OEI Vuosikertomus 2008

O u l u
S o u t h e r n
O
I n s t i t u t e
A n n ua l
R e p o r t
2 0 0 8
ulu Southern Institute is a regional unit of the University of Oulu. Its purpose is to promote and organize academic research, education and community development in the southern part of the Oulu province in order to foster
the growth and development of industry and commerce.
The Oulu South region is known for its active business life. Even though most of the
enterprises are small or medium sized, their production is notable and internationally
oriented. Oulu Southern Institute operates in close cooperation with vocational education organizations and with the local units of the Universities of Applied Sciences
of Central Ostrobothnia and Oulu as well as with regional development organizations.
This concept has proven to be beneficial for the region.
G ENER A L
Altogether approximately 45 research managers, researchers and other staff were employed by the Institute during 2008. Six of them had
doctorate degrees in their disciplines, and 25 had other university
degrees. This comprises an immense intellectual contribution to the
development of the Oulu Southern area.
Team: Eelis Kokko, Eija-Riitta Niinikoski. Tanja Risikko
Photography: Tii Amperla, Oulu Southern Institute
Layout and image processing: Tii Amperla
Print: ArtPrint 2009
Ninety-two percent of the funding of this work came from sources external to the University of Oulu, and just eight percent came as basic
funding from the University. This low percentage may be an unofficial
record in Finland.
2 0 0 8
Institute´s Financing Depends on External Funding
Y E AR
The situation is glorious to the Institute.
THE
New projects financed by the 7th framework programme and structural
funds of EU were started and employed the personnel of the Institute
during 2008. The delay in financing approval especially caused some
uncertainty regarding the work. However, our researchers showed their
quality and skilfulness by securing financing for their projects from the
7th framework program. Our digital holography research group is coordinating the six-million-euro Real 3 D project and our underground
astroparticle physics research group is a partner in the European
LAGUNA consortium.
O F
During the year the structural change of the Finnish university institution was forced to proceed by Finland’s Ministry of
Education. The heated discussion on its effects lasted the whole year. It
focused on fears of the imbalanced financing of the new so-called innovation university and the rest of the universities. Furthermore, despite
the structural change, the University of Oulu decided to maintain the
Oulu Southern Institute while two older units in Raahe and Kemi were
decided to be closed and their work to be reorganized.
O V ER V I E W
T
he year 2008 at the Oulu Southern Institute was again a year
of very active, successful working.
Oulu Southern Institute carries out regional development
work, the social service function of the University of Oulu
determined by the Universities Act. Unfortunately, the
new Act to be accepted during 2009 does not contain
clearer determination of this so-called third task of the
universities.
Research and regional development at Oulu Southern Institue in 2008 were made possible by funding of
the EU´s FP7 program and structural funds, that of
Academy of Finland, and TEKES (Technology Development Center of Finland) in addition to the funding from
the University, State Provincial Office of Oulu (Department of Education) and the Council of Oulu Region. The
role of companies as co-financers in TEKES projects has
grown remarkably. Last but not least, the importance of
funding by the local communities and the associations
of the local subregions should not be underestimated
either.
Cooperation with the Educational Municipal Federation
of the Kalajokilaakso Region (KAM) was very intensive.
Cooperation with the Central Ostrobothnia University of
Applied Sciences and its CENTRIA Research and Development unit also developed well. Representatives of the
Kalajokilaakso Regional Unit of Oulu Trade Center and
local employer organizations participated in the work of
the steering groups of various projects actively.
Import ant Achievements in 200 8
The development of the new, mainly laser-assisted production technologies for metal and thin sheet industry
continued at the ELME Studio in Nivala successfully. Cooperation was conducted especially with KAM but also
with the Nivala Technology and Industrial Park Ltd, with
the subregional development company NIHAK Ltd and
with the Raahe and Kemi-Tornio production studios. As
with ELME Studio, they are members of ProMetal, one of
the Finnish Centre of Excellence Programmes and of the
Maritime competence cluster as well. New projects were
started with TEKES funding in cooperation with companies. The role of the international partners in the projects
was clearly strengthened during 2008.
Research and development work in information and
communication technology was active. The most important projects were carried out at the RFMedia laboratory, which is a cooperation laboratory with the Central
Ostrobothnia University of Applied Siences. The six-million-euro Real 3D -project (Digital holography for 3D and
4D real-world object´s capture, processing, and display)
is financed by the FP7 framework program. The research
group conducted by Thomas Naughton has been conducting high-class work with eight European research
groups and companies.
The research group of astroparticle physics continued to
set up its own research instrument, EMMA (Experiment
with MultiMuon Array) in the Pyhäsalmi mine, which is
Europe’s deepest working mine with a highly qualified
infrastructure. Astroparticles are observed at the level
of minus 85 meters in the mine to filter out the nonspecific radiation with the help of the soil layer. EMMA
is the only experiment worldwide observing radiation at
that level. The core of the experiment is built from detectors bought from CERN and from Russia. Cooperation
with the University of Jyväskylä and with the Technical
Universities of Munich and Karlsruhe was the most active
in 2008.
The technology education group of the Institute
(TEKNOKAS) continued its function as the only technology education group in Finland, which gives nation-wide
continual education to teachers. During the year the
work was expanded to the professional second level and
to the polytechnics. Cooperation was conducted with the
cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Oulu. The Technology Center Hermia in Tampere was one of the most active
cooperating partners. Special spokesmen for the technology education were Professor Yrjö Neuvo, the former
technology manager of Nokia Corporation and Managing
Director of Design Ristomatti Ratia from Ratia Brand Co.
Oulu Southern Institute performed extensive, worldwide international cooperation in 2008. The researcher
exchange program was started. The research manager of RF and microwave technology cooperated
with Russian researchers from St. Petersburg State
Polytechnical University and South Korean researchers from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.
The research manager of new production technologies
worked for six months at the University of ErlangenNuremberg in Germany. His group also maintained active cooperation with Luleå University of Technology in
Sweden.
T h e Wr i t i n g o f t h e B i b l i o g r a p h y
of Kerttu Saalasti
The excellent bibliography of the councilor of education, former minister of education in the 1950s, and “the
mother of the University of Oulu”, Kerttu Saalasti, was
completed and published at the end of 2008. The min-
ister of education in the 1970s, Doctor Tytti IsohookanaAsunmaa wrote the book on behalf of the Institute and
the Kerttu Saalasti Foundation. The board of the Foundation, to which the writer also belongs, has given instructive support to the management of the Institute and
grants to some Institute researchers.
The Future is “in Our Own Hands”
Oulu Southern Institute participated actively in regional
development work with the members of the Oulu South
Educational Network in 2008. This organization will have
an important role in regional development as the municipal structure on the area is changing and the sub-regional development organizations will be ceased by the
year 2015.
