HIIT funds initiatives that support our mission to enhance the quality, collaborations, visibility and impact of the Helsinki ICT research community. This open, continuous call is not restricted to those working in one of the HIIT focus areas, but is open to the wider ICT research community. HIIT funding supports activities with clear added value and high impact. Successful applications are:

• Short-term: This call focuses on short-term funding. HIIT’s longer-term commitments are centered around periodic calls for postdoctoral and research fellow positions.
• For future activities: HIIT does not consider funding applications for activities that have already taken place or to otherwise fund activities retroactively.

The main applicant must be a PI in Aalto’s CS or DICE departments or at University of Helsinki’s CS department. We particularly welcome applications that involve several groups or otherwise benefit the ICT community at large and not just a single research group. If several PIs are involved in an application, then please list them as co-applicants.

The main applicant will be the contact person and will also be responsible for writing a news item for the HIIT website if requested.

Activity funding is intended for enhancing the quality, collaboration, visibility and impact of Helsinki ICT research. Successful applications are, therefore, expected to support one or more of these objectives. Additionally, as a joint research institute of Aalto University and University of Helsinki, priority is given to applications initiating or enhancing collaboration between the two universities, supporting common focus areas in ICT, the strategies of both universities, and demonstrating added value by supporting activities that might not otherwise take place without support.

Below are categories of activities that have previously been funded. However, all proposals are welcome if they support the mission of HIIT and benefit the Helsinki ICT research community:

• Organizing events: Funding can be used to organize workshops, conferences, hackathons, bootcamps, summer schools and other events in Finland or abroad. The application should describe the target audience, how the event will be marketed and how the event will increase the visibility, impact or quality of Helsinki ICT. The applicant must be in charge of event organization (e.g., as the organizing chair). HIIT typically only provides partial funding (e.g., covering traveling expenses of one or two invited speakers). HIIT should be acknowledged for sponsoring the event. Local events will be advertised prominently in both Aalto University and University of Helsinki via HIIT.
• Visitors to Finland: HIIT can support visiting academics from potential postdoc candidates to high-profile professors. The application should describe how the visit will contribute to HIIT’s mission and confirm that the visitor is willing to give a guest lecture. The main applicant is responsible for ensuring the visit is publicly announced well beforehand and is responsible for all practical arrangements (including facilitating meetings with other PIs who wish to meet the visitor). For exceptionally high-profile visitors, we maintain the Helsinki Distinguished Lecture Series. If you think the visitor would fit this category, please indicate it in the application.
• Research visits abroad: Research visits to high-profile universities and other organizations can be beneficial for increasing the visibility, impact and quality of Helsinki ICT. Research visits are typically between two weeks to six months in length, with the former being the minimum lower bound. Research visits should be a minimum of two weeks. For longer (and more costly) visits, funding is typically provided by several funding organizations, with HIIT only providing partial funding.