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University · Oulu · Finland

University of Oulu

In research, University of Oulu stands highest in Social Sciences (#254 of 10,521 worldwide), Computer Science (#157 of 4,667 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#457 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Networks and Communications and Computer Science Applications — Human-Computer Interaction is 5.2× its share of world research.

oulu.fiROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#448
of 28,054 · #616 all time
Rank in Finland
#3
of 80
Research works
32k
▲ 22% vs 2013–17
Citations
889k
27.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
26.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
38%
world 28%

What is University of Oulu known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #254 of 10,521 34.0%1,248 #388
Computer ScienceField #157 of 4,667 32.9%683 #321
Physical SciencesDomain #457 of 12,888 24.3%2,811 #674
Social SciencesField #230 of 6,365 33.0%609 #313
Health SciencesDomain #463 of 11,982 25.1%710 #431
EngineeringField #268 of 6,636 20.9%1,235 #447
EducationSubfield #127 of 1,892 25.7%211 #248
Information SystemsSubfield #109 of 1,291 44.9%91 #145
MedicineField #909 of 10,443 23.6%547 #624
Computer Networks and CommunicationsSubfield #62 of 705 27.5%184 #153

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Oulu sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#388 #254
  2. Computer Science#321 #157
  3. Physical Sciences#674 #457
  4. Social Sciences#313 #230
  5. Health Sciences#431 #463
  6. Engineering#447 #268
  7. Education#248 #127
  8. Information Systems#145 #109
  9. Medicine#624 #909
  10. Computer Networks and Communications#153 #62
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does University of Oulu specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Human-Computer Interaction takes 5.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Human-Computer InteractionSubfield · 55.2 works5.2×
  2. Computer Networks and CommunicationsSubfield · 183.9 works4.0×
  3. Computer Science ApplicationsSubfield · 43.6 works3.5×
  4. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 70.5 works2.7×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.34× its world share, 82 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.65× its world share, 178 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.40× its world share, 20 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.68× its world share, 56 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.32× its world share, 6 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.98× its world share, 18 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.69× its world share, 55 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.72× its world share, 683 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.44× its world share, 115 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.78× its world share, 37 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.61× its world share, 1,235 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.16× its world share, 294 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.20× its world share, 215 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.53× its world share, 32 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.13× its world share, 128 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.05× its world share, 26 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.92× its world share, 124 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.56× its world share, 547 worksMedicineNursing: 0.43× its world share, 11 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.28× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.95× its world share, 141 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.11× its world share, 182 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.16× its world share, 58 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.37× its world share, 40 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.41× its world share, 219 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.94× its world share, 609 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Computer Science, 1.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Oulu?

Ranked on the composite score, Marjo‐Riitta Järvelin, Abdenour Hadid and Matti Pietikäinen lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Oulu.

  1. 1 Marjo‐Riitta Järvelin Finland · #1,902 worldwide 2.6k citations · 188 works
  2. 2 Abdenour Hadid Finland · #2,808 worldwide 1.9k citations · 78 works
  3. 3 Matti Pietikäinen Finland · #4,740 worldwide 2.6k citations · 60 works
  4. 4 Mika Ylianttila Finland · #6,543 worldwide 913 citations · 76 works
  5. 5 Heikki V. Huikuri Finland · #11,464 worldwide 836 citations · 111 works
  6. 6 Juhani Junttila Finland · #12,058 worldwide 711 citations · 53 works
  7. 7 Kari I. Kivirikko Finland · #12,684 worldwide 932 citations · 52 works
  8. 8 Guoying Zhao Finland · #12,854 worldwide 1.5k citations · 134 works
  9. 9 Karl Tryggvason Finland · #13,076 worldwide 682 citations · 65 works
  10. 10 Sanna Järvelä Finland · #13,424 worldwide 876 citations · 65 works
All ranked researchers at University of Oulu