In 2008, Professor Jorma Rantanen prepared a report
concerning the cooperation possibilities between Oulu
Southern Institute, the University Centre Chydenius of
Kokkola, the Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied
Sciences, and the Educational Municipal Federations of
the Kalajokilaakso, Central Ostrobothnia and Pietarsaari
areas. The cooperation between these organizations
and areas and also between other Finnish and foreign
organizations will be even more important in the future. It
can be managed with hard work and enthusiasm. This is
the only way to build our common future. n
Eelis Kokko, PhD, M BA
D i r e c t o r, O u l u S o u t h e r n I n s t i t u t e
11
t
u
University of Oulu
OULU SOUTHERN INSTITUTE
t
u
Universities
Region
Munipalities
Universities of Vocational
Applied science schools
DIGITAL MEDIA/
DIGITAL
HOLOGRAPHY
TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION
UNDERGROUND
PHYSICS
Oulu Southern Institute: main research fields.
The Institute aims to plan and manage master and bachelor programmes for
adults in the region in cooperation with the departments and faculties of the
University. In addition, it gives student counselling and organizes examinations for distant learning students. The Instute´s regional development activities include planning and implementing new ways of making national and
international academic knowledge available for local entrepreneurs and other
innovation actors. SME´s and development organizations have possibilities to
participate in the Institute´s top-level R&D projects. New development initiatives in the region are surveyed actively.
During 2008 the research group members published 33 scientific publications, including 18 refereed articles in international scientific journals and 14
articles in international conference or meeting anthologies. n
D e v e l o p m e n t
T
he main research fields of Oulu Southern Institute are technology education, underground physics/astroparticle physics, RF &
microwave/wireless communication research, digital media/digital holography and future production technologies/sheet metal
technology. The research is performed in cooperation with the faculties of
the University of Oulu or other universities and other national and international partners. The research groups are led by doctoral-level research
managers.
R e gio n a l
RF- AND
MICROWAVE
ENGINEERING
a n d
FUTURE
PRODUCTION
TECHNOLOGIES
Research
E d u c a t io n
Education
Companies
Regional
development
R e s e a r c h ,
International
partners
13
TE K N O K A S
-
TEKNOKAS develops general technology education
given in primary and secondary schools. The Center’s researchers are developing the contents and methods as
well as teaching materials and equipment for technology
education. One of the main activities of the center is to
arrange continuing education in technology education to
primary and secondary school teachers, and to support
them to take into account the cross-curricula theme of
technology education in their teaching and in school culture. Thus, the center is responding to the challenges of
technology education posed by the reformed curricula.
Moreover, the center is boosting innovation potential of
staff of companies by arranging innovation workshops
and other related activities.
TE KNOKAS R&D G ROU P
Contact: Esa-Matti Järvinen,
R e s e a rch D i re c t o r, P h D
esa-matti.jarvinen@oulu.fi
h t t p : / / w w w. o u l u . f i / t e k n o k a s
The content areas include automation and robotics, mechanics, structures, electricity and electronic as well
as the basic issues related to the production, storage
and usage of energy. As technology normally develops through innovations, important goals of technology
education also include the development of children’s
and students´ skills to observe and solve problems
related to the built environment. At the same time technology education encourages them to develop their own
creativity.
One of the backgrounds of the center is the long-standing research, development and teaching of technology
education at the Faculty of Education of the University
of Oulu. Following the ideology of University outreach,
the project is transmitting university know-how in technology education to the province and further to the whole
country.
The center is operated by the Oulu Southern Institute.
Co-operation partners include the National Board of
Education of Finland, Central Ostrobothnia University of
Applied Sciences and The Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers (TEK). The center has also several international partners and it collaborates widely in the field of
technology education research.
TEKNOKAS provides Ylivieska region and the Oulu
South region a nationally and internationally significant
know-how and training unit that serves teachers, students and employees to develop and transmit technological know-how. The center will also enable the youth
and the industry of the region to know each other better, which improves the vitality of the region in the
long run.
In 2008, a nationwide TEKNOKAS continuing education program targeted to teachers was started. Learning
and education material was produced and several training sessions and workshops were organized in Ylivieska
and all over Finland. Cooperation with Technology Centre
Hermia in Tampere and the city of Tampere was especially active. The results of the work are published in Finnish
and international scientific journals.
The training material package ”Keksitään lisää” (Let´s
innovate more) was produced in cooperation with Kerhokeskus Koulutyön tuki association and with designer
Ristomatti Ratia. The material is included in the outcomes
EU Year of Innovation and Creativity 2009. n
C e nt e r
T
EKNOKAS is the first nationwide technology
education center in Finland. It supports teachers
to educate school kids and students to understand, value and develop further the environment, which includes the technology that people have
built for their purposes.
15
CUPP
–
C e n t r e
fo r
particular, the capability of lateral distribution measure-
by INMET Mining Ltd., Canada) in Pyhäjärvi
ments makes EMMA different from the other under-
provides excellent opportunities to carry out re-
ground cosmic-ray experiments.
search on astroparticle physics. At the present,
a larger experiment called EMMA, has been prepared
and constructed. The Pyhäjärvi site is a prominent candidate to host a large-volume, next-generation liquid detector that is under investigation in the EU - FP7 Design
Study LAGUNA, in which the EMMA research group is
EMMA (Experiment with MultiMuon Array) is a new-type,
cosmic-ray experiment. It uses the rock overburden of 75
metres to filter out low-energy muons of an air shower,
timo.enqvist@oulu.fi
http://cupp.oulu.fi
a hundred researchers from ten countries are involved
in the LAGUNA project, in which a European largescale research apparatus is designed and its location
is selected from the available candidates. The main
research topics of LAGUNA detectors are neutrinos
from supernovae, the Sun and from proton decay and
geoneutrinos.
with cutoff energy of approximately 45 GeV. Thus only
In LAGUNA, three different types of large-volume liq-
high-energy muons are detected, which is important as
uid detectors and seven possible location sites across
they carry out much more information than low-energy
the Europe are compared. The detectors are GLACIER
particles about the initial collisions. The main research
(liquid argon), LENA (liquid scintillation) and MEMPHYS
topics are the cosmic-ray composition at the knee re-
(water Cherenkov) and the sites are Boulby (UK), Can-
gion of the energy of particles and the investigation of
franc (Spain), Frejus (France), Italy, Pyhäsalmi (Finland),
the so called muon bundles observed at CERN by the
Slanic (Romania), and SUNlab (Poland). A preliminary in-
DELPHI detector at LEP (data collected since 1998) for
frastructure study has already been performed for LENA
the first time. The detector area of EMMA array is ap-
detector at Pyhäsalmi. LENA is a 50-kton liquid scintilla-
proximately 135 square metres divided into nine detector
tion detector with cylindrical dimensions of 100 metres
units (cottages) of 15 square metres each. The array is
(long) and 30 metres (width). This study showed that it
able to measure the muon multiplicity, their lateral distri-
is possible to build LENA in Pyhäsalmi at the depth of
bution and also the arrival direction of the air shower. In
1400 metres. n
Py h ä sa l m i
C o n t a c t : Ti m o E n q v i s t ,
R e s e a rch D i re c t o r, D P h i l
EU-FP7 infrastructure Design Study of 1.7 M€. Over
i n
CU PP R E S EARCH G ROU P
and Neutrino Astrophysics) is an ongoing two-year
P h ysi c s
participating.
