HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO

Their core work

The University of Helsinki is Finland's largest and oldest research university, operating across virtually every scientific domain — from atmospheric sciences and molecular biology to digital humanities and personalised medicine. In H2020, they are a powerhouse in fundamental research, winning 47 ERC grants (Starting and Consolidator) and training early-career researchers through 22 Marie Skłodowska-Curie networks. They play a dual role: producing original science in areas like aerosol physics, neuroscience, and biodiversity, while simultaneously building and operating pan-European research infrastructures (EOSC, ACTRIS, eLTER, EUDAT). Their applied contributions span health biomarkers, food safety, cybersecurity, and climate monitoring.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), Helsinki focused on building and connecting research infrastructures (ESFRI, open access), climate and biodiversity monitoring, and fundamental biomarker research. By 2019–2022, the focus shifted decisively toward EOSC and FAIR data ecosystems, sustainability as a cross-cutting theme, personalised medicine, and AI-enabled research — reflecting both the EU's policy direction and the university's own digital transformation. The rise of cultural heritage and Central Asia keywords in the later period also reveals an expanding geographic and disciplinary reach beyond their traditional natural science base.

Helsinki is evolving from a traditional research-intensive university into a data infrastructure and AI-enabled research hub, making them an increasingly attractive partner for projects requiring large-scale data management, FAIR compliance, or computational methods.

How they like to work

With 114 projects as coordinator (34% of their portfolio), Helsinki is a confident consortium leader that also knows how to contribute as a partner (203 projects). Their 2,290 unique partners across 94 countries make them one of the most connected universities in H2020 — a genuine network hub rather than a repeat-partner institution. This breadth means they can assemble consortia quickly and bring credibility to proposals, but partners should expect a well-structured, infrastructure-minded approach to project management.

With 2,290 unique consortium partners across 94 countries, Helsinki operates one of the widest collaboration networks in European research. Their reach extends well beyond Europe — the Central Asia keyword cluster and global infrastructure projects indicate genuine intercontinental partnerships.

What sets them apart

Helsinki combines deep fundamental research strength (47 ERC grants) with massive infrastructure-building experience — a rare combination that lets them both generate original science and make it accessible at scale through EOSC and FAIR systems. Their atmospheric sciences group is world-class, and their cross-disciplinary range (from neuroscience to cultural heritage to food systems) means they can contribute meaningfully to almost any thematic consortium. For coordinators building proposals, Helsinki brings both scientific credibility and the administrative capacity to manage large, multi-country projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• COALA
  Coordinated EUR 1.9M ERC project on secondary organic aerosol formation — their largest single-PI grant and a flagship of their atmospheric sciences strength.
• EUROfusion
  Part of the EU's flagship fusion energy roadmap as a third-party contributor, showing reach into large-scale physics programmes beyond their core profile.
• OpenAIRE2020
  Key participant in the foundational open access infrastructure for European research — positions Helsinki at the centre of the open science movement that now defines their recent trajectory.