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Aalto University now ranks for the first time among the 50 best universities in acquiring EU Framework Programme funding. If research organisations and companies are included in the comparison, Aalto ranks 68th on the list of Horizon 2020 grant beneficiaries. By June 2015, Aalto had been awarded a total of nearly 14 million euros in Horizon 2020 Programme grants in just under a year.

Horizon 2020 Programme grants comprise consortia grants and highly competitive ERC grants granted to top researchers, whose aim is to achieve scientific breakthroughs. Four professors from Aalto have received ERC grants from the Horizon 2020 Programme: Pertti Hakonen, Antti Oulasvirta, Emma Master and Jani Oksanen. Additionally, Sebastiaan van Dijken was awarded the ERC Proof of Concept Grant for the commercialisation of research results achieved during an ongoing ERC grant funded project.

Aalto's rise to the top 50 did not come as a complete surprise, as Aalto University has been successful in continuously increasing its EU research funding in recent years.  

'I am very pleased with how active our professors and researchers are and with our success in Horizon 2020 grant applications. The result clearly demonstrates that the research work carried out at Aalto is of a high standard and internationally competitive. It also proves that we have a good chance of further expanding our funding base for example in the area of international research funding,' emphasises Aalto University's Provost Ilkka Niemelä.

The top universities on the Horizon 2020 list only include representatives from 10 European countries. The list includes 16 universities from the UK, 8 from the Netherlands and 6 from Germany.  Of Finland's universities, the University of Helsinki was also among the best performers.

Further information:

Provost Ilkka Niemelä
president@aalto.fi

Read also:

Emma Master has received an ERC Consolidator Grant
Antti Oulasvirta receives an ERC Starting Grant worth EUR 1.5 million