The Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence FCAI is a research hub initiated by Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, and the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT. The goal of FCAI is to develop new types of artificial intelligence that can work with humans in complex environments, and help modernize Finnish industry. FCAI is one of the national flagships of the Academy of Finland.
Season’s Greetings 2023 from FCAI
The creative potential of AI systems, and their underlying safety, have been big topics of discussion this year. Digital sovereignty and preparedness are also emerging as major themes, as accelerating technology development meets geopolitical shifts. These issues involve fundamental AI research questions, where FCAI’s research is crucial, and are also central to FCAI’s advocacy for attracting the best talent to Europe and Finland and cooperation with national and international partners to bolster artificial intelligence competency. One example is our partnership with the new UK AI Centre of Doctoral Training at the Universities of Manchester and Cambridge.
Keep reading for some of FCAI’s news highlights this year.
Keep reading for some of FCAI’s news highlights this year.
ELLIS Institute and national and international cooperation
, the local node of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, has had an active year of activities, from hosting the ELLIS Doctoral Symposium to launching a series of ELLIS Distinguished Lectures. The Unit has also welcomed new members from around Finland. Our plans for growing the Unit into an ELLIS Institute have gathered support from over 20 top companies, the Technology Industries of Finland, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, and all the current Research Council of Finland Flagship projects. The Technology Industries and its Centennial Foundation to recruit top international experts in AI, launch the House of AI at Aalto University, and establish the AI Finland network to further academia-industry collaboration. We look forward to further productive collaboration, starting with jointrecruitments in this area!
We encourage all qualified FCAI people to apply to become ELLIS members, which requires demonstrating regular, top-tier publication in machine learning. An alternative, even easier step is to become an ELLIS supporter. For ways to get involved, see
Read more about ELLIS Institute Finland:
On an international policy level, we are thrilled that our colleague Professor Petri Myllymäki, vice-director of FCAI, was to be part of the . As one of only two members from the Nordics, Petri is in a unique position to advise the UN Secretary-General on AI during 2024. Congratulations Petri!
Doctoral program pilot
Through the Ministry of Education’s initiative to educate 1000 new PhDs in Finland, the Finnish Doctoral Program Network in Artificial Intelligence is anticipated tolaunch in 2024. This is an excellent chance to not only attract and retain the best and brightest in Finland but also to apply AI widely to new fields and industries through multidisciplinary collaboration. The national doctoral consortium of ten universities will emphasize mobility, enhanced supervision and transferring and scaling up of AI competence.
FCAI teams are excelling and growing
Cross-cutting teams of postdocs, PhD researchers and PIs are interfacing between FCAI’s Research Programs in developing new AI and demonstrating its power in Highlight applications. Currently, 10 FCAI Teams each contribute one important piece to this big picture through either methods development or Virtual Laboratory applications. One example is the Amortized Inference Team, which put together a successful . New Teams are on the horizon for launch in 2024.
To learn more and get involved, see
Best regards and Happy New Year,
Director, Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence FCAI
ELLIS Unit Helsinki expands with new faculty and research areas
Newly appointed Aalto University visiting professor and member of ELLIS Unit Helsinki, Guoying Zhao, on emotion AI, face analysis and visual intelligence.
Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation donates EUR 3.2 million ºÚÁÏÍø to create the House of AI
Donation will be used to establish a multidisciplinary AI research cluster at Aalto University.
Read more news
The exhibition "Our land, for all" explores personal and national identity
The 20th anniversary exhibition of the Association of Finnish Fine Arts Foundations, opened at Kunsthalle Helsinki, asks: whose stories is Finland built from? The exhibition has been curated by PhD, docent Annamari Vänskä.
Metal industry needs doctoral-level expertise – Aalto University and Boliden are educating top experts at the heart of smelters
The energy transition and urbanization are accelerating demand for metals, and the continuous development of processing methods is increasing the need for top experts.
Thinking of doing a doctorate? Join us on 21 April
Join us on 21 April 2026 to hear firsthand experiences from researchers across Europe and explore what a career in research at Aalto could look like.