Congrats, Center of Excellence in Space Resilience

The Academy of Finland has selected new Centers of Excellence in Research for the program period 2026–2033. The Center of Excellence program selected 11 units, comprising research groups from a total of 13 universities and research institutes.

Among them is the Center of Excellence in Space Resilience, where four of its five participants are also involved in the SpacEconomy project – and we naturally have close ties with the fifth as well.

The Center of Excellence is led by Minna Palmroth from the University of Helsinki, and the unit includes groups from the University of Oulu (Anita Aikio), the Finnish Meteorological Institute (Liisa Juusola), the University of Helsinki (Emilia Kilpua), Aalto University (Jaan Praks), and the University of Turku (Rami Vainio).

The goal of the Center of Excellence program is to enhance the quality of research conducted in Finland, renew science, and promote the societal impact of research. The research units selected as Centers of Excellence are innovative, scientifically outstanding, and have significant societal impact. 

Additionally, these research communities are either reaching or already part of the international forefront in their field.The Academy received a total of 190 letters of intent for the Center of Excellence call. From these, 34 applications were invited to the full application stage. 

The full applications were evaluated by international review panels, whose experts also interviewed representatives of the units applying for Center of Excellence status. A preparatory group formed by members of the Academy’s governing bodies, along with the Academy’s General Subcommittee, reviewed the applications and the evaluation reports in light of the Center of Excellence program’s objectives.

The decisions on the units selected for the Center of Excellence program for 2026–2033 were made by the Academy’s General Subcommittee at its meeting on October 29, 2025.