vaikuttavuussaatio

Aino Alasentie divides her time between the Finnish Research Impact Foundation (FRIF) and STEK. The shared specialist role brings financial expertise to two small organizations while creating opportunities to share effective practices and strengthen long-term planning.

Alasentie spent more than ten years working in a small non-profit organization in the field of environmental education. Her educational background includes genetics, teaching and environmental education. Financial matters were part of everyday organizational work, and over time she became increasingly interested in how organizations plan and manage their finances.

“I realized I enjoyed Excel much more than Word or PowerPoint,” she says with a laugh.

Eventually, that interest led her to a completely new career. Alasentie retrained in financial administration and spent around seven years working at an accounting firm. In recent years, she specialized in the financial administration of associations and foundations.

Now the two strands of her career have come together. In August, Alasentie joined the Finnish Research Impact Foundation (FRIF) as Finance, Administration and Fundraising Officer. She divides her time equally between FRIF and STEK.

Two organizations, many of the same questions

Alasentie’s responsibilities are partly similar in the two organizations. Her work includes financial planning and monitoring as well as tasks related to grants and payments. At STEK, she is also responsible for bookkeeping, while at FRIF her role includes more administrative work.

For Alasentie, however, the most interesting part of the shared role is not how her working hours are divided. It is what can emerge from working between two organizations.

She has already noticed that many of the same questions related to finance and administration come up in both places. When one organization finds a useful solution or raises a new perspective, she can bring the same question to the other.

“If an important issue comes up in one organization, I can immediately take it to the other and ask: have you thought about this here?”

Sometimes the benefit is very concrete.

“If I build an Excel tool for monitoring cash flow, I can essentially replicate it straight away for the other organization.”

For Alasentie, this is where the potential of a shared specialist role becomes particularly clear. The same things do not need to be invented twice, and neither organization has to work in isolation.

Small organizations can benefit from shared financial expertise

Alasentie believes the model could have wider potential as well. Small associations and foundations may not need, or be able, to employ a full-time finance manager. Yet many would benefit from having someone regularly look beyond day-to-day finances and take a longer-term view.

This is something Alasentie had already considered in her previous roles. Executive directors are often experts in their organization’s core field, but long-term financial planning may not be part of their own expertise.

“In small associations, there may simply be no one who has the time, skills or interest to do this. Yet it could have a major impact on the kinds of decisions the organization is able to make about its future.”

Long-term planning is also one of the aspects of her current work that Alasentie finds most interesting. Cash flow forecasts and different scenarios can help build a picture of what an organization’s finances might look like a few years from now and what different decisions could mean in practice.

“It is specifically about producing data to support decision-making.”

Financial and administrative expertise could be shared more widely

Working between two organizations has also made Alasentie think more broadly about how much foundations and associations could learn from one another.

There are already many networks for exchanging experiences related to organizations’ core activities. In her view, there could be more similar dialogue around finance and administration.

“I’m certain everyone would have something to learn from each other. How have you solved this problem? The financial constraints are quite similar for many organizations.”

Alasentie’s own role is still taking shape. She does not think success can be measured simply by whether her working hours are divided exactly in half. A more important question is whether both organizations receive the support they need and whether the shared role creates benefits that would not otherwise emerge.

In the coming months, Alasentie hopes above all that the different pieces of the role will settle into place.

“I want to know that I’m doing the right things at the right time, in the right place, for the right organizations.”

The Finnish Research Impact Foundation received a record 92 applications in this year’s TIA Postdoc call. Due to the high number of applications, the Foundation decided to increase both the number of funded projects and the total amount of funding. Nine joint projects between research organizations and companies will share nearly €2 million in funding.

TIA Postdoc funding is intended for joint research projects between companies and research organizations. Last year, six projects received a total of approximately €1.3 million. Due to high demand, three more projects are being funded this year, and the total amount of funding has increased to €1.9 million.

The funded projects cover a wide range of topics. Research focuses on areas ranging from the use of AI in learning and climate-smart farming to strengthening the resilience of satellite positioning and youth ice hockey coaching. Industry partners include Atria Suomi, Kemira, OP Pohjola, Nokia Bell Labs, and Kuopio-based ice hockey club KalPa Hockey.

The Finnish Research Impact Foundation’s efforts to raise awareness of TIA Postdoc funding have paid off, with applications also coming from fields that have not previously applied for the funding, says Petro Poutanen, CEO of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation. According to Poutanen, researchers also increasingly recognize the value of industry collaboration.

“The quality of applications was exceptionally high this year. That is why we decided to increase the amount of funding awarded,” says Sampo Ahonen, Chair of the Board of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation.

Low Earth orbit satellites can make positioning more resilient to interference

Society is increasingly dependent on satellite positioning and precise timing. These systems play a critical role in telecommunications networks, power grids, and other critical infrastructure. At the same time, jamming and spoofing of satellite signals are a growing problem.