LAGUNA (Large Apparatus for Grand Unification
U n d e r g r o u n d
T
he 1400-meter-deep Pyhäsalmi mine (owned
17
Use of higher frequencies and faster data transfer rate
causes problems such as crosstalk in RF applications.
New, long-term evolution telecommunication standards and modulation techniques are developed in the
COMPTEST project in order to increase the data transfer
rate and thus minimise these problems. New methods for
network start-ups will be developed by combining testing tools from various participating companies. A network
start-up can be faster with proper, optimal test parameters. End-to-end testing is needed to test the functionality of the whole system.
R F M E D I A L A B O R ATO RY
C o n t a c t : J o u n i Te r v o n e n ,
R e s e a rch D i re c t o r, D S c
jouni.tervonen@oulu.fi
h t t p : / / w w w. o u l u . f i / o s i r f / i n d e x . h t m l
COMPTEST project includes research exchange between Oulu Southern Institute and Gwangju Institute of
Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea. The existing collaboration is expected to further increase when
GIST starts parallel project Development of Low Power/
Low Cost MIMO Receiver for Mobile WiMAX.
Digital media
Digital Media research within International RFMedia Research Laboratory project concentrates on usability issues, especially human-machine-interaction with mobile
devices. Visual perception is studied jointly with the digital holography research group. A survey of possibilities
and required actions utilising games and game-like virtual environments to create new research, development
and business activities is conducted jointly with an external expertise-providing company LudoCraft Ltd, Oulu,
Finland.
International Seminars and
Exchange Activities
RFMedia Laboratory was a coordinator of the 4th Annual Seminar in Wireless Applications for Machines and
Systems. WAMS 2008 seminar was held in Ylivieska on
November 18 –19, 2008. A total of 130 researchers and
company representatives from twelve countries participated in the event. Furthermore, research manager Jouni
Tervonen visited GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and
Technology) in South-Korea from October 9 to November 6, 2008 as a part of the research exchange activities
in the COMPTEST project. n
L AB O R ATO RY
Wireless Product and Testing Applications for Machines
and Systems (WAMS) is an example of successful cooperation between the two research organisations within
RFMedia laboratory. Another example that, like WAMS,
involves many participating partner companies is the
Short Ubiquitous Computing in Maintenance Using Sensors and RFID Tags (SensoTag) project. In this project,
WSAN (Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network) technology is applied by the RF and microwave technology researchers of the Oulu Southern Institute. A third example
of joint research projects is the Comprehensive Testing
project (COMPTEST) which includes six participating
companies.
The International RFMedia Research Laboratory project, begun in January 2008, is a European Regional
Development Fund project covering research and development activities of wireless data transmission
and digital media. Topics in the wireless data transmission project include embedded wireless data transmission product solutions, testing and applying of new
telecommunication systems, and radio channel related
expertise: prediction models, radio channel characterisation and measurements, coexistence and interference
scenarios, radio resource and spectrum management
methods.
R F MED I A
R
FMedia research laboratory is a media and
ICT know-how centre located in Ylivieska.
The laboratory constitutes six research
groups from the Oulu Southern Institute and
the CENTRIA Research and Development
unit, which is the research organization of the Central
Ostrobothnia University of Applied Sciences.
19
D I G I TA L H O LO G R A P H Y R E S E A R C H G R O U P
C o n t a c t : Th o m a s N a u g h t o n ,
S c i e n t i f i c Le a d e r
thomas.naughton@oulu.fi
w w w. d i g i t a l h o l o g r a p h y. e u
The team’s research maintained its high level in 2008
with publications in the highly regarded journals Optics
Express and Journal of the Optical Society of America A,
among others. Team members delivered or co-authored
16 presentations at international conferences, including
invited presentations at the International Workshop on
Physics and Computation, Vienna, Austria, and the Sev-
Graduate-level education remains a high priority at the
Institute. The team organised the Seminar on Future
Technologies for Shared-Memory Parallel Computing
with the Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied Sciences, Ylivieska, April 2008, with scientific lecturers from
University of Information Technology and Management in
Rzeszow (Poland), VTT (Oulu), and members of the RFMedia Laboratory. An invited PhD-level intensive course
“Introduction to digital holography” was delivered at the
University of Limerick Bioimaging Summer School, Ballyvauhan, Ireland, September 2008. The PhD Summer
School on Optoinformatics 2008, Maynooth, August
2008 was co-organised with invited lecturers representing seven different countries. Team members Thomas
Naughton and Taina Lehtimäki also gave a Universitywide presentation on European funding programmes
organised by Research and Innovation Services, the University of Oulu.
International Seminars and
Exchange Activities
Associate Professor Dr. Naveen Nishchal, Indian Institute of Technology, joined the digital holography team for
three months during the summer of 2008. n
H O L O G R A PH Y
Oulu Southern Institute’s digital holography team coordinates a three-year European Commission-sponsored
FP7 Collaborative Project on digital holography called
Real 3D. The Real 3D – Digital holography for 3D and
4D real-world objects’ capture, processing, and display
-project is a research project funded under the Information and Communication Technologies theme of the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme.
It brings together eight participants from academia and
industry in seven countries. This three-year project marks
the beginning a long-term effort to facilitate the entry of
a new technology (digital holography) into the three-dimensional capture and display markets.
enth Euro-American Workshop in Information Optics,
Annecy, France. Awards for team members included the
IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award 2008 for best
paper in the preceding year from all IEEE journals. Team
members were on the Technical Boards of, and helped
organise the technical programme for, four international
scientific conferences. Besides the seven international
partners in the Real 3D project, the team co-authored
research articles with the University of Seville (Spain),
Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), University
College Dublin (Ireland), Indian Institute of Technology
Guwahati (India), and University of Stuttgart (Germany).
