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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.

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

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

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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.

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In European research and innovation policy, a balance is currently being sought between investing in cutting-edge technologies and promoting human-centered development. Developing socially sustainable solutions requires a stronger role for the social sciences and humanities already in the early stages of RDI processes, not only after technological solutions have been completed.

There is a clear need to strengthen the position of the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in European research and innovation programmes. This was discussed in December 2025 at the Human Values and Grand Challenges conference organized during Denmark’s EU Presidency. The event, arranged by Danish universities and the European Commission, brought together researchers, representatives of universities and research organizations, funders, and decision-makers from across Europe.

A key concern raised at the conference was that research funding is increasingly directed toward investments in cutting-edge technologies, seen as necessary for strengthening global competitiveness and addressing major societal challenges. The social sciences and humanities risk receiving decreasing attention in funding priorities.

To ensure that research and development take a socially and ecologically sustainable direction, SSH should be involved from the outset in defining and solving societally significant problems.

The President of the European Research Council, Maria Leptin, reminded the audience that few societal challenges are fundamentally technical in nature. For example, the development of artificial intelligence has raised fundamental questions about responsibility, justice, and privacy. Mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss, in turn, requires understanding human behavior and the functioning of political systems. Fields such as ethics, sociology, law, and history provide essential insights into these issues.

Denmark’s Minister for Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund, emphasized the importance of understanding what kind of society we want technologies to build and serve. Social sciences and humanities play a central role in creating this understanding. Taking a human-centered approach as the starting point for development gives Europe a competitive advantage: it safeguards European values such as freedom, democracy, and social justice, and strengthens societal stability and resilience.

Too often, the SSH are included in research and development projects only at a late stage, to provide ethical and societal perspectives on interpreting research results. Leptin stressed that SSH should help define challenges and envision desired solutions already at the beginning of the RDI process.

The role of social sciences and humanities is recognized nationally

Developing socially and ecologically sustainable solutions requires a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach. This creates better conditions for research and innovation to support European values, advance social equality, and strengthen ecological sustainability.

The concern raised at EU level about increasingly technology-driven research funding has been acknowledged also in the Strategic Choices for National RDI Policy and Activities framework in Finland, the implementation of which began in early 2026.

The plan of the Research and Innovation Council highlights the new and unexpected combinations enabled by interdisciplinarity and explicitly recognizes the central role of the humanities, social sciences, and creative fields in the sustainability transition, in the development and deployment of technologies and innovations, and in strengthening resilience and societal security.

The Finnish Research Impact Foundation supports this policy direction in concrete ways. In 2025, we launched the TIA Connect programme, in which SSH researchers and companies jointly define research problems and approaches to addressing them. The research topics have included societal resilience, social equality, consumer behavior, privacy protection, and the circular economy.

Research funders play a key role in strengthening the position of SSH in research and innovation activities. This requires structures that support joint problem definition and the co-creation of solutions.

Dr. Manja Ahola has built a career of over 25 years in pharmaceutical research and development. A biochemist working at Bayer, she brings strong industry insight and deep expertise in health and pharmaceutical development, as well as research-based collaboration, to the Board of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation (FRIF).

Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your career path?

“I’m a biochemist and completed my doctoral degree at the University of Turku in the field of drug delivery and biomaterials. I have worked at Bayer for over 25 years, mainly in research and development. Women’s health has been at the core of my career, and I have been involved in developing long-acting reversible contraceptives that are now in production and used globally.

In recent years, my role has increasingly focused on leadership and supporting production, but research-driven thinking and development remain strongly present in my work. I have been motivated by the fact that the impact of my work is tangible and, at its best, visible in women’s wellbeing worldwide.”

What inspired you to join the Board of FRIF?

“The mission of FRIF resonates strongly with me. Bringing academia and industry closer together is extremely important, and the Foundation plays a valuable role in this. In my own work, I have seen how much added value is created when researchers and companies better understand each other’s needs and ways of working.

I also find it important that researchers gain insight into how development work is carried out in companies, while companies gain direct access to cutting-edge research. This interaction benefits both sides and lays the groundwork for impactful innovations.”