Which keywords describe research at University of Oulu?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Energy Efficiency, Ethics, Healthcare, Deep Learning, Communication, Phenomenology, Social Sciences and Family Dynamics.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Deep Learning267▲ 1.53×77 topics
  2. Machine Learning222▲ 1.33×79 topics
  3. Climate Change198▲ 1.44×92 topics
  4. Energy Efficiency184▲ 3.8×34 topics
  5. Healthcare179▲ 3.1×26 topics
  6. Sustainability168▲ 1.35×74 topics
  7. Education165▲ 1.88×57 topics
  8. Ethics140▲ 5.7×24 topics
  9. Qualitative Research126▲ 2.8×24 topics
  10. Pedagogy117▲ 4.7×18 topics
  11. Communication116▲ 7.4×9 topics
  12. Phenomenology111▲ 20×5 topics
  13. Social Sciences108▲ 15×7 topics
  14. Family Dynamics105▲ 16×1 topic
  15. Work Environment105▲ 105×1 topic
  16. Microstructure98▲ 3.7×16 topics
  17. Mechanical Properties90▲ 1.80×33 topics
  18. Wireless Networks84▲ 11×9 topics
  19. Internet of Things81▲ 1.83×22 topics
  20. 5G Networks76▲ 7.4×5 topics
  21. Security and Privacy74▲ 7.6×3 topics
  22. Channel Modeling72▲ 11×6 topics
  23. Wireless Communications69▲ 7.7×5 topics
  24. Massive MIMO67▲ 16×3 topics
  25. Social Interaction62▲ 3.0×10 topics
  26. Spectral Efficiency60▲ 18×3 topics
  27. IoT Security59▲ 3.6×3 topics
  28. MIMO Systems59▲ 14×3 topics
  29. Heterogeneous Networks57▲ 12×2 topics
  30. Cellular Networks55▲ 22×1 topic
  31. Interference Alignment55▲ 22×1 topic
  32. Wireless Communication52▲ 6.7×7 topics
  33. Solar Wind49▲ 10×2 topics
  34. Wearable Sensors49▲ 8.3×3 topics
  35. Channel Estimation48▲ 11×4 topics
  36. Mobile Edge Computing48▲ 5.9×2 topics
  37. Grain Refinement42▲ 7.1×4 topics
  38. Beamforming41▲ 7.6×4 topics
  39. MAC Protocols38▲ 10×3 topics
  40. 5G36▲ 13×3 topics

Which research topics does University of Oulu publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Research in Social Sciences, Advanced MIMO Systems Optimization, IoT and Edge/Fog Computing and Antenna Design and Analysis.

Research in Social Scien…105Research in Social Sciences: 105 fractional worksAdvanced MIMO Systems Optimization: 55 fractional worksIoT and Edge/Fog Computing: 35 fractional worksAntenna Design and Analysis: 32 fractional worksEnergy Harvesting in Wireless Networks: 31 fractional worksAdvanced Wireless Communication Technologies: 28 fractional worksMillimeter-Wave Propagat…27Millimeter-Wave Propagation and Modeling: 27 fractional worksMicrostructure and Mechanical Properties of Steels: 27 fractional worksConcrete and Cement Materials Research: 27 fractional worksWireless Body Area Networks: 26 fractional works
EducationElectrical and Electronic EngineeringComputer Networks and CommunicationsAerospace Engineering3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Research in Social Sciences Education 105 works
  2. 2 Advanced MIMO Systems Optimization Electrical and Electronic Engineering 55 works
  3. 3 IoT and Edge/Fog Computing Computer Networks and Communications 35 works
  4. 4 Antenna Design and Analysis Aerospace Engineering 32 works
  5. 5 Energy Harvesting in Wireless Networks Electrical and Electronic Engineering 31 works
  6. 6 Advanced Wireless Communication Technologies Electrical and Electronic Engineering 28 works
  7. 7 Millimeter-Wave Propagation and Modeling Electrical and Electronic Engineering 27 works
  8. 8 Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Steels Mechanical Engineering 27 works
  9. 9 Concrete and Cement Materials Research Civil and Structural Engineering 27 works
  10. 10 Wireless Body Area Networks Biomedical Engineering 26 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available37.6%not open62.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors27.0%domestic only73.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Oulu's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 22% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Oulu

All research institutions in Oulu

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.