Broadly Based Research on Information Technology

The Department of Information Processing Science was established at the University of Oulu in 1969. Today the department is the largest in the Faculty of Science and the second largest in the entire university; there are more th an 1400 majoring students and over 80 post-graduate students studying at the department. Some of both the staff and majoring students come from abroad.

The number of foreign exchange students is also increasing year by year.

Research done in the Department of Information Processing Science is diversified and has a high quality. Research on our department is divided into two sectors. Research on Software Production involves the quali ty of software and quality techniques, measurement and development of the capacity of software production processes, software business and the future telecommunications products and services. The Information Systems study hypertext inform ation systems and electronic commerce, virtual communities, games and knowledge work. Our games research unit LudoCraft, among others, has achieved good results in research and its applications around the world.

Company Involvement in Research

Companies have a strong role in our research cooperation. Most of the funding for the research projects comes from public sources such as the European Union, Tekes (National Technology Agency of Finland) and the Academy of Finla nd. In addition to large businesses, small IT companies are also involved which makes it possible to put the research knowledge into broad use in the industry. Our department also has a professorship donated by companies in software business.  Both V TT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Technopolis, the first technology park in the Nordic countries and the largest in Finland, function in tight cooperation with the university on Linnanmaa campus. We have good contacts with several European , North American, Australian and Japanese universities and research institutes through various international projects.

Our department is involved in Infotech Oulu, a unit for the coordination of state-of-the-art research on information technology at the university. Infotech Oulu is contributed to by two research groups led by the department, INTERACT and OASIS. Our department also has many different projects that under- and postgraduate students can take part in.

A Variety of Study Programmes in the Information Processing Sciences in Oulu and its Neighbourhood

The studies in the Department of Information Processing Science in Oulu are divided into five specialisation programmes: Digital Media, Mobile Services, Software Production, Software Business and Information Systems. Graduation with one of the programmes is determined by the optional studies, working experience and the topic of the Master’s thesis. The studies compulsory for all students amount to some 90credit units. Each specialisation programme also includes certain rec ommended study modules.

In addition to the teaching given in Oulu, the department’s regional activities are strong and varied. We are offering Master’s education through retraining programmes in seven different localities. The students for these programmes are selected based on their previous studies and working experience. The goal is to advance their previous degree level or to supplement their professional knowledge by completing the degree of Master of Science in Information Processing Science. About 650 of the majoring students in the Department of Information Processing Science have been selected through a retraining scheme or special Master’s programmes. Most of the students being retrained are full-time workers and study while at work.

In addition, a permanent programme in information processing science was launched in Kajaani in 2004. The specialisation programmes available in Kajaani are those of Software Production and Software Business. There are about 80 students in Kajaani, so they have a guaranteed opportunity to study in a peaceful environment and smaller groups.

The department trains experts and skilled multidisciplinary people for challenging national and international tasks. Welcome to join in our department’s activities as either a student or a cooperation partner.