D I G I TAL
T
he digital holography team conducts research
on visual perception, image processing, and usability issues of digital holograms. Digital holograms are a new form of digital media that can
capture three-dimensional properties of a real-world
physical object or scene in a single image. The full potential of digital holography for industrial inspection and
metrology, bio-imaging and medicine, and communication
and entertainment is only recently being studied. Members of the team of the Oulu Southern Institute have pioneered aspects of hologram image processing. The team
is globally one of the only research teams studying visual
perception aspects of digital holography. The team is also
actively working on broad applications of digital holography, including industrial metrology, digital holographic microscopy, bio-imaging, and optical image processing (including optical encryption and optical computing).
21
The main objective of the research activities is to develop new production technologies and implement them in
manufacturing industry and products in the Oulu South
region. Educational activities at the university level as well
as at the vocational education level are enhanced in the
field of production technology. The research group promotes cooperation with educational organizations of the
region by carrying out joint development projects.
E LM E R E S E A R C H G R O U P
Contact: Kari Mäntyjärvi,
R e s e a rch D i re c t o r, M S c
kari.mantyjarvi@oulu.fi
h t t p : / / w w w. o u l u . f i / e l m e / E LM E 2 / i n d e x . h t m l
The key research areas of ELME are the laser technology applications in welding and forming of ultra-highstrength steel materials. The laser technology research
is focused on using the technology for manufacturing
products from sheet metal. The foundation for the expertise was laid by the donated professorship in 19992003, which continued as a permanent position in the
In 2008 the ELME research group grew to a group of
seven people. Five of them worked in Nivala and the
other two in Oulu at the main campus of the university.
The group has presented and published its research results in eleven international conference proceedings, with
the two latest ones in 2008.
International Seminars and Exchange
Activities
Research director Kari Mäntyjärvi worked as an exchange expert for six months at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. ELME group also
conducted active cooperation with Luleå University of
Technology in Sweden. n
TECHN O L O G I E S
The ELME Studio belongs to the The Centre of Expertise Programme (OSKE) in Finland and is a part of the
national ProMetal network. Part of the ELME research
group operates at the main campus of the University of
Oulu. The research activities in Oulu are carried out in
close cooperation with the Production Technology Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
PR O DUCT I O N
The research group was founded in 2000. Since
then, research facilities were established, research and cooperation practices were developed, and
research projects were started and carried out. ELME research activities take place in the ELME Studio in Nivala
in close cooperation with Nivala Vocational College, Central Ostrobothnia University of Applied Sciences and with
Nivala Technology and Industrial Park Ltd.
University of Oulu, and by two research and development
projects: New production methods in sheet metal industry and Expertise in Laser- and high speed machining
technology. In 2008, the research activities are elaborated in two research projects: Usability of ultra-highstrength steels and Roll Forming of Tailored Heat Treated
Ultra High-Strength Steel Strips. The research activities
in 2008 were focused on the properties of the new materials and on developing new processing applications for
them. In the development project “Innovative Production
Technologies”, production methods and processes of the
future are screened and assessed. This project is administrated by the Educational Municipal Federation of the
Kalajokilaakso Region and funded by European Regional
Development Fund. The ELME research and development projects are carried out in cooperation with the industry. They are partly funded by the companies and the
municipalities of the Oulu South region.
ELME – F UTURE
T
he ELME research group focuses its research
topics on the future production technologies.
O u l u S o u t h re g i o n c o m p r i s e s c o o p e r a t i o n
b e t w e e n t h e N i v a l a - H a a p a j ä r v i , Yl i v i e s k a a n d
H a a p a v e s i - S i i k a l a t v a s u b re g i o n s
23
R e gio n a l
Industrialized rural areas and an active, international business life are characteristic of the Oulu South region.
High technology is used also in agriculture. Municipalities and small cities stretch along the valleys of the Kalajoki, Pyhäjoki and Siikajoki rivers. Population of the area,
about 87 000 inhabitants (¼ of the county´s population)
is growing most in small cities of the region due to a high
birth rate. The relative number of young people is highest
in Finland, with people under 25 years of age forming 35
% of the population. Their share will remain high in the
future, too. Challenges of the area are, therefore, the increasing number of elderly people and the low percentage of working age people.
R E G I O N A L D E V E LO P M E N T
Contact: Eija-Riitta Niinikoski,
D e v e l o p m e n t M a n a g e r, M A
eija-riitta.niinikoski@oulu.fi
Ta n j a R i s i k k o ,
R & D D e v e l o p m e n t M a n a g e r, L i c Te ch
tanja.risikko@oulu.fi
h t t p : / / w w w. o u l u . f i / o e i n s t
In Oulu South there are about 4,400 companies with
32,500 work places. The main employing sectors (60 %
of the work places) are welfare with 5,500 work places, agriculture (5,000), metal and machinery industry
(2.700), retail (2,500), wood prosessing industry (2,000),
ICT (900), and tourism with 500 work places. Entrepreneurship is notable in the region. Also, young people are
entrepreneurially oriented, according to a report written
in the Institute in 2006.
Indicators in the business sector have been developing
well during the last decade. The unemployment rate has
been the lowest in Northern Finland. The growth in the
metal and wood processing industry has been especially
strong and the growth in the welfare sector has been
steady. Although the effects of globalization, especially on the ICT sector, have been quite negative, the development of the area has been successful until the
end of the year 2008. In the 2007 survey of the business
sector the expectations were still quite high, the highest
in Northern Finland and also high compared to the whole
country.
One of the tasks of the Oulu Southern Institute is
the development of the innovation environment in the
region. New ways of making national and international
(academic) knowledge available for local entrepreneurs and other actors will be planned and implemented
by specialists at the Institute. SME´s and development
organizations will be offered new possibilities to participate in the Institute’s top-level R&D projects. Developing
the innovation environment in Oulu South region -project
in 2008-2010 is one of the regional development tools.
Development of companies and organizations’ innovation and R&D processes is considered beneficial to the
region.
Oulu Southern Institute also participates in Regional trajectories to the knowledge economy - Nordic-European
comparisons, a Nordic (REKENE) project. It combines
in-depth work in firms and in their regional context of
public actors, higher education institutions, networks of
firms and other actors. The project produces new academic knowledge while also delivering input to practice
and policymaking. n
D e ve l o p m e n t
O
ulu Southern Institute carries out regional development work, the social service function
of the University of Oulu by promoting and
organizing academic research, education and
community development in the southern part of the Oulu
province in order to foster the growth and development
of industry and commerce.
