The Flagship for Photonics Research and Innovation PREIN will continue for 2023-2026 period of the Academy of Finland Flagship programme. PREIN along with four other flagships received the Academy of Finland decisions in January 2022.
The Academy of Finland granted continued funding to six flagships amounting to a total of 67.5 million euros for 2023–2026. The funding was granted based on the mid-term reporting carried out in February 2021, the re-applications submitted by the Flagships in June 2021 and interview with an international external evaluation panel conducted in September 2021. In addition, relevant stakeholders in industry and international research collaborators were interviewed to evaluate the impact of the Flagships.
In the mid-term evaluation, the Flagships reported the key performance indicators in research, funding, education and other activities. PREIN met all the KPIs and even exceeded the forecasted figures in most of them. This was acknowledged by the international evaluation panel with excellent feedback both on its reported achievements during the first two years of the Flagship programme as well as on its future plans. The evaluation panel concluded: “Overall, the scientific excellence and economic impact of the PREIN Flagship can be considered as outstanding”
The external evaluation panel highlighted the scientific excellence demonstrated through a significant number of scientific publications representing a strong increase compared to the pre-flagship period. In addition, PREIN was applauded for its broad development scope, focusing not only on attractive research environment and state-of-the-art open-access national infrastructure, but also on providing top-level education and outreach activities directed at schools to promote careers in science and technology.
The strength of the PREIN Flagship is in building an ecosystem with three leading Finnish universities, Tampere University, University of eastern Finland and Aalto University, and the active participation of VTT facilitating links with industry. PREIN has witnessed a particularly rapid growth of industry partnerships and can be considered to have contributed directly to technological developments in the wide range of photonics applications in computing, sensing technologies, medical imaging, and communication. In doing so, PREIN has had a direct impact the rapid growth of the Finnish photonics industry.
In the second period, PREIN will expand its activities including the introduction of a new work package on Quantum Photonics, a rapidly developing area with major application prospects.
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PREIN is a Photonics Research and Innovation platform focusing on light-based solutions. Photonics and light-based technologies play a central role in all areas of modern life, including in telecommunications, biomedicine, health care, energy and environment, manufacturing, and consumer products.
Read more about PREIN
The Academy of Finland’s Flagship Programme is an instrument that supports high-quality research and increases the economic and societal impact emerging from the research. The Finnish Flagships represent an effective mix of close cooperation with business and society, adaptability and a strong commitment from host organisations.
Read more about the Academy of Finland Flagship Programme
Read about the second period funding decision on the Academy of Finland web site
The other Flagships that were granted funding for the second period are:
- 6G Flagship – 6G-Enabled Wireless Smart Society & Ecosystem
- FCAI – Finnish Centre for Artificial Intelligence
- FinnCERES – Competence Centre for the Materials Bioeconomy
- iCAN – Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship
- INVEST – Inequalities, Interventions and New Welfare State
Press release source: Academy of Finland Flagship funding for PREIN
