether 39 centres of excellence.

    For more information seewww.aka.fi/coe

    The MetapopulationReseach Group is a leader in

    ecological researchResearch Professor Ilkka Hanski - one ofthe worlds best-known ecologists andhis research group The MetapopulationResearch Group is a leader in ecologicalresearch. Hanskis group has done highlysuccessful, groundbreaking work in thestudy of spatially structured populations

    (metapopulations). The Group is currentlyone of the Centres of Excellence in Re-search funded by the Academy of Finland(20002005 and 20062011), and enjoys aleading international position in its field.

    Hanski established the MetapopulationResearch Group in 1991, and it has since

    grown to a large interdisciplinary group ofabout 40 researchers, post graduate stu-dents, and supporting personnel represent-ing a dozen nationalities. An exceptionalstrength of Hanskis work is the effectivecombination of empirical and theoreticalresearch. Ecology research teams usuallyfocus their efforts on one or the other.

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    The Metapopulation Research Group works outof the University of Helsinki Department of Bio-logical and Environmental Sciences, which islocated in the Viikki campus east of downtownHelsinki.

    For more information seewww.helsinki.fi/science/metapop/

    Hanski, with his research results in hand, hasactively participated in the debate about for-est conservation in Finland, as he considers

    the destruction and fragmentation of habi-tats to be a serious threat to the biodiversityof his native country.

    The key species studied in the Metapopu-lation Research Group is the Glanville fritil-lary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia), which has alarge metapopulation in the land Islands inthe northern Baltic Sea. This butterfly sys-

    tem has become an icon of metapopulationstudies worldwide, and the empirical resultshave stimulated the development of newtheory.

    In Professor Hanskis view, the Centre of Ex-cellence position has greatly benefited theresearch in his group. The grant has encour-

    aged long-term research, while providingsufficient freedom to start new projects.

    Ive tried to lead the group by not just givingthe researchers one problem that everyonehas to solve, but the freedom to approachthings in their own way. A common focus isimportant, but it should be sufficientlyflexible.

    In addition to other subjects, Ilkka Hanskis groupstudies the evolution and biology of a tribe of dungbeetles living in Madagascar.

    Tekes, Tapio Vanhatalo

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    for a programme may be prompted by research needs

    within a new theme area or field of research, generatedby topical research problems, important fields and scien-tific findings.

    Research programmes have the objectives ofraising the scientific standards of research

    within a certain field of research; pro-moting multidisciplinarity, inter-

    disciplinarity and international

    cooperation; of creating andstrengthening the knowledgebase; of promoting profession-al careers in research and thenet working of researchers; of

    intensifying researcher trainingand of supporting the establish-

    ment of creative research environ-

    ments.

    Research programmes are dedicated to spe-cial themes or problems. Other domestic and in-

    ternational funding bodies often contribute as well.

    For more information seewww.aka.fi/programmes

    The research and technology programmes bring together

    Finlands top experts in each field. A closer look at theindividual programmes will therefore provide a good in-troduction to Finnish leading edge research and to theresearch units and companies involved.

    The research and technology programmes areset up by the Academy of Finland and Tekesand are centred on topics of key impor-tance for research and business. While

    the R&D projects being funded arenaturally the primary focus, the mostimportant aspect of the programmesis their role as forums for informationexchange and cooperation both nation-ally and internationally. There are cur-rently some 30 programmes in progress,and new programmes are started every

    year. The programmes normally last aboutfour or five years.

    Research programmes

    Research programmes are one of the key instruments ofthe Academy of Finland for research funding. Initiatives

    Research and technology programmes

    Tekes, Kuopion yliopisto, Antti Poso

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    Technology programmes

    Tekes uses technology programmes to allocate its financ-

    ing, networking and expert services to areas that are im-portant for business and society. Tekes allocates abouthalf the financing granted to companies, universities andresearch institutes through technology programmes.

    Technology programmes reinforce the national knowl-edge base, promote the renewal of business, services andindustry and enhance cooperation between companies,

    research organisations and the public sector.

    The technology programmes provide opportunities forcompanies to network and develop business expertiseand skills in international operations. In the programmesthey receive Tekes financing for developing products,production, service concepts and business expertise andalso the very latest information about different areas oftechnology and business.

