Applied Research: Universities of applied sciences at the forefront of EU’s RDI

In her political guidelines Europe’s choice, Ursula von der Leyen (2024) calls for strengthening the collaboration between research departments, higher education and business. Hearing this call – and acting in line with it – is crucially important for Europe to thrive. Hence, it is critical to navigate towards new ways and more in-depth forms of collaboration. Succeeding in this call requires mutual understanding and awareness of one another’s assets.

In this article, our aim is to present Finnish universities of applied sciences (UASs) and the value that we bring to the European research, development and innovation (RDI) landscape.

Finnish universities of applied sciences making an impact

In the European RDI landscape, Finnish UASs are renowned for their pioneering pedagogy, but our strength in impact-driven, applied research and extensive networks with business and society are less well-known. However, UASs have a unique role as bridge-builders between research and practice, complementing other players in the RDI landscape. UASs play a strategic role in the EU’s RDI activities by translating scientific knowledge into practice and tangible outcomes, facilitating collaboration between different sectors, actors and fields and integrating new findings of applied research into higher education.

The impact that UASs generate together with our partners is EU-wide – even global – addressing some of the grand societal challenges. Finnish UASs are, therefore, excellent partners for European universities and businesses, and already making an impact.

Structured integration of applied research, education and industrial partnerships

The role of UASs in RDI activities is firmly grounded in Finnish legislation. The UAS act (Universities of Applied Sciences Act 2025) mandates UASs to engage in applied research that directly fosters innovation and regional development and benefits society, economy as well as the teaching. In practice, this means that UASs proactively collaborate with businesses, public organisations, NGOs, and other educational and research institutions. The collaboration addresses the needs of local industries and communities through practical and solution-oriented applied research.

The legislative mandate of UASs legitimises their role in the RDI landscape and provides a structured approach to integrating research into higher education and professional practice as well as with building partnerships, networks and ecosystems. This together builds up a unique role that UASs offer international RDI consortiums.

Building bridges between geographical, disciplinary and sectoral borders

The UASs’ commitment to applied research creates value by crossing several borders.

To begin with, since the legislation positions UASs as engines of regional development and innovation, UASs conduct applied research in regional networks of businesses and other organisations. Over the years, we have built and facilitated strong partnerships and ecosystems and networks of businesses, public organisations, NGOs, and other research and educational institutions. As a result, we have an established role in the regional RDI field and are known for robust applied research activities that directly address real-world challenges and provide solutions to these challenges.

However, our impact is wider than just regional as the networks also reach national and international levels. In addition, almost one third of the UASs in Finland are part of European university alliances (Finnish National Agency for Education 2025). As such, we have an important role in developing the European research and education area, as well as the competitiveness and attractiveness of Europe.

The role of UASs in EU-level networks has been further strengthened by a growing importance of impact-driven, applied research and an interdisciplinary approach in fostering development and innovation e.g. in the Horizon Europe funding framework (European Commission 2025). It is recognised that successful regional development requires international collaboration, for example, to access most current (scientific) knowledge. By having a role in international projects, UASs create international impact, e.g., strengthen EU’s competitiveness and drive for sustainable development. With our focus on applied research, we can develop practical solutions also to global societal grand challenges.

In addition, UASs cross borders between disciplines. UASs cooperate with different fields and actors, creating multidisciplinary innovation ecosystems and networks. Societal challenges that UASs solve with applied research require collaboration between different disciplines, actors and fields. Multiple competence areas are needed to reach solutions – and this collaboration needs to be successfully and professionally facilitated.

UASs have a long history in building and facilitating networks of companies, public organizations and the third sector from different fields as well as collaboration with different kinds of educational and research institutions. For example, in collaboration with universities, we can provide a practical framework and access to business organisations while universities focus on basic research. This kind of collaboration between disciplines, fields, and actors contributes to regional, national, EU-level and global development.

Furthermore, again by the Finnish law, UASs’ role is to integrate applied research with higher education. This essentially facilitates sectoral integration in several ways. It enables enhancing higher education with the results of applied research and increases the societal impact of applied research and the most current knowledge is shared with students – both degree students and students acquiring new competencies through lifelong learning opportunities. Students may even have an active role in research projects and thus, develop skills and a mindset required in modern work environments.

Partnering to make an impact

The European Commission pursues scientific, societal and economic impact through policies, programmes and, eventually, RDI projects channeled through Horizon Europe during years 2021-2027. It is expected that Horizon Europe creates innovation-based growth that is ‘shown by its micro-economic effect on supported companies and its macro-economic effect on EU’s economy’ as well as addresses ‘EU policy priorities and global challenges through R&I, including the Sustainable Development Goals (Trlifaj 2021). After 2027, the European Commission will launch a new research funding framework program (Horizon Europe / FP10), which will be finalised in late 2025.

The priorities of Horizon Europe are particularly suitable for universities of applied sciences as renewing economy and business structures is one of our main purposes. Thus, over the years, we have developed partnerships, networks and ecosystems as well as operating modes that are proven to serve this purpose. These same networks can be – and have been – utilised to solve challenges and to create desired business and societal impact.

It is very likely that collaboration between sectors will be at the core of new FP10 as well – as von der Leyen proposed in her political guidelines. Finnish UASs have numerous regional and international partnerships, ecosystems and networks, and we are ready to work in close collaboration with the business and society – for the benefit of Europe.

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