One of the projects funded by the Finnish Research Impact Foundation is PERLEO, a joint project between Tampere University and Nokia Bell Labs. The project investigates how low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites could be used for positioning and precise timing. The aim is to complement existing systems with a more resilient alternative. The results can be used in the development of future 6G networks and satellite systems, as well as in areas such as transportation and emergency response.

The project received €201,493 in funding.

A pulp mill side stream could become a tool for removing forever chemicals from water

PFAS compounds, often called “forever chemicals,” are persistent pollutants, and new solutions are needed to remove them from industrial water. Forever chemicals can cause significant harm to people and the environment because they do not break down in nature and can accumulate in animals and humans.

In the HELIX-PFAS project, the University of Helsinki and Lamor are investigating whether lignin, a by-product of pulp production, could be used to bind PFAS compounds. The researchers produce small lignin particles whose diverse structure provides different binding sites for pollutants. The solution will also be tested in an industrial environment at Lamor in Porvoo. The aim is to develop an affordable and sustainable material made from Finnish industrial side streams for removing PFAS compounds from contaminated industrial water.

The project received €223,613 in funding.

Data makes youth ice hockey coaching more equitable

Young athletes grow and mature at different rates. If biological maturation is not taken into account in coaching, training loads may be misjudged and the potential of later-maturing young athletes can be overlooked.

In a joint project between the University of Jyväskylä and KalPa Hockey, researchers are building a player development pathway based on research and data, from the U8 age group toward the professional level. The project combines information on players’ physical development, biological maturation, training load, and game performance. The aim is to prevent excessive training load and overuse injuries and identify talent more equitably.

The project received €170,000 in funding.

More detailed descriptions of all nine projects are available on the Finnish Research Impact Foundation’s website.

Putting research-based expertise and solutions to use

The Finnish Research Impact Foundation’s Tandem Industry Academia (TIA) Postdoc funding is intended for research carried out by Finnish universities and research institutes together with companies. This year marked the seventh TIA Postdoc funding call. The funding aims to strengthen the impact of high-quality research and support the transfer of research-based expertise to companies and society.

The Finnish Research Impact Foundation’s TIA Professor funding programme is being renewed and will continue from autumn 2026 under the name TIA Fellow.

TIA Fellow is designed for experienced, professor-level researchers who wish to carry out their own research project in collaboration with a company. The funding offers an opportunity to increase the impact of research, build new partnerships, and gain first-hand insight into industry-relevant research challenges.

The renewed model provides greater flexibility in the use of funding. The Fellow’s 12-month working period can be divided over a maximum of three years according to the needs of the research project.

The funding is intended for professors and associate professors at universities, as well as research professors and leading researchers at research institutes.

The TIA Fellow 2026 call opens on 1 September 2026.

Would you like to learn more? Watch the information session recording here.

Further information

• Application Guidelines
• Call Announcement
• Registration for the Information Session

The project led by Pantelis Lioumis at Aalto University developed a working platform that connects real-time EEG measurement with brain stimulation. Carried out in collaboration with Bittium Biosignals and funded by the Finnish Research Impact Foundation, the project explored whether a patient’s own brain activity could be used to trigger brain stimulation for effective rehabilitation.

Project title: Brain–Computer Interface for Automated EEG-guided Brain Stimulation
Principal investigator of the project: Pantelis Lioumis, Aalto University
Project partners: Aalto University and Bittium Biosignals
FRIF funding awarded: €210,703

When a person wants to move their hand, the brain sends a signal through the nervous system. In a healthy body, the message reaches the muscles and movement follows. After a spinal cord or brain injury, the connection may be damaged or interrupted.

At Aalto University, researchers are studying how the connection between the brain and the body could be strengthened again. The Brain–Computer Interface for Automated EEG-guided Brain Stimulation project explored whether rehabilitation could be guided by the patient’s own brain activity.

“We want to facilitate rehabilitation strategies by using the patient’s own brain state to trigger brain stimulation. We believe this can make rehabilitation more efficient,” says Pantelis Lioumis, Adjunct Professor and Director of the TMS Laboratory at Aalto University and principal investigator of the project.

Rehabilitation guided by the brain itself

The project combines EEG measurement and transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS. EEG measures the electrical activity of the brain from the scalp. TMS uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain.

The key idea is timing. Brain stimulation is not delivered randomly. Instead, the system measures what is happening in the brain and uses that information to decide when stimulation should be delivered.

This matters because the brain is more receptive at some moments than others. When a person imagines a movement, the neurons related to that movement become more active. If stimulation is delivered at the same time, the effect may be stronger.

Lioumis connects the idea to a well-known principle in neuroscience: neurons that fire together, wire together.

“We are in another era of brain stimulation. We do not just stimulate randomly. We use the brain state and try to stimulate at the correct time and at the correct spot,” Lioumis says.

The aim is that the patient would not only receive treatment, but actively take part in rehabilitation. Their own brain activity could help the system recognize when stimulation should be delivered.

“The rehabilitation will be facilitated. It can happen faster,” Lioumis explains.