    For more information seewww.tekes.fi/eng/programmes

    Elisa Oyj, 2001

    Elcoteq, 2003

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    Internationality and mobility

    International networking and cooperation are vital for

    both scientific progress and efficient use of researchfindings. The strategic objective of internationalisationis to support Finlands own development and competi-tiveness and ability to bear its share of responsibility forresponding to global prob-lems and challenges.

    The foremost coopera-tion partners for Finnishresearch are naturally theleading science and tech-nology institutes, centresof excellence and fundingorganisations. Emphasishas been on both bilateraland network partnershipsin response to growing

    global responsibility andinteraction.

    Finland works actively to develop a European ResearchArea and to strengthen global cooperation. The objec-tive is to maintain the position of Finnish research at

    the forefront of modern science and to ensure that

    Finnish research environments, as part of the Euro-pean Research Area, are globally competitive. Finlandis very active in both participating and coordinatingEuropean ERA-NET projects.

    Finland is a memberof all major Europeanresearch organizations(CERN, EMBL, ESA,ESO, ESRF) and isalso working activelyto further develop sci-ence and technologycooperation with otherregions, countries andresearch organisationsin the world.

    By funding research,providing science policy

    expertise and participating in the activities of Nordic,European, EU and international science and researchorganisations, the Academy of Finland supports and

    Tekes

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    Finland Distinguished

    Professor Programme(FiDiPro)

    In 2006 Academy of Finland andTekes launched a new funding pro-gramme, Finland DistinguishedProfessor Programme (FiDiPro), with

    a view to attracting top researchersfrom abroad to Finland. The ideais to recruit high-level internationalresearchers for a fixed period whoare committed to closely integratingthemselves into the Finnish researchcommunity.

    For more information seewww.fidipro.fi/eng

    paves the way for Finnish researchers internation-

    al research cooperation. The majority of fundingfor international research activities is channelledto recipients through research project, researchprogramme and centre of excellence programmefunding. The emphasis in international coopera-tion is from researcher exchange towards deeperforms of research cooperation.

    The Academy also continuously develops directcooperation with research funding organisationsin other countries, concerning among other thingsexchange of peers for scientific evaluation regard-ing research proposals, research programmes andprofessional research careers.

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    Competitiveness

    The growth of national economy and competitivenessare based on know-how and use of new technology.Finland has been successful in reviews that compare thecompetitiveness of national economies and the perform-ance of their innovation systems.

    Based on the comparison of the European Commission,Finland was among the leading countries in investinginto knowledge-based economy and performance of theeconomy.

    In 2005, the World Economic Forum (WEF) rankedFinland the most competitive economy in growth com-petitiveness already fourth time. Finland was ranked sec-ond in business competitiveness after the United States.WEF also rated Finland second in technology and thirdin network readiness.

    Also the Institute for Management Development (IMD)ranked Finland on the sixth place in overall competitive-ness in 2005. The three most competitive countries werethe United States, Hong Kong and Singapore.

    Based on the Lisbon Review, Finland was the most com-petitive country in the EU in 2004, followed by Den-mark and Sweden. The dimensions of the Lisbon dia-mond are information society, innovation and R&D,

    Competitiveness 2003-2005TOTAL RANK ING

    WEF Growthcompetitiveness

    2003 2004 2005

    WEF Businesscompetitive-

    ness

    2005

    IMD Totalcompetitive-

    ness

    2005

    FINLAND

    USA

    SWEDEN

    DENMARK

    TAIWAN

    SINGAPORE

    ICELAND

    SWITZERLAND

    NORWAY

    AUSTRALIA

    NETHERLANDS

    JAPAN

    UK

    CANADA

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6

    7

    8

    9

    10

    11

    12

    13

    14

    1

    2

    3

    5

    4

    7

    10

    8

    6

    14

    12

    9

    11

    15

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6

    7

    8

    9

    10

    11

    12

    13

    14

    2

    1

    12

    4

    14

    5

    17

    7

    21

    15

    9

    8

    6

    13

    6

    1

    14

    7

    11

    3

    4

    8

    15

    9

    13

    21

    22

    9

    liberalisation, networked industries, financial services,enterprise environment, social inclusion and sustainabledevelopment.

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    R&D activities generate new knowledge and technology.In manufacturing, the introduction and application ofthese into practice shows as new production processesand products, patents and growing foreign trade in tech-nology-intensive products.

