The University of Eastern Finland fared well in this year’s calls for Team Finland Knowledge and Erasmus+ funding.
The University of Eastern Finland has been awarded 254,615 euros in funding for four international education development projects through the Team Finland Knowledge (TFK) programme, supporting new partnerships and innovative teaching models in Botswana, Brazil, China, Madagascar, South Africa and Zambia.
The TFK programme supports Finnish higher education institutions in building and strengthening collaboration with strategically important partner countries and in developing new models for international cooperation, and the Erasmus Global Mobility funding supports student and staff exchange. Through the newly funded projects, UEF will advance education and knowledge exchange in the fields of sustainability, ageing societies, nature-based learning and social resilience.
New Team Finland Knowledge projects at UEF
The project Local and Global Approaches to Nature-Based Crafts and Making responds to a shared educational and societal need across Madagascar and South Africa to strengthen sustainable, culturally grounded and inclusive approaches to higher education in a global context. The project will be implemented by UEF in collaboration with the University of Antananarivo, École Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques and Centre National de Recherches Industrielle et Technologique (Madagascar) and Tshwane University of Technology and Abundant Futures (South Africa). Funding awarded for this project amounts to 71,370 euros and the contact person at UEF is University Lecturer Niina Väänänen.
Signing of a partnership agreement for the implementation of the TFK project Local and Global Approaches to Nature-Based Crafts and Making. Albertus Louw, Global Impact Director, Abundant Futures; Deputy Vice Chancellor Dr Vathiswa Papu-Zamxaka, Tshwane University of Technology; and UEF Vice Rector for Research and Innovation, Professor Jussi Pihlajamäki. His Excellency Ambassador Pekka Metso, Embassy of Finland in Pretoria, presided over the event.
Arts, social sciences and indigenous knowledges meet in Brazil through the project Between Forests / Entre Florestas, which brings together the Federal University of Pará and São Paulo Theatre Academy into an interdisciplinary collaboration with UEF, combining social sciences and the arts to create new forms of learning for imagining and building sustainable futures. Funding awarded for this project amounts to 62,991 euros and the contact person at UEF is University Lecturer Sanna Ryynänen.
In China, the project A Cross-cultural Smart Senior Care Service-learning Initiative Empowering Young Pioneers for Future Aging Societies brings together UEF with Fudan University and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in developing senior care services. Funding awarded for this project amounts to 65,960 euros and the contact person at UEF is Professor Honglin Chen.
The project North South Resilience Tuition aims at developing two joint international courses addressing crises, resilience and social change from a sociological perspective. The collaboration between UEF, the Humak University of Applied Sciences (Finland), University of Zambia (Zambia) and the University of Botswana (Botswana), responds to a recognised need to strengthen teaching on crises and resilience within the social sciences while exploring new and pedagogically meaningful approaches to hybrid learning. Funding awarded for this project amounts 54,294 euros to and the contact person at UEF is University Lecturer Teppo Eskelinen.
Further information on the funded TFK projects is available on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.
Erasmus+ funding supports global mobility
The University of Eastern Finland has also been awarded 463,118 euros under the Erasmus + Global Mobility programme to support student and staff exchange with 22 partner institutions in 21countries. The funded mobility partnerships cover countries including Albania, Georgia, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Hong Kong, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Australia, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Colombia, Peru, Cuba, and the United States.
Together, the TFK and Erasmus+ Global Mobility funding reinforces UEF’s commitment to international collaboration and global engagement. By connecting students, staff, researchers and external partners across continents, the projects create opportunities for shared learning and knowledge exchange while addressing some of the most pressing societal challenges of our time.