Project collaboration

Project collaboration offers many benefits to participants. The scope of collaborative research projects is defined together to ensure that the project meets the needs of all parties. 

The collaboration model is determined based on the scope of the project and company needs. External funding from sources such as the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation Tekes or the EU may be acquired for large-scale research initiatives that are also academically interesting. In addition, the departments and research groups at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) offer research services that respond to specific company needs (commissioned research).

Nationally funded research projects

National funding (for example, through Tekes) offers companies the opportunity to participate in a project with a small share. Typically the companies involved contribute 5-25% of the funding. These projects combine scientific, technical and commercial expertise and enable the participating companies to use the research results for industrial purposes.

Tekes-funded research projects are common at TUT: the annual number of projects is around 200. Tekes also sponsors the Strategic Centers for Science, Technology and Innovation (SHOK), which are clusters formed by companies and universities and focus on certain thematic areas.

Internationally funded research projects

Companies have the opportunity to partner with TUT in international research projects. TUT's research groups representing the international leading edge have increased the University’s international cooperation. Companies have been involved in collaborative EU research projects together with the University. For many companies, this has been their first contact with the international scientific community.

TUT participates actively in international funding calls. In 2010, a total of 49 EU-funded projects were underway at TUT. Five of them were coordinated by the University.

Commissioned research and R&D projects

Commissioned research enables companies to collaborate with universities and commission development work safely in their core field of business. Commissioned research that is conducted at TUT is confidential and directly responds to the needs of the company. The research results and related IPR is transferred to the company that commissioned the project. The rights to publish and use the results are agreed upon by the parties on a case-by-case basis. The University hopes that the results of commissioned research are published, if possible.

Research may be commissioned directly from a department at TUT or through the TUT-affiliated technology transfer company Tamlink Ltd. In the latter case, the project is agreed upon between the two companies and carried out using TUT's experts.

In 2010, the volume of TUT's commissioned research activities amounted to approximately 17 MEuros.

Phases of starting a joint research project:

1. Contact
2. Goals and participants
3. Letter of intent
4. Research plan and budget
5. Aquiring funding
6. Agreement
7. Research
8. Exploiting and publishing results