Infotech Oulu, an umbrella organization for information technology research, was founded in 1996 at the University of Oulu. The principal goal of Infotech Oulu is to create an environment for the development of world-class research groups by advancing long-term research, researcher training, internationalism and cooperation. Close interaction between basic and applied research is seen to be necessary, but the best results can be achieved when curiosity is a driving force.

The research of Infotech Oulu is carried out in groups. The research groups mainly operate in those laboratories and departments where their directors are working. The selection of Infotech Oulu research groups is for a four-year period, and it is based on external scientific evaluation of the research presented by the applicants. For the period 2010–2013, five groups were selected as full members, and three groups as associate members. Some of them are joint groups at the University of Oulu and VTT Technical Research Centre.

Information technology is designated as one of the four focus research areas of the University of Oulu, including machine vision and ubiquitous computing technologies, wireless communications, high-speed electronics and photonics, biomedical engineering, and information systems and software. The main research areas of Infotech Oulu are

• electronics
• communications engineering
• computer science and information engineering

Infotech Oulu Doctoral Program develops doctoral education on information technology in the university. It organizes lecture series and intensive courses. It is a part of the national graduate school system, having 25 research student positions financed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. In addition, the Academy of Finland has granted funding annually for arranging courses and other costs. The program has about 170 doctoral students. In 2012, the output was 15 dissertations within the research groups of the program. The number of doctoral dissertations within Infotech has grown significantly during the last few years.