POLIISIAMMATTIKORKEAKOULU

Their core work

Poliisiammattikorkeakoulu (Police University College of Finland) is Finland's sole institution for police education and police-related research, based in Tampere. They contribute law enforcement expertise and practitioner knowledge to European security research projects, bridging the gap between academic research and real-world policing. Their H2020 work focuses on improving police and first responder capabilities in areas like emergency response, counter-radicalization, domestic violence intervention, and community resilience.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early H2020 participation (2015-2018) centered on operational policing challenges — emergency services modernization (NEXES) and broad security themes (Unity). From 2017 onward, their focus shifted toward societal security issues: radicalization prevention (MINDb4ACT), domestic violence response (IMPRODOVA), and community resilience (BuildERS). This trajectory shows a clear move from technical emergency response toward the social dimensions of security and public safety.

They are moving from operational policing research toward community-facing security topics like resilience, violence prevention, and social cohesion — making them a strong fit for future projects on citizen security and vulnerable populations.

How they like to work

Always a participant, never a coordinator — they consistently contribute practitioner-level police expertise to large European consortia rather than leading projects themselves. With 75 unique partners across 25 countries from just 5 projects, they operate in broad, diverse consortia (averaging 15+ partners per project). This pattern suggests they are valued as an end-user voice bringing real-world law enforcement perspective to research-heavy teams.

Extensive network of 75 partners across 25 countries built through five large security consortia — an unusually wide reach for a specialized police training institution. Their connections span universities, research institutes, and practitioner organizations across virtually all EU member states.

What sets them apart

As Finland's only police university college, they offer something most academic partners cannot: direct access to law enforcement practitioners, training curricula, and operational policing realities. This makes them an ideal end-user partner for any security project that needs to validate research outputs against real police work. Their dual role as both educator and researcher means project results can be directly integrated into police training programs across Finland.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IMPRODOVA
  Directly addresses a critical societal issue — domestic violence — with a focus on improving actual frontline police response, giving it high real-world impact potential.
• BuildERS
  Their largest funded project (EUR 436,875) and most recent, signaling their strategic move into community resilience and disaster preparedness.
• NEXES
  Their earliest H2020 project on next-generation emergency services, establishing their role as a practitioner partner in security research.