25
Contact: Harri Jokela, M Sc
E d u c a t i o n a l C o o rd i n a t o r
harri.jokela@oulu.fi
h t t p : / / w w w. o u l u . f i / o e i n s t
Oulu Southern Institute organizes an annual seminar with the
Kerttu Saalasti Foundation. The 2008 seminar held in June,
focused on the topic Transforming Educational Structures. n
Co u n s e l i n g
E D U CAT I O N & S T U D E N T C O U N S E LI N G
The first Oulu South Higher Education Strategy was composed in 2001 as a joint understanding of the goals of the
members of Oulu South Educational Network. The strategy
has been updated twice since then. The third updating process began at the end of 2008.
S t u d e n t
Oulu Southern Institute is an active member of the Oulu
South Educational Network, which is a virtual organization
based on an agreement signed by the educational organizations of the region. Other active members of the network are
the regional units of the Universities of Applied Sciences of
Central Ostrobothnia and Oulu (in Ylivieska and Oulainen, respectively), the Educational Municipal Federations of Kalajokilaakso and Siika-Pyhäjoki regions and the regional units of
the Summer University of Northern Ostrobothnia (in Ylivieska
and Pyhäjärvi).
a n d
In order to improve the educational level and to enhance
knowledge and skills in general, Oulu Southern Institute aims
to plan and manage master and bachelor programs for adults
in cooperation with departments and faculties of the university. Therefore, it carries out surveys of educational needs in
cooperation with entrepreneurs and their organizations. Furthermore, the Institute offers student counseling and guidance of academic studies including examination possibilities
for distance learning students and organizes study groups for
students writing their theses or diploma work.
E d u c a t io n
E
ducation is one of the most meaningful ways to develop regions. The educational level in Oulu South is
relatively low. The percentage of people over 15 years
that have a post-secondary (university, polytechnic)
education is only 17 %, which is clearly lower than the national average (25 %). Of those, 41 % have no education after
the mandatory education (comprehensive school) and 42 %
of them have acquired secondary education. Just under 1 %
of them have earned a doctoral degree. However, eagerness
to acquire more education is quite high according to the surveys done in recent years.
27
The most important international partner organisations in 2008 were:
Australia: Griffith University, Sydney University (TEKNOKAS)
China:
The Institute of High-Energy Physics in the Academy of China (CUPP)
Region Sjælland, Roskilde University (REKENE), University of Århus (CUPP)
France: Laboratoire Souterrane de Modane, University of Paris (CUPP)
Germany:
Bremer Institut für Angewandte Strahtechnik (Real 3D),
Technische Hochschule München, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (CUPP), University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (ELME),
Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences (RF)
Great Britain:
Greenwich University, Open University Milton Keynes, University of Central England, Aberdeen University (TEKNOKAS),
Institute for Underground Science at Boulby (CUPP)
Holland:
Eindhoven University of Technology (TEKNOKAS),
Fontys University of Applied Sciences (RF)
Iceland:
Akureyri Region Business Agency, University of Akureyri (REKENE)
Ireland: National University of Ireland, Maynooth County Kildare (Real 3D)
Italy:
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Napoli (Real 3D),
Laboratori Nazionali di Gran Sasso (CUPP)
Poland: Warsaw University of Technology (Real 3D)
Russia: Nuclear Research Institute of the Academy of Russia in Moscow
Radium Research Institute of V.G.Klop in St. Petersburg
The Institute of High-Energy Physics in Protvino (CUPP)
St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University (RF)
Spain: Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfanc (CUPP)
South Korea:
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (RF)
Sweden: Teknikens Hus Luleå (TEKNOKAS)
Luleå University of Technology, Svensk Vertygsteknik Ab (ELME)
University of Karlstad, Stockholm County Council, University of Stockholm, University of Linköping, Nordregion (REKENE)
Switzerland :
CERN (CUPP) Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lyncée Tec SA (Real 3D)
Turkey: Bilkent Universitesi Bilkent Ankara (Real 3D)
USA:
Millersville University Pennsylvania (TEKNOKAS)
Pa r t n e r s
Denmark:
I n t e r n a t io n a l
O
ulu Southern Institute has an outstanding national and international partner network. International cooperation includes e.g. conducting joint projects, exchanging researchers
and teachers and publishing scientific articles. Active cooperation is performed in various
European and Asian countries and in the United States of America and Australia.
O
29
Members of the board in 2007-200 9 and their personal deputy members
Kari Kuutti, professor, Department of Information Processing Science, chairman
deputy Kari Pankkonen, development manager
Juha Röning, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering
A d m i n is t r a t io n
ulu Southern Institute is the sole regional unit of the University of Oulu. It was initially established in 2000 and became permanently established in 2004. The Institute is led by the director with the help of the board. Board members are nominated by the rector of the University
of Oulu, and they represent the cooperating departments and faculties of the University and
the region. The board has two meetings annually. Chairman of the board is Professor Kari Kuutti.
deputy Erkki Salonen, professor
Jarmo Rusanen, professor, Department of Geography deputy Toivo Muilu, professor
Juhani Niskanen,
professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering deputy Jussi A. Karjalainen, professor
Mikko Isohanni, administrative manager, Faculty of Education
deputy Pauli Siljander, dean
R e so u r c e s
a n d
Kari Rummukainen, professor, Department of Physical Sciences deputy Kalevi Mursula, professor
Olavi Jakkula, development director, Planning and Development unit
deputy Matti Joensuu, development manager
Eelis Kokko, director, Oulu Southern Institute
Kari Valtanen, mayor, Nivala, vice chairman
deputy Esa Jussila, managing director, Nivala-Haapajärvi subregion
Pekka Pietiäinen, mayor, Pyhäjärvi/ Nivala-Haapajärvi subregion
deputy Maija-Liisa Veteläinen, mayor, Haapajärvi/
Nivala-Haapajärvi subregion
Jouko Luukkonen, mayor, Haapavesi/ Siikalatva subregion
Asko Ojamäki,
deputy Hannu Saarinen, managing director, Siikalatva subregion
mayor, Ylivieska/ Ylivieska subregion
deputy Timo Kiema, managing director, Ylivieska subregion
Secretary of the board is Development Manager Eija-Riitta Niinikoski. There are three expert
members representing the economics of the Oulu South region in the board; merchant Martti
Liuska (deputy Tapio Uusitalo), managing director Jyrki Niinikoski (deputy Jouko Hannula), engineer Matti Tallgren (deputy Veli-Matti Karikoski).
30
31
EU/Comission (FP7) 8 %
K ERTTU
Budget / University of Oulu 8 %
Finnish Academy of Science 7 %
Finnish Funding Agency for
Technology and Innovations
(TEKES) 13 %
Municipalities 23 %
Foundations 13 %
Income financing of Oulu
Southern Institute in 2008.