    Finnish foreign trade grew substantially in the late nine-ties. The growth was particularly rapid in high-techproduction and exports. The relative share of high-techproducts of all Finnish exports grew more rapidly than

    Share of high-tech products in foreign trade

    Exports

    Imports

    1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

    0

    5

    10

    15

    20

    25

    30

    in any other OECD country during the nineties. In theearly 21st century the growth came to a halt, but the year2005 showed a new prominent growth.

    The number of Finnish patent applications was at itshighest at the turn of the millennium, but has subse-quently fallen by a few hundreds. The biggest share ofFinnish patent applications in Finland belongs to thegroup of performing operations and transporting.

    High technology foreign trade and patents

    Source:

    Statistics Finland

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    Impact analysis and foresight

    The effectiveness and foresight of research are continu-ously monitored. Development of evaluation procedures

    and methods on both research and research system levelis a crucial component of successful policy. Quality, per-formance and impact are constantly evaluated.

    The Finnish Government has taken measures to improvethe impact of R&D. According to the Resolution on theDevelopment of the Public Research System by the Finn-ish Government in 2005, the Academy of Finland and

    Tekes, together with Sitra and other funding organisa-tions, will develop their financing and other cooperationin order to improve the impact of R&D and innovationfinancing and to form and establish larger concentrationsof expertise and centres of excellence.

    The Academy has for the years 20052006 an evalua-tion and foresight programme called SIGHT 2006. Itincludes an evaluation of structure and level of scientific

    research in Finland, an evaluation of impact of Academyfunding and a S&T foresight FinnSight 2015, whichevaluates future challenges of Finnish research and de-velopment.

    In addition, the Academy has commissioned researchfield and discipline assessments since the early 1980s;

    these have had a significant effect on the development ofresearch and research policy.

    FinnSight 2015 foresight project of the Academy ofFinland and Tekes relies on future perspectives of sci-ence, technology and society. The foresight will examinechanges in the global operating environment, emergingneeds of business and society, and development per-

    spectives in science and technology. Work of this typeis needed in order to meet the challenges of innovationand research activity promptly and successfully.

    One of the foremost tasks of Tekes is to analyse the im-pact of technology. The findings are used to steer tech-nology funding and the development of the technologyprogrammes. Impact analysis has been integrated intoTekes operations, which are steered according to impact

    targets. Impact is monitored and evaluated at the projectlevel. In addition, Tekes commissions external evalua-tions of all national technology programmes.

    For more information seewww.finnsight2015.fi

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    Equal opportunity in research

    Equal opportunities have been promoted in all sectors ofsociety in Finland. Finland is one of the leading coun-

    tries in terms of women researchers career developmentin the EU countries.

    In Finland women have been a majority in universityadmissions since the 1970s. The number of womenPhDs has constantly grown; in the past ten years, thenumber of women with a PhD has more than tripled.The number of women in R&D posts has also grown

    steadily. In 2004, about 33 percent of research personnelin general and 46 percent of university research person-nel were women. The proportion of women professors inFinland is the highest in the EU15, even though onlylittle over 20 percent.

    Fields of study favored in Finland are more clearly gen-der segregated than they are in the EU on average. Atthe same time as the number of women who continue to

    higher education is showing strong growth, there are in-dications of dual trends among different fields of study.On the one hand, segregation seems to be a gatheringmomentum, and on the other hand, there are indica-tions that more and more women are entering fields ofstudy formerly male-dominated or gender neutral.

    Given the increased numbers of women in university

    education, the development in the last decade can be

    described as slow but steady. Womens advancement inresearch careers is not straightforward, and there are

    structural biases preventing womens entry into and ad-vancement in research careers.

    Proportions of women amonguniversity students, graduates andteaching staff in 1995 and 2005

    Men 1995

    Men 2005

    20

    40

    80

    100

    60

    Newstudents

    Higheruniversitydegrees

    Assist-ants

    PhDs Seniorassistants

    Profes-sors

    Women 1995

    Women 2005

    Source:

    Ministry of Education

    %

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    Research ethics

    One of the key principles in science policy is the free-dom and integrity of research. The bodies dealing with

    research ethics in Finland are mainly situated in the sec-tors of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of SocialAffairs and Health and the Ministry of Agriculture andForestry.

