In 2022, the Team Finland Knowledge Programme, financed by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, awarded a grant to the project “Business and Sustainable Economic Development: African and European Perspectives” (BUSEDA), which is implemented by the University of Eastern Finland . in partnership with the the Botswana Open University, the National University of Lesotho, the Tanzanian College of Business Education, the University of Malawi, the University of Mauritius, and the University of Seychelles.
The project aims at developing a joint course that will give students practical knowledge about contemporary economic development and business climate in the participant countries. The objective is to ignite interest towards Africa by increasing awareness of the economic potential and business opportunities in the African countries, thus creating an incentive for students to connect their future career paths with Africa. On the other hand, the the course will present Finland as an attractive destination for African investments, as an important business partner within the EU, and as a leading innovation center.. Thirdly, the BUSEDA course will have an “Africa-to-Africa” dimension where business and economy related knowledge is shared between different African countries. Overall, the project’s long-term aim is to foster closer economic ties between Finland, the EU and Africa, in line with the goals of Finland’s Africa Strategy, and also to increase internationalization, education and research collaboration in line with UEF’s Global Development Policy.
The first BUSEDA workshop took place in Helsinki on 25–26 May where participants from all the partner universities planned the course content and agreed that the course will be offered in the autumn 2023. The participants have also decided to investigate new forms of further cooperation between the universities, including collaboration in research and student mobility.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Dmitry Zimin, Project Manager, +358 50 442 4550, dmitry.zimin(at)uef.fi