R e so u r c e s
F O UND A T I O N
a n d
County Administrative
Board 20 %
SA AL AS T I
A d m i n is t r a t io n
Others 1 %
Norden 1 %
Provincial Federation 6 %
The budget of Oulu Southern Institute in 2008 was about 2,2 M€; about 8 % of the budget
came from the University of Oulu as basic financing and 92 % of it was financed by different sources of project funding e.g. EU: Comission´s 7th Framework Programme (FP7) and
Structural Funds (ESF, ERDF, Interreg), Finnish Academy of Science, Finnish Funding Agency
for Technology and Innovations (TEKES), different foundations, funding from municipalities, regional public organisations and private companies.
Internal
services 1%
Other 8%
Rent 9%
Material 4%
Outsourcing services 7%
Personnel 66%
Travel 5%
Expenses of Oulu
Southern Institute in 2008.
T
he Kerttu Saalasti Foundation was estab-
of Education. The establishment of the University of
lished in 2000 by the municipalities and ed-
Oulu in the 1950s was one of her most significant
ucational organisations of the Oulu South
achievements.
region together with the University of Oulu.
The foundation supports the work done by the Oulu
Southern Institute by granting scholarships and fos-
The main expenses consisted of personnel costs. Oulu Southern Institute rents the facilities
for its activities. There were 37 full-time employees in the institute at the end of 2008. Over
20 % of them had doctoral degree education and about 70 % had a first-level degree (MSc
or MA), the rest were students or they had other required qualification. Personnel of the Oulu
Southern Institute work in three cities in the Oulu South region (Nivala, Ylivieska, Pyhäjärvi)
and at the main campus in Oulu.
tering collaboration between the Institute and the
region.
The biography of Kerttu Saalasti was published
by the foundation in December 2008. The name
of the book, Yhteinen hyvä – paras hyvä, tells
about Kerttu Saalasti´s thinking; in different situations she wanted to find the common good and
Counsellor of Education Mrs. Kerttu Saalasti (1907-
consider it the best. The biography was written by
1995), whose father was President Kyösti Kallio,
Dr. Tytti Isohookana-Asunmaa. n
was a member of Finnish Parliament and Minister
33
32
R e s e a r c h
PER S O NNEL
International RFMedia Research Laboratory EU-ERDF, TEKES
Ubiquitous Computing in Maintenance Using Sensors and RFID Tags
TEKES
Comprehensive Testing – COMPTEST TEKES, ERDF
Real 3D – Digital holography for 3D and 4D real-world object´s capture, processing,
and display
EU-FP7
Holographic image processing and visual perception of digital holograms
Finnish Academy
Holomobile Marie Curie
Cosmic-ray experiment EMMA
EU-ERDF, Magnus Ehrnroth foundation
I N
LAGUNA: Capacities/infrastructures/Design Study
EU-FP7
CUPP - Postdoctoral Researcher Finnish Academy
Innovative production technologies - INTO EU-ERDF
Usability of ultra-high-strength steels TEKES
Roll Forming of Tailored Heat-Treated Ultra High-Strength Steel Strips
EU-ERDF
Developing the innovation environment in Oulu South region - OE INNO
EU-ERDF
Regional trajectories to the knowledge economy – Nordic-European comparisons, –REKENE
Nordic Council
2 0 0 8
Fu t u r e Pr o d u c t i o n Te ch n o l o g i e s ( E L M E )
Kari Mäntyjärvi, Research Manager
Juha Niemelä, Project Manager
Markku Keskitalo, Researcher
Jarmo Mäkikangas, Researcher
Anu Väisänen, Researcher
Jari Niskanen, Research Assistant
Sanna Viirelä, Project Engineer (leave of absence)
Sirpa Räsänen, Project Secretary
R FMedia Laboratory
Jouni Tervonen, Research Manager
Virve Sorvoja, Researcher
Tomi Pitkäaho, Researcher
Marjut Koskela, Research Assistant
Riitta Kangaskorte, Project Engineer
Marcin Kowiel, Research Assistant
Thomas Naughton, Marie Curie fellow,
Research Manager
Taina Lehtimäki, Project Manager
Kirsti Sääskilahti, Researcher
Risto Näsänen, Researcher
Antero Metso, Researcher
Johanna Ojala, Project Secretary
EU-ESF, Ministry of Education,
Ministry of Employment and the Economy
P r oj e c ts
Te ch n o l o g y E d u c a t i o n ( T E K N O K A S )
Esa-Matti Järvinen, Research Manager
Arto Karsikas, Project Planner
Esko Piippo, Project Planner/ Graphic Designer
Underground Physics (CU PP)
Timo Enqvist, Research Manager
Johanna Nissinen, Project Secretary
Pasi Kuusiniemi, Researcher
Juho Sarkamo, Researcher
Tomi Räihä, Researcher
Jari Joutsenvaara, Project Planner
Lauri Olanterä, Research Assistant
TEKNOKAS - Nationwide Technology Education D ev e l o p m e n t
3 1.12.2 00 8
Ad m i n i s t r a t i o n ,
Regional Development and Education
Eelis Kokko, Director
Eija-Riitta Niinikoski, Development Manager
Tanja Risikko, R&D Development Manager
Harri Jokela, Educational Coordinator
Maarit Uimaniemi, Departmental Secretary
Eija Korjonen, Project Secretary
Tii Amperla, Graphic Designer
a n d
R e s e a rch a n d D e v e l o p m e n t P ro j e c t s i n 2 0 0 8 a n d
Th e i r M a i n F i n a n c i n g R e s o u rc e
35
Enqvist, Timo.; Joutsenvaara, Jari; Jämsen, Teppo; Keränen, P.; Kuusiniemi, Pasi; Lehtola, M.; Mattila, A.; Narkilahti, J.; Peltoniemi, J.; Pennanen, A.; Räihä, Tomi; Sarkamo, Juho; Shen, C.; Trzaska, W.; Usoskin, Ilya; Vaittinen,
M. & Zhang, Z. EMMA - a new underground cosmic-ray experiment. - Nuclear Physics B Proceedings Supplements, 2008, vol. 175, s. 307-310.
Henzlova, D.; Schmidt, K-H.; Ricciardi, M. V.; Kelic, A.; Henzl, V.; Napolitani, P.; Audouin, L.; Benlliure, J.; Boudard, A. et al.; Enqvist, Timo Experimental investigation of the residues produced in the 136Xe + Pb and
124Xe + Pb fragmentation reactions at 1A GeV. - Physical Review C, 2008, vol. 78, s. 044616 1-25.
