University of Oulu to receive a significant donation from Technology Industries of Finland

Technology Industries of Finland donates €100,000 to the University of Oulu. According to Laura Juvonen, Executive Director for Growth and Skills at Technology Industries of Finland, competence based higher education and cooperation between universities and businesses are key factors in enabling sustainable growth.

“We want to encourage universities to strongly step up and take responsibility for building the future of Finland. This requires goal-oriented collaboration from the universities – both among themselves and through long-term partnerships with companies,” explains Juvonen.

Jouko Niinimäki, Rector of the University of Oulu, warmly welcomes the donation and underlines that bringing science and societal actors closer together is a particular strength of the university. The University of Oulu’s high-quality research and education have been the basis for the most significant research and innovation hub of the furthers reaches of Northern Europe. Close collaboration with the business sector strengthens the vitality of the region, but also that of Finland as a whole.

“We are deeply grateful for this donation. Technology Industries of Finland and its member companies are our key partners. We want our research results to be actively used, and our higher education programmes produce experts for the needs of the changing working life. Interaction with working life actors promotes the employment of graduates and the development of competence during their careers through continuous learning,” says Niinimäki.

All in all, Technology Industries of Finland supports ten universities with a total of €1 million. The donation is based on Sitra’s matched funding, which significantly increases the impact of the donations. Sitra will capitalise universities with a total of €67 million, which will be distributed in proportion to the private capital collected by the universities by 30 June 2022. The University of Oulu has launched a fundraising campaign to collect private capital and maximise the amount of matched funding. The university will channel the donated funds to activities that, in line with the university’s strategy, strengthen its scientific profile and increase the effectiveness and impact of research through, for example, top recruitments and new research openings.

Last updated: 15.3.2021