How do you see the role of FRIF in the Finnish research and innovation system?

“I see the Foundation’s role as highly significant. FRIF enables research-driven collaboration between academia and industry in a way that lowers the threshold for engaging in bolder and more uncertain initiatives. Not all research ideas would be possible to pursue if companies had to finance them alone.

From a company’s perspective, it is valuable that research topics can be defined together with academic partners in a way that is meaningful for both parties. In addition, when a researcher works part of their time within a company, the collaboration becomes genuinely close and impactful. The researcher gains insight into industry practices while bringing research-based thinking into the company.”

Where do you see FRIF creating the greatest added value in the coming years?

“Health and pharmaceutical development are clear areas where Finland has strong expertise and potential. Themes related to the green transition and climate change are also highly important. In addition, I would like to highlight the role of the social sciences and humanities.

Companies continuously face challenges related to organisational wellbeing, collaboration and adaptability. Research, including the humanities, has much to offer in addressing these issues, and it is encouraging that the Foundation recognises this.

One topic that is personally important to me is research in women’s health. Globally, it still receives too little investment, even though its impact on the wellbeing of women, families and society at large is significant.”

Looking ahead, what do you hope to achieve during your term on the Board?

“I hope that during my term we will see new, genuinely impactful collaborative projects that have long-term significance for Finnish society. The effects may not always be visible immediately, but their value builds over time.

I also look forward to learning and to engaging in in-depth discussions with experts from different fields. It is inspiring to bring my background in health and pharmaceutical development into the Foundation’s work and to contribute to strengthening research-based collaboration.”

Jouko Lampinen is Dean of the School of Science at Aalto University and a researcher in artificial intelligence. As a member of the board of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation (FRIF), he brings a perspective that emphazises the long-term role of basic research and reflects on how research impact develops over time through interaction between universities and industry.

Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your career path?

“I am the Dean of the School of Science at Aalto University, and I have worked for many years in leadership and development roles within the university community. My own research field is artificial intelligence, particularly modelling and inference based on neural networks and Bayesian methods.

I completed my doctoral dissertation in the late 1980s, during the first major wave of enthusiasm around neural networks. At that time many of the prerequisites for today’s progress – such as data availability and computing power – were still lacking. It has been fascinating to see how the field has developed and how long-term basic research has ultimately enabled many of the breakthroughs we see today.”

What inspired you to join the Board of FRIF?

“I see impact as a core question for universities and for science more broadly. The significance of science often materialises outside the university – through students, the scientific community and the business sector.

Aalto University was founded to strengthen Finland’s innovation system, and research impact is therefore a central goal for us. FRIF’s mission to promote research-based collaboration aligns well with this. The Foundation operates in the same spirit, exploring ways to ensure that research results can be put to use in ways that strengthen expertise and competitiveness.”

How do you see the role of FRIF in the Finnish research and innovation system?

“Investment in research, development and innovation (RDI) is increasing in Finland, and there are now more funding instruments than before. In such a landscape, the role of a small and agile actor becomes particularly important.

The Foundation has the opportunity to identify situations where collaboration is not yet working smoothly and to respond quickly when the transfer of knowledge or the utilization of research results encounters obstacles.

Rather than duplicating the work of large funders, the Foundation can focus on areas that other instruments do not reach. For example, supporting researchers’ transitions into working life or helping international top talent integrate into Finland are areas where an agile actor can play a meaningful role.”

Where do you see FRIF creating the greatest added value in the coming years?

“Added value emerges particularly in areas where impact chains are long and results become visible only after some time. This is typical of basic research: the benefits may not be immediately apparent, but over the long term the effects can be significant.

International examples show that strong basic research creates a vibrant business ecosystem around it. In environments such as Oxford, Cambridge and Munich, a high level of research has been a key driver for the development of business activity.

In Finland, for example, developments in space and quantum technologies are strongly rooted in universities. In these fields, long-term research and its connection to industry are essential for the emergence of new innovations. In such situations, FRIF can act as an agile partner that identifies friction points in collaboration and helps address them.”

