UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ
RESEARCH STRATEGY 2007–2011
Approved by the University of Jyväskylä Senate on December 13th 2006
OBJECTIVES
POSITION IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY





The University should have academy professorships and centres of excellence
appointed by the Academy of Finland in internationally recognized leading fields
The University will increase its participation in research funded by the EU, and
its role and visibility in European Research Area
The University will also take a more active role in implementing other
internationally financed research programmes
Research results are to be published in scientific journals and publications with
high national or international impact
The University will have a competitive advantage in recruiting top international
scientists
SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS



The University aims at having international centres of excellence supported by
international financing organizations, and at being successful in the European
Research Council competitions.
Researchers and research groups at the University are awarded with international
prizes
Research produces innovations to be utilized by the international market
STRATEGIC ALLIANCES



The University will be a prominent member in national clusters of high-class
expertise
International research agreements are made only with high quality universities
and research organizations
Collaboration with European, American, Japanese, Chinese, and Indian partners
will be increased.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The University will take part in solving the following problems:



The energy crisis and the effects of climate change
Economic integration
The ageing of the population


Balanced development of a society based on information technology
Level of education
METHODS
STRENGTHS AND PROFILING
Based on the results of the research evaluation, the University has defined its most
prominent areas, its strengths in research and technology, and its multidisciplinary
clusters. The departments and faculties have indentified their own strengths in their
respective research strategies and suggested means for their implementation.

The Science council guides the departments in the development of their research
strategies
University and faculty management, through annual negotiations, support the
departments in implementing their research strategies
Central administration, in particular the research and innovation services, offers
information on policies concerning research and financing


HUMAN RESOURCES AND THE CRITICAL MASS

The University will fill open professorships and research posts through an
international application process
Opening professorships are to be primarily targeted at the strongest areas of
research, making sure that the positions are not defined too narrowly
The University will develop the structure of its full-time positions to support
research
The University will establish positions for post-doctoral researchers
The University will ensure that the criteria set for the selection of doctoral
students are followed




INTERNATIONAL ATTRACTIVENESS AND PROMINENCE




In their research strategies, the faculties nominate the most important scientific
journals or other publishing forums, in which it is recommended that scientific
results should be published
New results are to be presented at international conferences
The University’s top scientists and experts should participate actively in global
discussions and hold internationally significant positions
A science barometer is to be developed in order to measure the prominence of
the University
RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE
The functions of the research infrastructure are to be maintained and equipped to meet
contemporary demands.






The multidisciplinary laboratories in Agora, the Nanoscience Centre, and Viveca
are kept up-to-date
The Accelerator Laboratory remains one of the major research infrastructures
financed by the EU
Units performing societal tasks (e.g. institute for educational research, centre for
applied language studies and the accelerator laboratory) maintain their national
positions
The Methodology Centre for Human Sciences will be developed into an
important source of expertise in the field of human sciences, supporting doctoral
training in the faculties
The national programme for infrastructure, the EU FP7 programme for
infrastructure, and corporate funding should be utilized to build and maintain
scientific equipment, databases, and other types of infrastructure that support
research
Library should be kept up-to-date, communication regarding science must be of
high quality, and the equipment for scientific calculation and information
management function well
FINANCING AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR RESEARCH




The financing of research should come from various sources and sufficient basic
funding should be secured. Funding from TEKES (Finnish Funding Agency for
Technology and Innovation) and different corporations, as well as international
funding for research should be increased.
Contacts with financing organizations are to be strengthened
Prerequisites for professional research management will be improved
Support services for research and project management will be developed
PROMINENT PARTNERSHIPS



The University will intensify its collaboration with public research institutes and
R&D intensive corporations, and actively participate in the strategic clusters of
high-class competence
Contract-based collaboration in doctoral training and post-doctoral researcher
exchanges is to be established with international partners chosen by the scientific
community
The University will participate in the work of the European Institute of
Technology
INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY


Technological, cultural, and social innovations should be made known to society
In exploiting the research results, the scientific community has access to efficient
innovation support services and a high-quality network of mediating
organizations
INDICATORS AND EVALUATION
The implementation of the strategy is measured with particular regard to the quality of
research, international prominence, and networking.
The strategy covers the years 2007-2011.
The next comprehensive evaluation of research will be conducted in 2010.
Contact information:
Head of Research
Sirkka-Liisa Korppi-Tommola Ph.D