Järvinen, Esa Matti
Good, K. & Järvinen, E-M. Examination of the starting point approach to design and technology. - The Journal
of Tecnology Studies, 2007, vol. 32, s. 99-107. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/v33/v33n2
Järvinen, E-M.; Karsikas, A & Hintikka, J. Children as innovators in action - A study of microcontrollers in
Finnish comprehensive schools. - Journal of Technology Education, 2007, vol. 18, nro 2. http://scholar.lib.
vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v18n2/jarvinen.html
Järvinen, E-M.; Hintikka, J & Karsikas, A. A DEPTH – Developing ProfessionalThinking for Finnish
Technology Teachers. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2008, vol. 18, 265-273
Järvinen, E-M & Karsikas, A Teknologiakasvatuksesta perusopetuksessa – Pedagogisia näkökulmia ja
käytännön esimerkkejä. Dimensio; Matemaattis-luonnontieteellinen aikakauslehti, 05/2008, 39-42.
Kuusiniemi, Pasi
Antalic, S.; Hessberger, F. P.; Hofmann, S.; Ackermann, D.; Heinz, S.; Kindler, B.; Kojouharov, I.; Kuusiniemi,
Pasi; Leino, M. et al. Decay studies of neutron-deficient lawrencium isotopes. - European Physical Journal A,
2008, vol. 38, s. 219-226.
Qin, Z.; Brüchle, W.; Ackermann, D.; Eberhardt, K.; Hessberger, K.; Jäge, E.; Kratz, J. V.; Kuusiniemi, Pasi; Liebe,
D. et al. Search for the “missing” alpha-decay branch in 239Cm. - Radiochimica Acta, 2008, vol. 96, s. 455460.
Mäntyjärvi, Kari
Mäntyjärvi, Kari; Tulonen, J.; Saarnivuo, T. & Karjalainen, Jussi Properties of grid patterns produced by laser
for strain analysis. - Best in Class Stamping, International Deep Drawing Research Group, IDDRG 2008 Conference, 16-18 June 2008, Olofström, Sweden. Proceedings. Ed. by N. Asnafi. 2008. s. 145-152.
Mäntyjärvi, Kari; Tulonen, J.; Saarnivuo, T.; Porter, J. & Karjalainen, J. A. Grid patterns by laser for forming
strain analysis. - International Journal of Material Forming, 2008, s. 1-4. http://www.springerlink.com/content/r34119n7x3046wrl/
Saarnivuo, T.; Tulonen, J.; Mäntyjärvi, Kari; Porter, J. & Karjalainen, J. A. Lasermenetelmä venymäanalyysiverkkojen valmistamiseen. - Ohutlevy, 2008, nro 1, s. 22-25.
PUBLICATIONS 2008
Enqvist, Timo
Benlliure, J.; Fernández-Ordóñez, M.; Audouin, L.; Boudard, A.; Casarejos, E.; Ducret, J. E.; Enqvist, Timo;
Heinz, A.; Henzlova, D. et al. Production of medium-mass neutron-rich nuclei in reactions induced by 136Xe
projectiles at 1 A GeV on a beryllium target. - Physical Review C, 2008, vol. 78, s. 054605 1-9.
37
Darakis, E.; Khanam, T.; Rajendran, A.; Kariwala, V.; Asundi A. K. & Naughton, Thomas J. Processing of digital holograms for size measurements of microparticles. - Ninth International Symposium on Laser Metrology, Bellingham, 2008.. Proceedings of SPIE vol. 7155, SPIE Press 2008. s. 715524 1-12.
Monaghan, D. S.; Gopinathan, U.; Situ, G.; Naughton, Thomas J. & Sheridan, J. T. Cost function statistical
analysis in double random phase encoding. - Optics and Photonics for Information Processing II, Bellingham, 2008. Proceedings of SPIE vol. 7072, SPIE Press 2008. s. 70720Z 1-9.
Gopinathan, U.; Monaghan, D. S.; Hennelly, B. M.; McElhinney C. P.; Kelly D. P.; McDonald, J. B.; Naughton,
Thomas J. & Sheridan, J. T. Projection system for real world three-dimensional objects using spatial light
modulators. - Journal of Display Technology, 2008, vol. 4, nro 2, s. 254-261.
Monaghan, D. S.; Situ, G.; Gopinathan, U.; Naughton, Thomas J. & Sheridan, J. T. Role of phase key in
the double random phase encoding technique: an error analysis. - Applied Optics, 2008, vol. 47, nro 21, s.
3808-3816.
Gopinathan, U.; Situ, G.; Naughton, Thomas J. & Sheridan, J. T. Noninterferometric phase retrieval using a
fractional Fourier system. - Journal of the Optical Society of America A, 2008, vol. 25, nro 1, s. 108-115.
Murphy, N.; Naughton, Thomas J., Woods, D.; Henley, B.; McDermott, K.; Duffy, E.; van der Burgt, P. J. M. &
Woods, N. Implementations of a model of physical sorting. - International Journal of Unconventional Computing, 2008, vol. 4, s. 3-12.
Kelly, D. P.; Hennelly, B. M.; McElhinney, C. & Naughton Thomas J. Practical guide to digital holography
and generalized sampling. - Optics and Photonics for Information Processing II, Bellingham, 2008.. Proceedings of SPIE vol. 7072, SPIE Press 2008. s. 707215 1-11.
Naughton, Thomas J.; Hennelly, B. M. & Dowling T. Introducing secure modes of operation for optical
encryption. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 2008, vol. 25, nro 10, s. 2608-2617.
Khanam, T.; Darakis, E.; Rajendran, A.; Kariwala, V.; Asundi, A. K. & Naughton, Thomas J. On-line digital
holographic measurement of size and shape of microparticles for crystallization processes. - Ninth International Symposium on Laser Metrology, NTU, Singapore, 2008.. Proceedings of SPIE vol. 7155, SPIE Press
2008. s. 71551K 1-10.
Page, A. J.; Ahrenberg, L. & Naughton, Thomas J. Low memory distributed reconstruction of large digital
holograms. - Optics Express, 2008, vol. 16, nro 3, s. 1990-1995.
McElhinney, C. P.; Hennelly, B. M. & Naughton, Thomas J. Extented focused imaging for digital holograms
of macroscopic three-dimensional objects. - Applied Optics, 2008, vol. 47, nro 19, s. D71-D79.
Situ, G.; Monaghan, D. S.; Naughton, Thomas J.; Sheridan, J. T.; Pedrini, G. & Osten W. Collision in double
random phase encoding. - Optics Communications, 2008, vol. 281, s. 5122-5125.
McElhinney, C. P.; Hennelly, B. M. & Naughton, Thomas J. Focused image creation algorithms for digital
holograms of macroscopic three-dimensional objects. - OSA Digital Holography and Three-Dimensional
Imaging, OSA, Washington, 2008. 2008. s. DTuA5.pdf.
