Sustainability through health and energy
6GESS
6G Enabling Sustainable Society
The 6G-enabled sustainable society (6GESS) programme capitalises on 6G Flagship’s technological expertise to develop the scientific framework for a data-driven, hyper-connected future society in which digital eHealth and future energy systems are intertwined. 6GESS looks into new technologies to help make healthcare and energy systems more democratic and efficient in the future. It also helps healthcare and energy providers and citizens become more involved in developing and using data-driven and digitised solutions.
6GESS is a collaborative endeavour of four faculties: Medicine, ITEE, Technology, and Oulu Business School. 6GESS works closely with the OuluHealth ecosystem, the Oulu University Hospital, and the Future Hospital 2030 project.

Two calls for applications
6GESS & DigiHealth Visitor Program and 6GESS Research Proposal Preparation Funding
6G-enabled sustainable society (6GESS) and Digital Health (DigiHealth) are part of the 6th and 5th research profiling themes of the University of Oulu. 6GESS leverages the technological expertise of the 6G Flagship to do world-class interdisciplinary research for a data-driven, hyperconnected future society with democratic healthcare and energy-thrifty power systems. Digital Health aims at the development and application of novel digitalized solutions to predict progression of diseases and in offering personalized therapies in a cost-effective and patient-centric way.
6GESS and DigiHealth now introduce a joint visitor program to promote research mobility for researchers with research focus on 6GESS and/or DigiHealth related research themes. Incoming and outgoing research visits are funded for researchers of all levels. The funding (350 000 € in total) will be granted on a rolling basis until exhausted.
Incoming visiting researchers spend a research period at the University of Oulu and take part in the activities and the visitor’s host unit(s). Outgoing Oulu-based researchers are provided with a possibility to visit universities and research institutes abroad. In both cases, a support letter by the host unit is required. Visiting researchers are expected to have an open presentation to all University of Oulu researchers and students, or other kinds of activities to share knowledge within the university. Report on the outcome of the visit is required.
The length of the visit – for both incoming and outgoing visits – can be between one week and six months. The funding covers travel expenses and accommodation costs, excluding salary. Daily allowance may be covered, but for visits longer than 4 weeks only 30% of the maximum daily allowance. The funding for short-term research visits (1-4 weeks) can be up to 5000 € and for long-term visits (max 6 months) up to 10 000 €. The detailed budget must be included in the application and the funded sum can be refunded on submission of a receipt.
The applicant’s research profile is expected to be on the fields closely connected to the core themes of 6GESS and/or DigiHealth. Besides connection to 6GESS and/or DigiHealth research themes, the weighted criteria in funding decision are the purpose of the visit and the expected outcome. Research collaborators may be from an academic, business or public organization. Conference visits are not funded.
For the application, log in to Webropol form by this link, where you can also upload your CV, Letter of Motivation (max. 2 pages) and a hosting letter. For the Letter of Motivation, you should respond to the following questions: What is the reason for the visit (scientific or other motivation)? What is the added value and expected scientific outcomes of the visit to your research? What is your work plan and schedule for the visit? How does the visit contribute or add value to the research of the 6GESS and/or DigiHealth-profiling themes at the University of Oulu?
The contact person for possible questions is the coordinator Tuire Salonurmi, tuire.salonurmi@oulu.fi
Phone: +358 503098986
6GESS profi6 research program supports 6GESS –themes related new research proposal preparation in 2023-2025. 6GESS research proposal preparation funding call is open to all Oulu University researchers. Funding can be used for impactful, large-scale Horizon, Nordforsk, Business Finland, or AoF calls (STN, flagship).
Payment takes place in the form of allocating awarded costs to a unit or a project. Acceptable cost categories consist of travel costs or/and salaries (not a professor’s salary) up to the total amount of 10 000 €. The final amount of granted funding will be decided by the 6GESS management group. The call will be open on a rolling basis until the funding has been used.
Criteria for granting funding: proposal is related to 6GESS themes, scientific potential, sustainability impact, plausibility of the presented proposal preparation and economic rationality. The proposal will present an impactful and large-scale research project, and the applicant of 6GESS preparation funding is the coordinator of the proposal or at least a WP leader.
Required documents: Motivation letter, Proposal Development Plan, Budget Table for preparation, CV.
