Profiling funding from the Academy of Finland

In this interview with Dean of Research Timo Korkeamäki he opens up the funding Hanken has received from the Academy of Finland and how this funding will be allocated internally.

What is profiling financing and has Hanken benefitted from it?

Since 2015, the Academy of Finland has provided special competitive funding to strengthen university research profiles. The goal of this funding vehicle is to support Finnish universities in their transition to more focused research profiles.

Hanken has been successful in obtaining funding from the profiling programme. From the first three application rounds in 2015-2017, Hanken has received a total of 1,85 million euros.

Where will this funding be directed?

Hanken’s profiling efforts focus on lifting the school’s quantitative strengths. The funded projects include an alignment of research in the areas of statistics and finance, and an effort to build up the area of risk analysis, both within the existing quantitative research fields, and across the Hanken disciplines that have traditionally relied more on qualitative research methods.

How have these projects been selected?

These areas have been selected based on discussions within the rectorate, and amongst the department heads in the management group. Their importance for Hanken has also been discussed with Hanken’s External Stakeholder Committee, which consist of representatives from the business world. The committee has expressed the need for quantitative skills across business disciplines.

This type of profiling funding from the Academy of Finland provides Hanken with a unique opportunity to build on our existing strengths, and take advantage of the cross-disciplinary opportunities in applying these strengths across the school.

As the Academy of Finland expects the funding vehicle to function as bridge financing in transition to areas of long-term strategic importance, Hanken makes profiling investments both in its existing areas of strength, and in upcoming fields. Such actions are in line with both our research strategy and our current performance agreement with the Ministry of Education and Culture. In addition, the focus on quantitative techniques also support Hanken’s efforts within the QTEM master’s network.

How will the funds be allocated?

From the PROFI3 funds awarded to Hanken in June 2017, Hanken has decided to invest in quantitative database infrastructure that will allow eased access and handling of quantitative research data across disciplines. Hanken will also invest in tenure track positions to support the cross-disciplinary widening of Hanken’s quantitative expertise in our emerging research areas. The first position of this kind will be opened in the area of Humanitarian Logistics.

Tenure track positions function as ideal tools to attract new faculty with high potential from the international academic job market. Such investments are also in line with expectations of the Academy, as they indicate the school’s strategic long-term commitment to its chosen profiling areas.

Will Hanken apply for profiling funding in the future?

In the upcoming fourth application round, we will seek further funding to strengthen quantitative research at Hanken, with a specific focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning applications across Hanken research disciplines.

More information:

Timo Korkeamäki, Dean of research
timo.korkeamäki@hanken.fi