Jorma Kyyrä wants to honour excellent teachers

Jorma Kyyrä holds a Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering, is a Professor of Power Electronics, and serves as the Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation at Aalto University. He has also worked as a researcher at ETH Zurich. According to him, Finland must continue to support technical research and education to ensure that engineering expertise remains one of the country’s key exports.

What perspective does your background bring to the Board of the Finnish Foundation for the Promotion of Technology (TES)?

In my academic work I see daily what is happening in the university sector and how research projects are evaluated. As Chair of the Grant Committee, I want to use this experience to further develop the foundation’s evaluation process so that it has as broad and positive an impact on the field of technology as possible. With the help of a wide pool of experts, our aim is to identify the most high quality and promising proposals from an annually growing number of applications.

What makes a research project promising and high-quality in your view?

In the evaluation process, we look for projects with wide-ranging impact and the ability to support sustainable development. In my opinion, high-quality research moves the technology sector forward but also seeks to solve challenges that affect the society at large.

It is important to attract international research talent to Finland, as these individuals often transition to industry and companies, integrating into society. In this way, research can benefit not only the world at large but also Finnish society.

What is the role of the Finnish Foundation for the Promotion of Technology in today’s society?

The foundation has a long history as an advocate for technological development. For example, through research on television technology funded by the foundation, television became a common household appliance in Finland during the 1950s. Our mission is to broadly support research in technology, as no one knows where the next breakthrough will emerge—or how significant its impact will be.

I consider the foundation’s Good Teacher Award extremely important, as high-quality teaching can have lasting effects far into the future. Without excellent teachers, we would not have a large and motivated pool of researchers.

How could research and Finnish engineering expertise be better supported?

Finnish engineers are among the best in the world, which is why engineering competence is one of Finland’s most important exports. It is essential for us to identify fields where there is a need for talent and pioneering research. This position must be maintained, and supporting technology plays a key role in doing so.

Competition for acquiring talent is intense, so supporting research is vital, as it also helps maintain high standards in education. Funding technological research is worthwhile because it strengthens domestic expertise and industry competitiveness.

When was the last time you felt proud of a colleague?

I recently felt proud when Aalto University’s newly tenured professor Ivan Vujaklija delivered a lecture on robotics and prosthetics. His presentation captivated the audience with both its content and visual style. The combination of high research quality and a confident, compelling presentation resulted in a widely discussed event.

If you could meet a deceased researcher, who would it be?

In the early-1990s, I narrowly missed a chance to attend a presentation by Stephen Hawking at the University of Cambridge. It disappointed me so much that I still remember it. Although I am not a physicist myself, I would love to go back in time and hear his personal thoughts on what makes for good research and teaching.