The Helsinki and Espoo R&D ecosystem
Helsinki and Espoo is ranked number 75 of 392 R&D ecosystems in the 311 Institute directory, with 33 labs within about 120 kilometres: 12 government, 9 research institutes, 7 university, 4 corporate and 1 military. Leading organisations include University of Helsinki, Aalto University, Biocenter Finland and BM-Science, focused on global and planetary change, genetics, computational theory and mathematics and astronomy and astrophysics.
Part of the 311 Institute Global R&D Labs Directory. Compiled by Matthew Griffin. Last updated .
#75world rank
33labs
30organisations
2countries
Why these labs matter
VTT Technical Research Centre: Builds Finland's quantum computers.
All 33 labs
| Lab and organisation | Location | Type and sector | Focus | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estonian Environmental Research Center (Estonia)Estonian Environmental Research Center (Estonia) | Tallinn, Estonia | Corporate Environment and climate | Atmospheric Science, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Global and Planetary Change | |
| KeskuslaboratorioKeskuslaboratorio | Espoo, Finland | Corporate Industrials and manufacturing | Mechanics of Materials, Biomedical Engineering, Building and Construction | 1916 |
| Nokia Bell Labs EspooNokia | Espoo, Finland | Corporate Telecommunications | 6G, Networks | |
| United Medix Laboratories (Finland)United Medix Laboratories (Finland) | Helsinki, Finland | Corporate Healthcare and life sciences | Toxicology, Sociology and Political Science, Animal Science and Zoology | 1955 |
| Estonian Academy of SciencesEstonian Academy of Sciences | Tallinn, Estonia | Government Chemicals and materials | Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Materials Chemistry, Molecular Biology | 1938 |
| VTT Technical Research CentreFinland government | Espoo, Finland | Government Technology | Quantum, Bioeconomy, Materials | 1942 |
| Finnish Institute for Health and WelfareFinnish Institute for Health and Welfare | Helsinki, Finland | Government Healthcare and life sciences | Genetics, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Epidemiology | 2009 |
| Natural Resources Institute FinlandMinistry of Agriculture and Forestry | Helsinki, Finland | Government Environment and climate | Soil Science, Global and Planetary Change, Nature and Landscape Conservation | |
| Finnish Environment InstituteMinistry of the Environment | Helsinki, Finland | Government Environment and climate | Nature and Landscape Conservation, Environmental Chemistry, Oceanography | 1995 |
| Finnish Meteorological InstituteMinistry of Transport and Communications | Helsinki, Finland | Government Environment and climate | Atmospheric Science, Global and Planetary Change, Astronomy and Astrophysics | 1838 |
| Agrifood Research FinlandNatural Resources Institute Finland | Jokioinen, Finland | Government Agriculture and food | Agronomy and Crop Science, Genetics, Animal Science and Zoology | 1898 |
| Nordic Centre for Welfare and Social IssuesNordic Centre for Welfare and Social Issues | Helsinki, Finland | Government Healthcare and life sciences | Epidemiology, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, General Health Professions | |
| Research Council of FinlandResearch Council of Finland | Helsinki, Finland | Government Technology | Computational Theory and Mathematics, History and Philosophy of Science, Artificial Intelligence | 1970 |
| Social Insurance InstitutionSocial Insurance Institution | Helsinki, Finland | Government Healthcare and life sciences | Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, General Health Professions, Pharmacology | 1937 |
| Technology Academy FinlandTechnology Academy Finland | Helsinki, Finland | Government Multidisciplinary research | Research | 2003 |
| VATT Institute for Economic ResearchVATT Institute for Economic Research | Helsinki, Finland | Government Public policy and analysis | Economics and Econometrics, Accounting, Education | 1990 |
| NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of ExcellenceNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization | Tallinn, Estonia | Military Technology | Political Science and International Relations, Computer Networks and Communications, Information Systems | 2008 |
| Helsinki Institute for Information TechnologyAalto University | Espoo, Finland | University Technology | Artificial Intelligence, Molecular Biology, Computational Theory and Mathematics | |
| Helsinki Institute of PhysicsAalto University | Helsinki, Finland | University Nuclear | Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics | 1996 |
| United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics ResearchUnited Nations University | Helsinki, Finland | University Social sciences and humanities | Sociology and Political Science, Development, General Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 1985 |
| Aalto UniversityUniversities in Finland | Espoo, Finland | University Multidisciplinary research | Engineering, Design | 2010 |
| HiLIFE – Elämäntieteiden InstituuttiUniversity of Helsinki | Helsinki, Finland | University Healthcare and life sciences | Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Hematology | 2017 |
| Institute for Molecular Medicine FinlandUniversity of Helsinki | Helsinki, Finland | University Healthcare and life sciences | Genetics, Hematology, Computational Theory and Mathematics | 2006 |
| National Consumer Research CentreUniversity of Helsinki | Helsinki, Finland | University Environment and climate | Global and Planetary Change, Nutrition and Dietetics, Sociology and Political Science | 1990 |
| Biocenter FinlandBiocenter Finland | Helsinki, Finland | Research institute Healthcare and life sciences | Biochemistry, Surgery, Nutrition and Dietetics | 1986 |
| BM-ScienceBM-Science | Espoo, Finland | Research institute Healthcare and life sciences | Cognitive Neuroscience, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Epidemiology | 2002 |
| Finnish Geospatial Research InstituteFinnish Geospatial Research Institute | Espoo, Finland | Research institute Environment and climate | Environmental Engineering, Geology, Aerospace Engineering | 1918 |
| Finnish Institute of International AffairsFinnish Institute of International Affairs | Helsinki, Finland | Research institute Social sciences and humanities | Political Science and International Relations, General Energy, Economics and Econometrics | 1961 |
| Finnish Institute of Occupational HealthFinnish Institute of Occupational Health | Helsinki, Finland | Research institute Healthcare and life sciences | Occupational Therapy, General Health Professions, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health | 1945 |
| National Institute for Health DevelopmentNational Institute for Health Development | Tallinn, Estonia | Research institute Healthcare and life sciences | Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Oncology, Nutrition and Dietetics | 2003 |
| National Institute of Chemical Physics and BiophysicsNational Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics | Tallinn, Estonia | Research institute Nuclear | Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis | |
| Research Institute of the Finnish EconomyResearch Institute of the Finnish Economy | Helsinki, Finland | Research institute Public policy and analysis | Economics and Econometrics, General Economics, Econometrics and Finance, Accounting | 1946 |
| National metrology institute VTT MIKESVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland | Espoo, Finland | Research institute Multidisciplinary research | Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering | 1991 |
Countries
Organisations
Other leading ecosystems
- Paris and Saclay
- Beijing and Tianjin
- Washington DC and Maryland
- Greater Tokyo and Tsukuba
- Moscow
- Grenoble
- London and the Golden Triangle
- Greater Bay Area (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong)
- Shanghai and Suzhou
- Provence (ITER and Cadarache)
- Silicon Valley and the Bay Area
- Singapore
- Zurich, Basel and Aargau
- Randstad (Amsterdam, Delft, Leiden)
- Stuttgart and Karlsruhe
Questions and answers
How big is the Helsinki and Espoo R&D ecosystem?
It has 33 labs from 30 organisations, ranking number 75 worldwide in the 311 Institute Global R&D Labs Directory.
Which organisations have labs in Helsinki and Espoo?
They include University of Helsinki, Aalto University, Biocenter Finland and BM-Science.
What does the Helsinki and Espoo ecosystem specialise in?
Its main focus areas are global and planetary change, genetics, computational theory and mathematics and astronomy and astrophysics.
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