University of Oulu

The University of Oulu, founded in 1958, is today one of the largest and leading universities in Finland. The university operates in eight major fields: Humanities, Education, Economics, Natural Sciences, Technology (incl. Architecture), Medicine, Dentistry and Health Care, distributed in six faculties. There are 53 training programmes in all. Currently the University of Oulu has approx 16 000 students and a staff of 3154. The university's immediate sphere of influence geographically embraces more than half the surface area of Finland. Three-quarters of students come from the two northernmost provinces of Finland: Oulu and Lapland, and two-thirds of all graduates eventually find jobs within the area. The university's general impact is felt most strongly in the business and cultural life of the provinces. Cooperation with local industry and business together with active international links form an essential and integral part of the university's teaching and research activities.

The main strategy of the university is to develope a strong presence in the international research community. The University of Oulu has four multidisciplinary research focus areas: 1) Biosciences and Health including: Cell-extracellular matrix research, cardiovascular disease research, enzyme structure and metabolic research, genes and the environment. 2) Cultural Identity and Interaction including: Intercultural interaction, Language, education and interaction. 3) Environment, Natural Resources and Materials including: Environmental l issues, natural resources and energy economy, materials science, properties and behaviour of matter, catalysts and material innovations, modelling and computational science. 4) Information Technology including: Machine vision and ubiquitous computing technologies, wireless communications, high-speed electronics and photonics, biomedical engineering, information systems and software.

The University of Oulu is an international research university, whose central mission is to promote culture and well-being especially in northern Finland. The University provides a high-quality learning environment, in which both specialists and generalists are given a thorough grounding for demanding tasks in the national and international arena.