Our leading research on climate and the environment draws on expertise across sustainability. Ecological sustainability must be considered together with social, economic and cultural sustainability to ensure a balance between environmental and human needs.
Our research builds on collaboration between the natural, life and human sciences, and is supported by strong research infrastructures.
Our areas of particular expertise include climate and atmospheric research, ecology and biology, One Health, and food research.
The Research Council of Finland is among the key research funders in Finland. The Council grants funding broadly in all fields on the basis of open competition and independent assessment. Success in its funding calls is evidence of distinguished scholarly efforts.
The Flagships funded by the Council combine world-class research and a diverse range of collaboration with businesses and the wider society. In contrast, profile-building areas funded by the Council must be strategically significant elements of research conducted at the University to be further advanced. The Centres of Excellence funded by the Council bring together the best research groups in specific fields, representing the top internationally.
Our top research area sustainable planet is a prominent part of both the University’s profile-building areas and Centres of Excellence.
Research on the atmosphere and climate is a natural part of investigating our planet. Instead of relying on chemistry, physics or other individual disciplines only, such research can additionally employ artificial intelligence and mathematical imaging to interpret satellite data and create climate models.
The Finnish Flagships successfully combine close collaboration with businesses and society, adaptability, and a strong commitment from host organisations. All Flagships are composed of researchers and research groups from several Finnish universities.
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Research conducted under profile-building areas focuses on, among other topics, biodiversity, the sustainable use of natural resources, the common health of humans and animals (One Health) and biological sustainability, as well as the processing of data relevant to these fields.
Profile-building areas can constitute a research field or a research module focused on a specific theme. Some profile-building areas continue their operations after the actual Council funding period ends.
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The high standards required in terms of quality, safety, acceptability and sustainability, and the advent of emerging technologies such as the alteration of an organism’s genome for agri-food and pharmaceutical applications are just some of these common challenges. By ensuring access to healthier, more secure food and medications, Systems of Food and Drug Security profile-building area is very close to everyone’s everyday life.
Due to the multidisciplinary approach to measure everything exchanged between the Earth surface and the atmosphere, INAR has gained a leading role in Europe regarding the atmosphere-biosphere interaction research and atmospheric aerosol research. With its top-level research infrastructure and networks, INAR acts as the backbone of the field in Finland.
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Humans, animals and society must adapt to the big changes taking place on Earth.
Previous profile-building areas that also relate to sustainable planet, HELSUS and HOH, will continue to operate under RESET project
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The top research area Sustainable Planet is extensively highlighted in the research conducted at our Centres of Excellence. The climate and the atmosphere are important components of planetary habitability, and understanding their mechanisms is vital. Moreover, using satellites in society and research with increasing effectiveness requires knowledge of the conditions in space and how we can shield against them. Knowing and conserving Earth’s diverse ecosystem, as well as its links to atmospheric functions, constitute a basis for tackling climate change.
The aim of the Research Council of Finland's Centres of Excellence is to carry out innovative research, develop creative research environments and train new talented researchers, responding to society’s needs.
Many problems in mathematics and its multifarious applications lead to strikingly similar - universal - questions pertaining to random structures.
The utilisation of the near-Earth space is undergoing a dramatic transformation: New forces driving this change are the exponentially expanding commercial use of space, regulation, geopolitics, and the demand for green and digital transitions that rely on satellite technologies. The Centre of Excellence in Space Resilience tries to model the workings of near-Earth space in order to be better prepared for e.g space weather storms.
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Academy Professors are internationally recognised leaders in their fields. Academy Professors are expected to produce significant research results and advance research in their field. The Research Council of Finland appoints new Academy Professors each year for a fixed term of five years.
Jukka Jernvall is a professor of quantitative evolutionary phenomics. Jernvall studies the development and formation of teeth.
Minna Palmroth is Professor in Computational Space Physics and her research interests range from fundamental plasma physics and space weather to high performance computing and supercomputer technologies.
Hanna Vehkamäki is Professor of Computational Aerosol Physics Hanna Vehkamäki’s research group investigates atmospheric new particle formation.
Yrjö Helariutta is a professor of evolutionary biology. Together with his research group, Helariutta studies how trees and their phloem develop.
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The European Research Council (ERC) is among the most respected research funders. With a multidisciplinary approach, it promotes top-level research by awarding long-term research grants. The European Union also directly supports research through various funding schemes.
Funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the doctoral education pilot aims to ensure the completion of doctoral theses over a three-year term of employment. To begin with, the new doctoral researchers will study both researcher and career skills. Another goal of the doctoral education pilot is to increase doctoral graduates’ diverse employment in various sectors of society.
Launched in 2024 at the University of Helsinki, the doctoral education pilot offered 236 positions in 11 programmes.
Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research has multiple research stations and atmosphere laboratories all around Finland to provide up-to-date information about atmosphere, biosphere and their interaction. Learn more about these equipments on