Doctoral researcher Matilda Makkonen has worked closely on the project’s measurements and on the methods for processing EEG data in real time. In this kind of work, the system must recognize meaningful brain signals while filtering out noise.

“My role has been to conduct the measurements with healthy participants, design the experiments and work on the software development related to them,” Makkonen says.

The project has now produced a functioning platform. The next step is to use it in scientific experiments and compare different conditions to understand how well the approach works.

“We have the platform. The whole thing is working, and now we are doing the research to understand how well it works,” Lioumis says.

Bittium’s technology made real-time stimulation possible

The company partner in the project was Bittium Biosignals, part of Bittium Group. Bittium Biosignals develops medical and health technology devices, including EEG systems, ECG measurement devices and home sleep apnea testing solutions.

Bittium’s role was linked to its NeurOne EEG system, which is designed for research use. The system enables measured EEG data to be sent out immediately, making it possible to analyze brain activity in real time.

“Bittium has very good hardware and software for analyzing what is happening in the brain in real time. Not many EEG companies in the world do that,” Lioumis says.

The collaboration began naturally. Aalto University and Bittium had already worked together in different ways for almost ten years, and Aalto researchers had used Bittium’s equipment in their research. When Lioumis saw the Finnish Research Impact Foundation’s funding call, Bittium was the obvious partner.

According to Simo-Pekka Simonaho, Product Manager for Neuro products at Bittium Biosignals, Aalto University wanted to be at the leading edge of brain-state-dependent stimulation, where decisions about stimulation are made based on measured brain activity.

“At Aalto University, the researchers wanted to be at the leading edge of this kind of research. And they really are,” Simonaho says.

Collaboration turned a feature into a research tool

In practice, the collaboration meant close dialogue between Aalto University and Bittium. The researchers explained what they wanted to do, and Bittium helped them understand how the equipment could best support their aims.

“Our devices allow many different settings to be adjusted. The researchers told us what they wanted to achieve, and I explained the different ways it could be done. That is how we built it together,” Simonaho says.

Bittium also opened up technical details that would not normally be explained to customers in the same depth. This helped the researchers understand how the system could be used in this specific research setting.

According to Lioumis, Bittium’s support helped the researchers avoid unnecessary detours.

“They helped us facilitate our thoughts. We did not need to reinvent the cycle,” he says.

The collaboration also produced open-access software scripts that can be used for reading and analyzing real-time EEG data. For Bittium, this gives the company something practical to share with other customers who want to explore similar applications.

“We can now tell customers: this is one way to start testing it,” Simonaho says.

For Bittium, the project also offered visibility in the international research community. The NeurOne EEG system has been presented in connection with Aalto University’s research at conferences, where researchers have shown what they are doing and what kind of equipment they are using.

“The best kind of visibility for us is that researchers use our system in state-of-the-art work,” Simonaho says.

The project gave both sides something valuable. The researchers gained a platform for new experiments. Bittium gained feedback, visibility and a concrete example of how its EEG technology can be used in advanced brain stimulation research.

“It is a win-win,” Lioumis says.

A step toward more individualized rehabilitation

The broader potential of the project lies in more individualized and automated rehabilitation. Instead of delivering the same stimulation in the same way to every patient, future systems could adapt to the person’s own brain activity.

The platform developed in the project can also be applied to other research questions, including cognitive tasks and different forms of mental imagery. For Lioumis, this means the project is not an endpoint but a starting point.

“This kind of funding and this kind of project is a start. You start, and then it opens up,” he says.

The work continues after the funded project. The researchers are planning further studies to compare traditional rehabilitation approaches with the new brain-state-guided approach.

Lioumis also sees a wider role for companies in bringing complex research closer to practical use.

“Research is often quite complex, but companies have the tools to make it simpler for practical use,” he says.

The project is a good example of why collaboration between researchers and companies matters. The Aalto University researchers had an idea for stimulation guided by the patient’s own brain activity, and Bittium brought in the technology needed to test it in practice.

The work is still at the research stage. But the project has taken an important step toward therapeutic devices that do not only stimulate the brain, but respond to the patient’s own brain activity.

The Board of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation (FRIF) has welcomed four new members at the beginning of 2026. They bring with them diverse experience from research, industry, and the development of research-based innovations.

In the interviews, the new Board members share their perspectives on research impact and the opportunities in research–industry collaboration.

Manja Ahola, Head of Device Processes for Medical Devices and Combination Products at Bayer, highlights the importance of collaboration between research and companies, particularly in the fields of health and pharmaceutical research.

Read the interview →

Ismo Kauppinen, CEO and founder of Gasera Oy brings to the Board extensive experience in research-based entrepreneurship and the commercialisation of technology.

Read the interview →

Jouko Lampinen, Dean of the School of Science at Aalto University, emphasises the importance of long-term basic research in building sustainable research impact.

Read the interview →

Anu Kaukovirta, Vice President of the Production Systems unit at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), brings to the Board expertise in research on sustainable production systems and the use of natural resources.

Read the interview →