Business Finland has awarded a total of approximately €30 million in funding to six Rise to Challenge projects. One of the funded projects is TomoHQ, in which the University of Oulu is involved together with the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, LUT University, the University of Eastern Finland, and Aalto University.

In April 2026, Business Finland announced the first funding decisions for new lead company programmes as well as expansions of ongoing ones. These decisions scale up the programme to an unprecedented level and further strengthen the role of research–industry collaboration in Finland.

Could your research lead to a potential drug candidate? The Finnish Drug Discovery Center (FDDC) visited the University of Oulu on 20 May to support researchers in taking the next step towards new drug innovations.

The city of Oulu recently made a decision to finance Proof-of-Concept activities for the next three years at the University of Oulu, Oulu University of Applied Sciences and OSAO. The total amount is €150,000/year, of which the University of Oulu shares €100,000.

Rise to Challenge is by far Business Finland’s largest funding instrument for research organizations: project funding for five years can amount to as much as 5–10 million euros.

Business Finland and several European partnership programmes are currently offering a wide range of funding opportunities for researchers and research groups

The latest Business Finland Research to Business call closed on March 4, 2026. Researchers from the University of Oulu submitted a total of six applications. Experts at the Innovation Centre encourage those interested in the next call, opening in May, to get in touch as early as possible.

The PoC (Proof-of-Concept) funding for the year 2026 is now open for applications. It aims to execute the first implementation of an invention or idea having commercial potential.

Rise to Challenge generated great interest among researchers at the University of Oulu — and no wonder, as it is Business Finland’s most significant investment in research organizations.

The new R2B funding call is open until March 4th.

The University of Oulu will receive a total of 900 000 € in Kasvukipinä funding from LähiTapiola.

Business Finland’s partnership model funding call for Co-Research projects is open until March 31, 2026. This funding offers a unique opportunity to combine expertise from various scientific disciplines.

UBF2025 — what an incredible day bringing together 200 people: researchers, business leaders, companies, organizations, and students!

This year’s theme focuses on patent and IP portfolio evaluation: participants are challenged to design a system that assesses the economic and technological value of patents using data, analytics, and AI.

Take the opportunity to participate in our spring training sessions and learn more about IPR. We offer both concise webinars and more extensive courses.

Business Finland has decided to fund five promising research projects in the Rise to Challenge pilot call. After the pilot, Business Finland will launch the main funding call at the end of August.

Registration is now open for the highly anticipated University Business Forum 2025!

BF is looking for bold openings, courage, and a willingness to take risks — research ideas that have the potential to revolutionize markets.

What new calls and funding instruments does Business Finland offer, and what opportunities do they provide for the University of Oulu and our researchers? See this summary of the most interesting funding opportunities this spring!

The University of Oulu is home to incredible women – phenomenal experts who are shaping a better future through their work.