Information Systems and Software Engineering Research and Education in Oulu until the 1990s

Abstract

This paper discusses the internationalization of software business in the Oulu region. Despite its small size, the region grew rapidly and very successfully into a global information and communication technology business center. The University of Oulu, which was the northern most university in the world at the time of its establishment (1958) had a strong emphasis on engineering since its very beginning. Research on electronics was carried out since the early 1960s. Later, when the Department of Information Processing Science was founded in 1969, research on information systems and later also on software engineering was carried out. This paper discusses the role of the information systems and software engineering research for the business growth of the region. Special emphasis is put on understanding the role of system-theoretical and software development expertise for transferring research knowledge into practice. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2009.