FiDiPro Programme brochure. Siirretty toiselta tililtä 20.12.2013, jolloin katsojia oli ollut 291 (views).

1. Teaming up with the best

2. “I think it’s important that the FiDiPro professorship
enables me to be physically present in the research
project. Still it would be worth attracting even more
international researchers to Finland.”
FiDiPro Professor Asoke K. Nandi studies brain
patterns that music generates. With the help of these
patterns people may someday be able to hear without
using their ears. The future applications of Professor
Nandi’s research are many: medicine, psychotherapy
and even entertainment.
Photo: University of Liverpool
What is FiDiPro?
FiDiPro – the Finland Distinguished Professor – is a funding programme for
recruiting highly-merited scientists, who are able to commit to long-term
cooperation with a Finnish university or research institute.
Led and financed by the Academy of Finland and Tekes, FiDiPro provides
competitive grants for distinguished researchers, both international and
expatriates, from all disciplines.
The goal of the FiDiPro programme is to raise the level of scientific and
technological excellence by giving Finnish academic organisations the
opportunity to collaborate with outstanding researchers around the world.
The FiDiPro funding programme for visiting top researchers in science and
technology opened its first call in 2006. The first FiDiPro researchers started their
work at the beginning of 2007. In 2009, Tekes introduced FiDiPro Fellow funding
for promising international research talents.

3. ”FiDiPro funding programme is very
flexible and supportive. For us it
means that our doctoral candidates
have the funding they need and that
we can build effective international
cooperation.”
FiDiPro Professor Elizabeth CouperKuhlen’s line of research is called
interactional linguistics. She aims
to study and understand language
and the use of language in different
interactional situations.
Photo: Olli Häkämies
Research
environment
in Finland
“The networks within Strategic
Centres for Science, Technology and
Innovation are highly valuable for joint
innovation and Finnish industry. These
networks bring together the expertise
of researchers and companies, and are
unique in the world.”
FiDiPro Professor Sirkka Järvenpää
is an expert in global virtual teams
and group functioning. Her research
is based on the idea that the creation
of open innovations requires both
international cooperation and
competition.
Photo: Mccombs school of business
Finland is consistently ranked among the top performers in international
comparisons that focus on such aspects as knowledge-based development and
international competitiveness. Science, technology and education are given a high
priority. Finland excels in technological development and has a high number of
researchers. Relative indicators of scientific output and quality of research also put
Finland among the very best OECD performers.
R&D investment as a proportion of GDP and as private business investment
is at high level in Finland, and cooperation between businesses and academia
is close. Finland’s network of universities and university-level institutions is
exceptionally dense and regionally comprehensive in international comparisons.

4. “It has been a tremendous personal adventure
and great research opportunity. For example,
in Finland there are excellent river and ocean
water sample databases. We have been able to
use this data to effectively compare and analyse
our own research findings.”
FiDiPro Professor David Thomas researches
the effects of climate change on the Baltic Sea.
Photo: Johnny Korkman
Spearheading
research and
boosting innovation
The Academy of Finland provides funding for cutting-edge and innovative
research aimed at significant breakthroughs. Its overriding aim is to support the
renewal, diversification and internationalisation of Finnish research.
The FiDiPro projects funded by Tekes pay special attention to creating new
competence and harnessing it for the needs of business life.

5. ”The FiDiPro research project is especially valuable as
it enables tangible cooperation. Telephone and video
conferences or e-mail could never replace personal
interaction and face-to-face discussions.”
FiDiPro Professor Thomas Heinze is developing
chemical methods with which a greater number of the
characteristics of cellulose can be transferred into the
products made from it.
Photo: H. Wondraczek
How does it work?
The Academy of Finland and Tekes open calls on a regular intervals. FiDiPro funding is
always applied by a Finnish university or research institute – not by the international
researcher personally. Funding is awarded for academic and applied research projects
lasting for 2–5 years. The projects are required to have strategic importance to the
host university or research institute.
Who is eligible
for funding?
The FiDiPro programme provides applicants with two alternatives:
1. FiDiPro Professor funding is intended for inviting international professor-level
top researches to Finland. Funded by both the Academy of Finland and Tekes.
2. FiDiPro Fellow funding is awarded for talented and experienced researchers
who are past their postdoctoral stage, at least 3–4 years after the Doctorate
Dissertation. Funded by Tekes.
For both funding alternatives, the application process has two stages. The projects
invited to proceed to the second stage are selected on the basis of the letters of
intent outlining the project plan and explaining the collaboration between the
international professor and the Finnish research teams or companies.
Funding covers expenses such as salary and travel costs of the visiting researcher
and the costs of the research project.

6. ”In the short run, the most obvious benefit of the
project, in terms of the progress of our field
of research, is the opportunity to build an
interdisciplinary network that also extends abroad.”
Internationally renowned American researcher Peter
Kivisto endeavours to construct a theoretical overall
understanding of the concept of multiculturalism and
contribute to education in the field in Finland.
Norway
Arctic Circle
Russia
Photo: Riikka Söderlund
60°
FINLAND
Helsinki
Sweden
Academy of Finland:
Hakaniemenranta 6
P.O.Box 131, FI-00531 Helsinki
Tel. +358 29 533 5000
Fax +358 29 533 5299
www.aka.fi/eng
Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency
for Technology and Innovation :
Kyllikinportti 2
P.O.Box 69, FI-00101 Helsinki
Tel. +358 2950 55000
Fax +358 9 694 9196
www.tekes.fi/eng
Painotuote
441
042
September 2012 || Printed by Markprint Oy || Design by Recommended
September 2012 Printed by Markprint Oy Design by Recommended
More information: www.fidipro.fi