Excellent results for the University of Helsinki in the latest research profiling call

The University of Helsinki has excelled in the latest round of competitive funding for research profiling (Profi) organised by the Research Council of Finland. The Profi instrument supports the strategic profiling of Finnish universities aiming at improving the quality of research.

In this Profi 8 round, €30.3 million has been granted to the University, with the international panel of experts ranking UH's application as the best among all 13 proposals submitted by Finnish universities.

The Profi 8 themes are diversity, healthy aging, and food and drug security, with the development of artificial intelligence methods as a cross-cutting theme. As in previous Profi rounds, the University Profi areas were chosen via an internal selection process, with nine Letters of Intent submitted by the Faculties and Independent Institutes leading to the selection of three areas.

Involving all 11 Faculties, the Profi 8 plans will advance two strategic themes: A humane and fair world, and A meaningful life, human wellbeing and a healthy environment. They reflect on the University's cross-cutting priorities including interdisciplinarity and openness, inclusivity and other values, and the 2023 Strategy updates with emphases on the transformative power of AI, the value of languages, and societal resilience.

DIVSOL: Developing a hub for transdisciplinary research and diversity

The Diversity in Society and Life (DIVSOL) area is led by the Faculty of Arts, with the participation of the Faculties of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Education, Law, Theology, Social Sciences, Science, and the Swedish School of Social Science, and the Helsinki Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities. It aims at developing a leading European hub for transdisciplinary research on ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious and socio-ecological diversity.

Vice-dean Filipe Pereira da Silva, who coordinated the preparations of the DIVSOL profi area, is truly excited about the anticipated impacts of the planned research:

"This SSH-led interdisciplinary research programme will offer new insights into the nature and challenges of the multiple diversities - linguistic, cultural, religious, biological - that characterise Finnish society and urban environments, and will contribute to the development of multi-level sustainable policies for human flourishing."

SWAN: Enhancing healthy years

With the participation of the Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland belonging to the Helsinki Institute of Life Science HiLIFE, and the Faculties of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Science and Social Sciences, the Sustainable Wellbeing Across Lifespan (SWAN) area aims to consolidate our world-leading research on healthy aging.

Academy Professor Anu Suomalainen Wartiovaara is delighted that the preparation phase already created the basis for innovative interdisciplinary collaboration across units:

"The proportion of people aged 65 and older will comprise over a third of the European population by 2040. SWAN combines molecular mechanistic, medical and population data expertise to generate an interdisciplinary team of excellence, aiming to reorient from managing chronic diseases to promoting "chronic health" and enhance healthy years in the population."

fooDrug: Ensuring access to healthier, more secure food and medications

The Systems of Food and Drug Security (fooDrug) area is co-led by the Faculties of Pharmacy and Agriculture and Forestry, with the participation of the Faculties of Educational Sciences, Law, Science, Social Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Medicine, and HiLIFE's Institute of Biotechnology.

Vice-Dean Mikko Airavaara from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Vice-Dean Mari Sandell from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry are truly enthusiastic about jointly researching common aspects shared by food and drug security.

"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," says Mikko Airavaara. "By ensuring access to healthier, more secure food and medications, our research is very close to everyone's everyday life," adds Mari Sandell.

Further details about the Profi 8 areas can be requested from Dean Pirjo Hiidenmaa (DIVSOL), Dean Johanna Arola and HiLIFE Director Jari Koistinaho (SWAN), and Deans Ritva Toivonen and Jari Yli-Kauhaluoma (fooDrug).

The Profi 8 funding is granted for six years, starting on 1 January 2025. The main profiling measures to be funded are professor-level positions, staff- and other senior scientists, early career researchers, and area-specific complementary measures, with development of AI methods and capabilities embedded in all three areas.

Read more about the latest Profi call results on the Academy of Finland web page

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