    The National Advisory Board on Research Ethics is re-sponsible for disseminating information and coordinat-ing the promotion of research ethics in Finland. The

    Cooperation Group for Laboratory Animal Sciences co-ordinates research and training in the field and promotesthe ethical principles of laboratory animal welfare.

    The National Advisory Board on Health Care Ethicsdeals with ethical issues related to health care and the sta-tus and rights of patients from the point of view of prin-ciple. The Sub-Committee on Medical Research Ethicsof the Advisory Board on Health Care Ethics evaluates

    the ethical aspects of international multi-centre clinicaltrials in cooperation with research ethics committees ofhospital districts.

    The Advisory Board on Biotechnology promotes com-munication, education and research between stakeholders

    within the field of bio- and gene technology and followsthe development of health, environmental effects and riskassessment. The Board for Gene Technology attends to theduties laid down in the Act on Gene Technology, whichaims to promote the safe use and development of genetechnology in a way that is ethically acceptable.

    For more information see

    www.research.fi/tut-etiikka_en

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    The research infrastructure

    The investment in research equipment and facilities has

    been on an average European level in Finland. Excep-tions are major investments in ICT and biotechnology.A more ambitious and comprehensive infrastructurestrategy is under preparation. Participation in major in-ternational research infrastructures is vital for Finland.University libraries form the bulk of the scientific librar-ies of Finland and serve the countrys entire reasearchsystem. In recent years, attention and resources havebeen devoted to developing a national electronic li-

    brary (FinELib) to provide scientific material in the elec-

    tronic form. The Finnish IT center for science (CSC),owned by the Ministry of Education provides modeling,computing, and information services for universities,research institutions and industrial companies. TheFinnish University and Research Network (Funet) com-munication links, maintained by CSC, provide researchworkers with Finlands widest selection of scientificsoftware and databases and Finlands most powerfulsupercomputing environment.

    Open access

    The Ministry of Education gave in 2005 recommenda-tions for the promotion of open access to scientific andscholarly publications in Finland. The aim is to improve

    access to and the availability, distribution, visibility,usability and usefulness of the publications. Open ac-cess means that the publication can be read by anyonefree of charge and without restrictions on the Internet.The aspiration to increase open access has recentlyaroused wide international interest. There are two pri-mary means of providing open access: open accessjournals and open access online archives.

    The recommendations concern publications of all re-searchers residing in Finland, comprising those studiesthat will be published in Finland or abroad for which the

    authors do not expect payment. They do not apply totextbooks used in undergraduate education or popular-ised scientific works. The recommendations were to beaddressed to research funding agencies, organisationsconducting research and scientific publishers.

    For more information seewww.minedu.fi/julkaisut/tiede/2005/tr16/tr16.pdf

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    Centre for International

    Mobility CIMOTel. +358 9 7747 7033www.cimo.fi

    CSCScientific Computing LtdTel. +358 9 457 2001www.csc.fi

    Finnish Higher EducationEvaluation Council(FINHEEC)Tel. +358 9 160 04www.kka.fi

    Finnish polytechnicsww w.m in ed u. fi/mi ned u/education/polytechnics_list.

    html

    Finnish Research Librarieswww.lib.helsinki.fi/tilke

    Finnish universitieswww.minedu.fi/minedu/education/universities.html

    Contact information

    Parliament of Finland

    Tel. +358 9 4321www.eduskunta.fi

    GovernmentTel. +358 9 160 01www.vn.fi

    The Science and TechnologyPolicy Council of Finland

    Tel. +358 9 160 04www.minedu.fi/tiede_ja_tekno-logianeuvosto/eng/index.html

    Ministry of Education

    Ministry of EducationTel. +358 9 160 04www.minedu.fi

    Academy of FinlandTel. +358 9 774881www.aka.fi

    National Advisory Board on

    Research EthicsTel. +358 9 228 69 234www.tenk.fi

    Committee for Public InformationTel. +358 9 228 69 236www.tjnk.fi

    Ministry of Trade and Industry

    Ministry of Trade and IndustryTel. +358 9 160 01www.ktm.fi

    Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency

    for Technology and InnovationTel. +358 1060 55000www.tekes.fi

    FinnveraTel. +358 204 6011www.finnvera.fi

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    Ministry of EducationCommittee for Public Information 2006ISBN 952-485-122-9

    ISBN 952-485-123-7 (PDF)