In this project, solar concentrating power production systems and technologies are developed. The focus is on new innovations to bring this solar technology closer to commercialisation. A new type of concentrator, the so-called beam-down 2-stage concentrator, has been developed. It can be equipped with an integrated thermal (high-temperature) storage to provide dispatchable power operation. Up to 40% solar conversion efficiency can be reached.

Team

Wang Jun, Song Yang, Wang Jiangping

Emerging technologies such as affordable smart phones with 4G access, broadband internet, and interactive interfaces employing gestures or speech, are revolutionizing the ways we access information, learn new skills and interact with the world around us. However, developing world communities - who stand to benefit from such technologies - were, until recently, largely neglected. Interactive technologies provide a means to address learning challenges such as functional illiteracy and information access barriers, and can improve learning and education, health and wellbeing, and agricultural practices.

Team

Markku Turunen, Jaakko Hakulinen, Mikko Ruohonen, Sumita Sharma, Pekka Kallioniemi, Juhani Linna

The FinCEAL Plus BRIDGES project (2019-2020) supports the development of partnerships and collaborative research activities between the Finnish research community and those in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In addition, the project facilitates connections with European partners, whenever the cooperation also includes partners from the target regions. The project is an extension of the FinCEAL (2013-2014), FinCEAL Plus (2015-2016) and FinCEAL Plus Continuation initiatives, all financed by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Previously, the focus of FinCEAL has been on supporting research collaboration in the thematic areas determined by the EU's bi-regional science, technology and innovation (STI) policy dialogues with Africa, Asia and LAC. FinCEAL BRIDGES will continue to contribute towards strengthening bi-regional cooperation, while expanding the thematic focus to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development (Goal 17). On a national level, BRIDGES also supports the International Strategy for Higher Education and Research 2017-2025. The Ministry has mandated the UniPID network to coordinate the initiative.

Team

Jarkko Mutanen, Melissa Plath, Quivine Ndomo

Building on the successes and outcomes of the previous FinCEAL and FinCEAL Plus projects, the FinCEAL Plus Continuation project aimed to provide strategic support to enhance the cooperation between research and science policy communities in Finland, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The specific objectives of the project were to: 1. Strengthen Finnish participation in the EU STI policy dialogues with the target regions; 2. Support Finnish participation in joint research projects with partners from the target regions; 3. Enable Finnish expertise and know-how to be better known in the target regions; and 4. Gather and disseminate information on Finnish cooperation towards the regions within Finland as well as new cooperation possibilities with the target regions.

Team

Eva Kagiri, Kajsa Ekroos, Jarkko Mutanen, Melissa Plath

FinCEAL Plus started in January 2015 as an expansion and continuation of the FinCEAL Project (2012-2014), both funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The aims of the FinCEAL Plus project were to: 1. Increase and consolidate the Finnish bi-regional cooperation towards Africa, Asia, and the LAC region, with special emphasis on supporting Finnish researchers’ involvement in European bi-regional networks; 2. Support and consolidate the participation of Finnish experts in EU-Africa, EU-CELAC and EU- Asia bi-regional research and science policy dialogues; 3. Increase the knowledge about and visibility of Finnish cooperation towards the target regions within Finland; 4. Expand the awareness of Finnish expertise in the regions; and 5. Expand and consolidate the Finnish research communities’ awareness of cooperation possibilities with the EU, Africa, Asia and LAC region. 6. Throughout all the project activities, strengthening the Finnish universities’ global responsibility and making it more systematic and measurable.

Team

Eva Kagiri, Kajsa Ekroos, Jarkko Mutanen, Melissa Plath

The doctoral research project targets to understand the relevance of frugal and affordable energy innovations in sustainable energy transitions among low-income communities in emerging economies. The target technology is solar micro-grids in India. The various related sustainability challenges are studied as well as the role of distributed energy in the country's energy mix among rural energy users. Key methods include field trials, interviews, data analysis and sustainability and reliability assessments.

Team

NANOSOLUTIONS seeks to identify and elaborate the characteristics of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) that determine their biological hazard potential. It will help develop a safety classification model for ENM based on an understanding of their interactions with living organisms, benefiting industry and enabling innovation.The NANOSOLUTIONS project was created to develop a safety classification for engineered nanomaterials (ENM) based on an understanding of their interactions with living organisms at molecular, cellular and organism levels. The human body uses natural nanomaterials, such as proteins and other molecules, to control the body�s many systems and processes.

Team

Dario Greco, Harri Alenius, Riitta Lahesmaa, Roland Grafström, Kai Savolainen

I4Future - Imaging for the Future: Novel Imaging and Characterization Methods in Bio, Medical and Environmental Research and Technology Innovations is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie action co-funded international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral doctoral programme. The programme brings together complementary and supplementary expertise of internationally accredited researchers with the aim of training young researchers in an interdisciplinary manner in highly relevant sosioeconomic research areas using state-of-the-art techniques. The programme network consists of 17 University of Oulu research groups, 10 international partner universities, 11 private companies and 4 multidisciplinary public sector organisations.

Team

Marko Huttula, Matti Alatalo, Erkki Thuneberg, Nonne Prisle

VitalSens is a joint research project with the main goal of designing a smart, cost effective and scale-able personalized biomedical remote monitoring health platform. Printable wireless electronic sensors for continuous ECG monitoring are designed. Further, the ECG recordings are stored in a cloud storage. We then proceed by developing a computational engine which processes the physiological measurements and provide automated event detection for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The primary focus is to create an intelligent processing system which is adaptive to the patient ECG recording.

Team

Sampo Nurmentaus, Metropolia UAS, Moncef Gabbouj, TUT, Tapio Seppänen, OU, Niku Oksala, UTA.

Novel materials and fabrication methods for body-centric passive wireless sensors (NOSE), is a project that is coordinated at the Tampere University of Technology, by the wireless identification and sensing systems research group (WISE). In this research project, embroidery of conductive yarns and 3D direct write dispensing of novel conductive materials; graphene, copper, and stretchable silver inks, as well as protective coatings, are used to fabricate flexible and reliable antennas and interconnections embedded into textile materials.

Team

Johanna Virkki, Leena Ukkonen, Han He, H Lam, Xiochen Chen