3b. Number of doctoral degrees 2001-2006
Number of doctoral degrees awarded in the Department of Biology in each year during 2001-2006.
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
8
|
8
|
5
|
6
|
11
|
9
|
4a. Evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
The Department of was founded in 1995 as a merger of departments of botany, genetics, and zoology and it includes the zoological and botanical museums, botanical gardens, and the experimental zoological research facility. Oulanka and Hailuoto field stations that were originally part of the department were affiliated to other administrative bodies in 2007 but they continue to serve the research and educational needs of the department. Thus, the department is quite large and diverse in its research. A large number of the research projects of the Department fall into two out of three focus areas of the University of Oulu: Biotechnology and molecular medicine, and Northern and environmental issues. Significant strengthening of collaboration between various research groups has occurred since the amalgamation (see 2a). On the other hand, in a system where governmental funding is based mainly on the number of masters and doctoral degrees produced rather than scientific output, the economy is effectively curtailed by fixed annual intake of students.
The Department has been relatively successful in obtaining external funding. The main source of additional research funding is the Biosciences and Environment Research Council of the Academy of Finland, but various foundations and European Union Framework Programmes are also important sources of funding. All research groups have strong international connections and collaboration.
Strengths
-
The Biology Department has a rather diverse undergraduate education and research, it operates well as a unit when it comes to undergraduate teaching.
-
The Department has an Academy of Finland designated Center of Excellence in Population Genetics, and the population genetics approaches are also being used in animal and partly plant ecology.
-
Using the facilities of the research stations, the Department provides students with strong training in field ecology, which forms an important background for research especially in population, community and ecosystem ecology, environmental ecology and ecophysiology.
-
Research facilities of the department (e.g. experimental zoological research facility and botanical gardens) that provide unique physical resource among Finnish universities and can be used in genetic, ecological, ecophysiological, environmental and behavioural studies, have proved to be a decisive factor in recruitment of new high-level scientists.
-
The Department has plenty of potential for internationally attractive education.
-
The Department has close research connections to various research institutes (including joint professorships) and other faculties of the university (primarily faculty of medicine, but also faculty of engineering) and other universities in Finland. These connections provide opportunities for a diverse selection of research possibilities. In genetics, the University hospital and its clinics provide many opportunities for students in more molecular/developmental genetics directed research or medical genetics. In animal ecology, there are several possibilities to conduct applied research in the adjacent Game and Fisheries Research Institute. In plant ecology, cooperation with northern research stations of universities in Helsinki and Turku and Finnish Meteorological Institute has always been active. In plant physiology, there is intensive collaboration with Finnish Forest Research Institute. In animal physiology, the main local collaborators are Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology in the medical faculty and the Institute of Occupational Health.
Weaknesses
-
The recruiting basis for all levels is too narrow. Many good doctoral students are recruited from our own undergraduates, but we need to broaden the base, nationally and internationally. The population base in northern Finland is not expanding.
-
For a modern biology department, the department has rather limited research in molecular and cell biology.
-
The old department structure still influences research themes and projects, possibly hampering the establishment of new research themes, e.g. joint positions between the 5 fields do not exist.
-
The Department lacks a big, flagship research group that could be led by an Academy professor. In addition the status of a Center of Excellence (in Population Genetics) will end in 2007.
Opportunities
-
The Department could be more active in recruiting international students and post-doctoral fellows.
-
Perhaps the local students could be encouraged more to use opportunities for gaining international experience during doctoral studies and at the post-doctoral level.
-
The possibilities for fruitful research collaborations within the department, the Natural Science faculty (and other faculties), and local research institutes could still be utilized better.
-
By reorganizing professorships and other vacancies new forms of collaboration in education and research together with economic flexibility could be created.
Threats
-
The increasing competition for undergraduate and doctoral students, post docs, and faculty puts universities from sparsely populated areas under much pressure. Undergraduate students coming from Southern Finland may move to master’s programs of southern universities after completing their bachelor’s degree in Oulu.
-
The current economical problems of the department threaten possibilities for important recruitment.
-
The national science policies may lead to concentration of research resources in southern Finland.
-
The tendency to move environmental education away from university departments may affect related research activity.
-
Opportunities of the Department to recruit junior researchers (past post-doctoral level) are very limited. Since 2007 the University offers a small number of these posts, but the share of the Department of these will not be large.
|
Yüklə 2.39 Mb.