Please send your application by email to tuire.salonurmi@oulu.fi

Questions?
The contact person for possible questions is
Tuire Salonurmi
6GESS Coordinator
tuire.salonurmi@oulu.fi
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6GESS Talks
Discover the latest in health and energy with the 6GESS Day Talks series. Access every presentation, webinar, talk, or keynote for free, and revisit your favourites whenever you want.
6G Enabling Sustainable Society
Health Research Themes
6GESS-1
Citizen-centered health data solutions
We must rethink healthcare to make it more sustainable, intelligent, citizen-centred, proactive, and predictive in the future. 6GESS-1 investigates how the rapid advancement of digital technology and data science might provide people with new ways to care for their health and manage their lives based on the most recent facts.
The objectives of this theme are to:
- Improve a person’s health, help them take better care of
themselves, and find new ways to use health data, find new ways to manage personal health data. - Investigate how people share their personal data and how the government regulates it. People should be able to use data-driven, AI-enabled services quickly and ethically.
- Create new approaches in developing preventive and
predictive, personalised digital processes, business solutions,
business models and strategies. - Evaluate the impact of citizen-generated health data on a
person’s health, lifestyles, and adherence to self-care and the health care systems.
6GESS-2
Ubiquitous digital care pathways and service models in secure and intelligent environments
The aim of 6GESS-2 is to develop advanced digital care pathways between patients and primary care, hospitals, and virtual healthcare services, allowing for more efficient participation and extended communication with patients and healthcare professionals on multiple levels while improving the security, privacy, and trust, as well as the quality and reliability of various smart environments, digital applications, and healthcare services.
The objectives of this theme are to:
- Investigate novel digital services for information management in preventive healthcare that can improve a person’s health, promote self-care, improve healthcare efficiency and effectiveness, and generate new value.
- Identify new opportunities and outcomes from secure digital care pathways, service models, and novel healthcare technology.
- Leverage technologies for information flows in healthcare
systems that are secure, accurate, and dependable.
6GESS-3
Future AI-tailored wireless hospital
The 6GESS-3 theme is devoted to advanced digital solutions for clinical applications (diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up methods) in the future intelligent hospital, which are achieved through edge computing, machine learning, impact analysis, and health technology assessment techniques.
The objectives of this theme are to:
- Enable precision medicine and advanced therapies based on AI-augmented diagnostics and instantaneous point-of-care health information delivery.
- Identify opportunities and outcomes of digital care paths,
service models, and novel healthcare technology. - Ensure trust and privacy for future virtual health services.-
Use 5G/6G technologies to improve the timeliness of
information flows.
6G Enabling Sustainable Society
Energy Research Themes
6GESS-4
Sustainable energy systems empowering users with digital services
Advanced digital solutions and 6G energy services that facilitate consumer participation and ensure enhanced energy security, quality, and reliability are addressed in the 6GESS-4 theme. The theme also connects energy system sustainability to climate and energy policies, focusing on climate neutrality.
The objectives of this theme are to:
- Develop advanced digital solutions and 6G energy services, which facilitate consumer participation and ensure enhanced security, quality, and reliability of energy and all digital services.
- Incorporate digital solutions into energy systems in order to improve flexibility and sustainability.
6GESS-5
Energy efficiency of digitally enabled user-centric systems
The 6GESS-5 theme is concerned with developing energy-efficient technologies and energy harvesting to eliminate the need for constant reliance on power lines or the charging and replacement of batteries. In line with the 6G Flagship research, the theme is linked to the development of eHealth sensor devices and data gathered from those devices.
The objectives of this theme are to:
- Create environmentally friendly, energy-efficient electronics and edge computing for eHealth applications.
- Design and manufacture sensors with wireless connectivity for measuring people’s health data in energy-efficient and sustainable systems.
- Elucidate the prospects and effects of data management
(collection, processing, transfer, and utilisation) in a sustainable way for digital care pathways, service models, and novel healthcare technology.
Keen to know more?
Contact Us
Director 6GESS
Professor Simo Saarakkala
simo.saarakkala@oulu.fi
Vice Director 6GESS
Professor Ari Pouttu
ari.pouttu@oulu.fi
Coordinators
Chao Ding
chao.ding@oulu.fi
Docent Tuire Salonurmi
tuire.salonurmi@oulu.fi