Science is not separate from the surrounding world

Dear researchers, scientific community, and university members!

A warm welcome to UniOulu Science Day 2026 event!

I will begin by disagreeing.

The assumptions that universities and science are something marginal or privileged or detached from everyday life are simply not true.

Science is not separate from the surrounding world. Science is not something done far away from society or people. Scientists, researchers, and research groups do not live in a bubble, nor is their work done alone or detached from reality.

If it were done that way, science simply would not be able to solve the challenges for which it exists.

The research work carried out in universities is always, in some way, crucially and broadly connected to solving the challenges faced by individuals, humanity as a whole, societies, and the world at large.

Science and research are always part of a larger whole.

Without science, the world would simply be in trouble.

The level of research at the University of Oulu is high. Some of our profiling areas have gained global recognition, and our success in both EU consortium projects and Business Finland projects continues to bear fruit.

The EU’s 10th Framework Programme (FP10) appears to be well aligned with our strengths in terms of its focus areas. Funding is set to almost double, offering major opportunities not only in the field of comprehensive security, but also across our entire portfolio of expertise.

Dear friends,

Innovations cannot emerge without strong basic research, which is refined through applied research into, for example, a licensable product.

And most importantly: Ideas and hypotheses may arise individually or collectively, but they always emerge from shared questions, experimentation, and the courage to cross familiar boundaries.

Fascinating results often emerge precisely at the interfaces of different scientific disciplines.

It is also crucial that we ensure research does not remain confined within the walls of the university, but that we actively engage in discussions in various contexts about the kind of future we are building and how we are doing that.

I believe that in the future, significant breakthroughs will emerge not only within individual scientific fields, but also in places where engineers converse with humanists, where medicine meets technology, and where environmental challenges are examined not just from an environmental perspective, but also through the lens of artificial intelligence or cultural questions.

This UniOulu Science Day 2026 event offers great possibilities for conversations.

You can dive into topics such as the role of artificial intelligence in research and society, explore data-driven futures in health research, and reflect on the relationship between culture and science in change and resilience.

Find out what may happen when you bring together new solutions in pathology and data analysis, multidisciplinary approaches to environmental problems, and questions of open and democratic dialogue.

If I could, I would participate in every workshop today!

Dear participants! During the UniOulu Science Day today, not only ideas but also concrete scientific dialogue will be created. Be open and courageous in that.

I wish you an inspiring and rewarding day.

Arto Maaninen
Rector, University of Oulu

The blog post is based on Arto Maaninen 's opening speech at the UniOulu Science Day on 15 April 2026.

The UniOulu Science Day is University of Oulu’s biggest interdisciplinary science event of the year open for the whole university community. The event is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and networking among all researchers and students at the University of Oulu.