Evaluation Report Publications of the Academy of Finland 1/11

Research networking and interaction
National research collaboration with university groups is only through the Graduate 
School CHEMSEM. There is no collaboration mentioned with the electrochemistry 
group at AU. Recent work on electroluminescent metal nanoclusters has been 
performed in collaboration with Swiss partners. The unit has contacts with Finnish 
companies for the development of analytical methods and the follow-up of 
technology after patent transfer from the university to the company.

---

32
Recommendations
The evaluation panel recommends that the research strategy of the unit be completely 
reworked. In its present form, the unit is too small and the equipment outdated, and 
the unit’s research focus is too narrow and also controversial. Consequently, the level 
of research in the unit is too low, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Analytical 
chemistry is a very wide and open field that requires constant attention to the 
research strategy. The panel recommends that the unit become more proactive and 
ambitious in the development of new topics other than HECL. As part of the new 
strategy, the panel strongly recommends that the unit to a much larger extent initiate 
collaborations with other research groups in Finland and abroad to search for new 
and more fruitful research directions. 
From the discussions with the unit, the panel is uncertain to what extent the unit 
will be able to revitalise its research activity, in particular considering the amount of 
teaching offered by the unit, which severely limits the research activities. The 
university needs to either strengthen the group with a new professor with a strong 
international research record, or direct the activity of the group exclusively towards 
teaching activities.