Finnish university breaks ground with 6G research

The University of Oulu’s so-called 6Genesis flagship research is the first in the world to focus on 6G. It will tackle several challenging research areas, including reliable and near-instant unlimited wireless connectivity, that will drive such emerging value chains as automated manufacturing, sustainable energy, e-health, and autonomous transportation.

The Academy of Finland’s flagship programme funds the most prominent research clusters in Finland for a period of eight years with the aim of increasing the quality and impact of Finnish research.

“Receiving this substantial funding and an acknowledgement as one of the two flagships of Finnish research is an important enabling step in building a leading position internationally in 6G research,” says University of Oulu rector Jouko Niinimäki. “We want to build wireless communications expertise for the future in Finland together with our partners.”

The funding for the 6Genesis flagship is expected to amount to around 250 million euros over eight years, which also includes the university’s own funding and estimated competitive external funding.

There are also scientific partners involved in the flagship research, namely Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, while the strategic partner is the Joint Center for Future Connectivity, established by the University of Oulu and Nokia Bell Labs to develop architecture for 5G and beyond.