Research also has intrinsic value. How do you see the relationship between basic research and impact?

“The significance of basic research cannot usually be assessed in the short term. History offers numerous examples from mathematics and theoretical research where applications have emerged only decades or even centuries later.

That is why we must maintain a high level of basic research even when its benefits are not immediately visible. Whether we think of it in terms of intrinsic value or long-term benefit, strong basic research is a prerequisite for sustainable impact.”

Looking ahead, what do you hope to achieve during your term on the Board?

“I hope that the Foundation will fully utilise its agility. If we continue doing exactly the same things year after year, we are not making use of that strength.

I see board work as a vantage point on collaboration between the research community and industry. I hope that I can contribute to advancing this collaboration and its conditions so that research and expertise move more smoothly into practice.”

Ismo Kauppinen is an entrepreneur and physicist whose career has taken him from the research laboratory to international technology business. As CEO of Gasera Ltd, he has seen first-hand how long and demanding the journey from research innovation to a commercial product can be – and why collaboration between research and industry is needed from the earliest stages.

Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your career path?

“When I was younger, I also considered a career in music, but I ultimately chose to study physics. During my studies, I was able to combine these two interests: my master’s thesis focused on modelling audio signals, and I developed a method to mathematically restore the sound of, for example, a scratched LP record.

This led to a doctoral dissertation, patents and eventually licensing the technology to an international company. At that point, I realized that I was particularly fascinated by commercialization – how a research result is brought into practical use.

Together with my father, I founded a company to protect and license inventions, and from there the path led to Gasera Ltd. The company originated from university research and has grown over more than twenty years into an international technology company developing and manufacturing gas analysers for environmental and industrial applications.”

What inspired you to join the Board of FRIF?

“Because of my background, I tend to look at things from research towards industry. I have personally experienced the journey of taking an innovation born in research and trying to bring it into societal use.

FRIF’s work resonates with me for this very reason. The Foundation starts from the quality and objectives of research and seeks to build a bridge towards impact. It is not only about funding, but also about systematically reflecting on and measuring impact. Personally, I find this perspective compelling – I want to better understand how the societal impact of research can be assessed and strengthened.”

How do you see the role of FRIF in the Finnish research and innovation system, particularly from the perspective of technology and growth companies?

“I see the Foundation as a long-term developer of the ecosystem. Finland produces a great deal of high-quality research, but especially at an early stage there are not enough funding instruments that enable close collaboration with companies.

Private capital typically does not flow into very early-stage research, as the risks are high and the return uncertain. FRIF helps to bridge this gap and brings research and industry together from the outset.

In research-based entrepreneurship, technology often comes first and applications are identified only afterwards. This is a more challenging path than market-driven development, but it can also create entirely new markets. For this reason, early dialogue between researchers and companies is critical. When both parties are involved from the beginning, the path from innovation to practical application becomes shorter.

In addition to funding instruments, FRIF can support this development by fostering a culture in which collaboration is seen as a natural part of research.”

Where do you see FRIF creating the greatest added value in the coming years?

“One important role is to act as a pathfinder within the broader funding system. The Foundation was created to address funding gaps, but at its best the models it develops can spread more widely.

I also consider it important that FRIF has opened up research–industry collaboration beyond technical disciplines. In the deep tech field, collaboration is often more natural, but in areas such as the humanities this way of thinking is still relatively new. The Foundation can act as an enabler and encourager in these fields as well.”

Looking ahead, what do you hope to achieve during your term on the Board?

“I hope that we can develop new funding instruments and further strengthen the Foundation’s impact. It is encouraging that FRIF does not settle for a single model but is willing to continuously experiment and develop new approaches.

Personally, I am particularly interested in the work of the investment committee and in how the Foundation’s capital can be managed in a way that allows its activities to scale and its impact to grow. I also look forward to strategic discussions within the Board. There is a great deal of expertise and experience in this group.

I have seen how long the journey can be from research innovation to real societal impact. That is why this theme is close to my heart. If I can contribute to ensuring that strong research ideas find their way into practice, I consider the Board work meaningful.”