McElhinney, C. P.; Hennelly, B. M. & Naughton, Thomas J. Focused image creation approaches for macroscopic objects encoded in digital holograms. - Photon Management III, Bellingham, 2008. Proceedings of
SPIE vol. 6994, SPIE Press 2008. s. 69940U 1-12.
McElhinney, C. P.; Hennelly, B. M. & Naughton, Thomas J. Twin-image reduction in inline digital holography
using an object segmentation heuristic. - Seventh Euro-American Workshop on Information Optics, Institute of Physics, London, 2008.. Journal of Physics: Conference Series vol. 139, IOP Publishing 2008. s.
012014 1-5.
McElhinney, C. P.; Hennelly, B. M.; McDonald, J. B. & Naughton, Thomas J. Segmentation of macroscopic
object digital holographic reconstructions using extracted depth information. - Optical and Digital Image
Processing, Bellingham, 2008. Proceedings of SPIE vol. 7000, SPIE Press 2008. s. 700003 1-9.
McElhinney, D.; Hennelly, B. M.; Ahrenberg, L. & Naughton, Thomas J. Removing the twin image in digital
holography by segmented filtering of in-focus twin image. - Optics and Photonics for Information Precessing II, Bellingham, 2008.. Proceedings of SPIE vol. 7072, SPIE Press 2008. s. 707208 1-6.
Molony, K. M.; Maycock, J.; McDonald, J. B.; Hennelly, B. M. & Naughton, Thomas J. Comparison of wavelet
analysis techniques in digital holograms. - Photon Management III, Bellingham, 2008. Proceedings of SPIE
vol. 6994, SPIE Press 2008. s. 699412 1-8.
Molony, K. M.; McElhinney, C. P.; Hennelly, B. M. & Naughton, Thomas J. Segmentation of three-dimensional scenes encoded in digital holograms. - Optics and Photonics for Information Processing II, Bellingham, 2008. Proceedings of SPIE vol. 7072, SPIE Press 2008. s. 707209 1-11.
Page, A. J.; Keane, T. M. & Naughton, Thomas J. Scheduling in a dynamic heterogeneous distributed system using estimation error. - Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, 2008, vol. 68, s. 1452-1462.
Woods, D. & Naughton, Thomas J. Optical computing. - International Workshop on Physics and Computation, CDMTCS, Auckland, 2008. CDMTCS Research Report Series vol. 327, 2008. s. 307-330.
Woods, D. & Naughton, Thomas J. Parallel and sequential optical computing. - Optical Supercomputing.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science vol. 5172. Berlin, Springer-Verlag 2008. s. 70-86.
Risikko, Tanja
Risikko, T.; Remes, J. & Hassi, J. Implementation of cold risk management in the occupational safety, occupational health and quality practices. Evaluating a development process and its effects at the Finnish
Maritime Administration. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics (JOSE) 14(4):365378, 2008.
Tervonen, Jouni
Nevala, J.; Tervonen, J. & Korotkov, A. FinRus Mobile Technology – Researcher’s exchange between Russian and Finnish universities supported by EU. In: International Conference; International Education & Science Cooperation, St. Petersburg, Russia, June 2-6 2008. St. Petersbusrg State Polytechnical University
2008.
PUBLICATIONS 2008
Naughton, Thomas J
38
K ATSAU S
V U O TEEN
2 00 8
V
uoden 2008 aikana opetusministeriön
käynnistämä korkeakoulujen rakenneuudistus jatkui vilkkaine keskusteluineen rahanjaosta yliopistojen välillä.
Oulun Eteläisen instituutissa vuosi oli
aktiivisen toiminnan sävyttämä. Toiminnan jatkumisesta Oulun yliopiston ainoana alueyksikkönä saatiin
varmuus.
Erityisesti EU:n puiteohjelma- ja TEKES-hankkeiden osalta Instituutin tutkijat osoittivat tasonsa. Ensimmäistä kertaa instituutti toimii puiteohjelmahankk
een (Real 3 D) koordinaattorina, maanalaisfysiikan
LAGUNA - hankkeessa instituutti on mukana partnerina. Tilanne on yksikkömme kannalta tässä suhteessa todella hyvä.
Instituutin toiminnassa oli v. 2008 lopussa mukana
45 henkilöä. Heistä kuusi oli tohtorin tutkinnon suorittaneita ja 25 muun korkeakoulututkinnon suorittaneita. Yksikkö toteuttaa alueellaan Oulun yliopiston
yhteiskunnallista palvelutehtävää. Silti rahoituksesta
92 % on ns. ulkopuolista rahoitusta, jossa korostuvat EU:n 7. puiteohjelman, Suomen Akatemian ja
TEKES:in myöntämä rahoitus. Yliopiston perusrahoituksen lisäksi Oulun läänihallituksen sivistysosaston
ja Pohjois-Pohjanmaan liiton myöntämä rahoitus on
mahdollistanut instituutin perushanketoiminnan, mutta alueen kuntien ja seutukuntien roolia toiminnan rahoittajana ei myöskään pidä aliarvioida.
Elektroniikan mekaniikan ja metallin tutkimus- ja kehittämistoiminta jatkui voimakkaana Nivalan ELME
Studiossa yhteistyössä Kalajokilaakson koulutuskuntayhtymän ja Nivalan Teollisuuskylä Oyn yritysten
kanssa.. Toiminnassa TEKES-rahoituksen rooli vahvistui huomattavasti.
ICT-kehittämisympäristössä toiminta oli v. 2008
vilkasta instituutin ja KPAMK:n Ylivieskan CENTRIA-yksikön yhteisessä RFMedia- laboratoriossa.
Merkittävin toteutettavista hankkeista oli kokonaisbudjetiltaan kuuden miljoonan euron Real 3D hanke.
Maanalaisfysiikan tutkimuskeskus-hankkeessa jatkui EMMA-kokeen rakentaminen. Koe on maailman
ensimmäinen ja ainoa maan alle vastaavalle syvyydelle (85 m) asennettu kosmisia säteitä tutkiva koe.
Instituutin teknologiakasvatustoiminta (TEKNOKAS)
jatkui puolestaan vuoden 2008 aikana näkyvänä
valtakunnallisena toimintana. Yhteistyötä tehtiin mm.
Helsingin, Espoon, Vantaan ja Oulun kaupunkien
kanssa. Tampereen teknologiakeskus Hermia oli
eräs keskeisimmistä yhteistyökumppaneista.
Oulun Eteläisen korkeakoulukeskuksen toiminnalla,
johon instituutti osallistui aktiivisesti, nähdään jatkossa olevan entistäkin merkittävämpi rooli alueellisen yhteistyön ja kehittämistoiminnan toteuttajana n