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Finland
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE FINNISH RESEARCH SYSTEM
Research policy occupies a key position in the Finnish Government programme. Science policy is designed to raise the level, coverage, impact on society and international visibility of Finnish research. In 2005 research and development expenditure represented 3.5% of the gross domestic product, which puts Finland among the OECD top.
The organisational structure of the Finnish innovation and research system consists of four levels, the highest one being the Parliament and the National Govern-ment. The Government is supported by a high-level advisory body, the Science & Technology Policy Coun-cil of Finland. The national science, technology and innovation policies are formulated by the Science & Technology Policy Council of Finland, chaired by the Prime Minister.
At the second level, the key ministries with respect to research policy are the Ministry of Education (with responsibility for science policy) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (with responsibility for technology and innovation policy). Other ministries are responsible for R&D in their sectors. As a general trend, there is a move from narrowly defined science & technology policy towards a broad-based innovation policy incorporat¬ing issues of research, technology, and various other policy elements.
The third level consists of the R&D funding agencies, the Academy of Finland and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. The Academy of Finland funds basic research through competitive grants. While the majority of Tekes funds is allocated to R&D projects carried out by companies, Tekes is also a large financier of university research.
At the fourth level there are the organisations that conduct research. The Finnish higher education system comprises two sectors: universities and polytechnics. The network of 20 universities cov¬ers the entire country. All universities are state-ran. The annual enrolment in universities is about 21,000, which corresponds to 32 percent of an age group. Some 13,000 Master's degrees and 1,400 doctorates are conferred annually.
The level of university core funding is guaranteed by law. About half of university R&D expenditure comes from sources outside the university budgets. However, most of external financing is still government funding, allocated for instance by the Academy of Finland and Tekes.
The network of 31 polytechnics admits annually some 26,000 young new students and confers over 21,000 degrees. Polytechnics have an important role in promoting development and business in their regions. Polytechnic R&D expenditure, though still modest, is growing rapidly.
There are 20 government research institutes in Finland. Most of their funding comes from the state budget, but the share of external funding is on the increase, constituting 44 percent of their R&D funding at present. The largest government research institutes are the Technical Research Centre VTT, the Forest Research Institute, the Agrifood Research Finland, the National Public Health Institute, the Institute of Occupational Health, the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health STAKES, the Environment Institute, the Game and Fisheries Research Institute, the Meteorological Institute and the Geological Survey GTK.
Research training and career in research
Finland is making a determined effort to develop researcher training by strengthening the graduate school (i.e. doctoral programmes) system. The Finnish graduate school system was established in 1995 to supplement traditional doctoral education.
The system has been expanded gradually and the number of doctoral programmes has doubled from the original. The aim is high-quality doctoral education and dynamic researcher communities which have close international contacts and work in collaboration with Finnish society and industry. The number of doctorates in Finland more than doubled over the nineties.
A key target of Finnish science policy is to develop research training and career in research, to en-sure an adequate supply of high-quality researchers and experts in the public and private sector. One objective is to increase the number of people with a doctoral degree in the enterprise sector. Cur¬rently 53% of R&D personnel are employed by the enterprise sector, 33% by the higher education sector and 14% by other public sector.
The Academy of Finland has different forms of funding targeted at supporting careers in research from the researcher training phase to the established researchers (including for researcher training and research abroad). Each year some 5,300 people (altogether 3,000 person-years) benefit from Academy research funding.
Internationality and mobility
The strategic objective of internationalisation is to support Finland's own development and competi¬tiveness and ability to bear its share of responsibility for responding to global challenges. Emphasis has been on both bilateral and network partnerships in response to growing global responsibility and interaction.
Finland works actively to develop a European Research Area and to strengthen global cooperation. Finland is a member of all major European research organizations (CERN, EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF) and works actively to further develop science & technology cooperation with other regions, countries and research organisations in the world.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SCIENCE & RESEARCH COOPERATION FINLAND - BELARUS
The Finland Academy of Sciences (FAS) and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) in 1995 concluded Agreement on scientific cooperation.
A number of Agreements and Protocols on cooperation is signed on the level of scientific institutes and universities of two countries.
Since 2001 through the Calls of Belarusian Republican Fund on Fundamental Research (BRFFR) 8 Belarus-Finland research projects bilaterally financed have been and are being fulfilled.
CIMO (Centre for International Mobility) offers two types of scholarships for young researchers (Master-level degree postgraduates) to Finnish universities: individual scholarships, which young researchers apply for themselves, and host fellowships, which are applied for by the Finnish higher education departments wishing to host researchers and postgraduates. The eligibility conditions, application procedure, deadlines and application forms vary according to the programme.
The CIMO Fellowships programme is open to young researchers (after Master-level but not post-doctorate) from all countries and from all academic fields. The scholarship period may vary from 3 to 12 months. The monthly allowance is € 810-1,200 (in 2006). The scholarship is intended to cover living expenses in Finland for a single person. No additional allowance for housing is paid. Expenses due to international travel to and from Finland are not covered by CIMO.
The visiting researcher must already have established contacts with the Finnish host university (uni¬versity department) which applies to CIMO for the grant. Applications should be submitted at least 3 months before the intended scholarship period* .
The main funding opportunities currently open for science and research cooperation between Belarus and Finland relate to the EU programmes, namely the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP). (See chapter on European Community Research).
© National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 2011
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