Team Finland Knowledge and Erasmus+ Global Mobility Programmes back UEF’s global collaboration

The Team Finland Knowledge programme supports the creation and strengthening of cooperation between Finnish higher education institutions and target regions and countries selected to the TFK network, and to design new operating models for cooperation. The awarded funding allows for the creation and strengthened cooperation between UEF and partners in Colombia, Peru, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. 

The project “International Education Programme for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Interventions” (EduFoodNet)” will be implemented in collaboration with the University of Antioquia (Colombia) and Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (Peru), encompassing three courses focusing on the promotion of sustainable, traditional foods with the use of community interventions and school meals. Themes of the courses include sustainability, traditional foods, health effects of foods, food sovereignty, community interventions, social innovation, barriers and facilitators of change, and school meals. The courses will respond to needs for health promotion and mitigation of climate change. Funding awarded for this project amounts to 59,024 euros, at the UEF Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, and the contact person is Senior University Lecturer, Docent Arja Lyytinen. The project brief is available on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education. 

The project “Sustainable Educational Solutions for Chemical Ecology and Atmospheric Pollution” (SESCAP) aims to promote science-based education in an intercultural space between Finland and China by increasing the understanding of chemically mediated interactions between organisms and the environment, and the consequences and mitigation strategies of air pollution. This will advance both green transition and circular economy. Partnering with UEF on this project are the University of Turku (Finland) and Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (China).  Funding awarded for this project amounts to 64,000 euros, at the UEF Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and the contact person is Project Researcher Oksana Skaldina. The project brief is available on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education. 

The project “Frontiers of Knowledge: Strengthening Finland-Taiwan Collaboration in Border Studies” (BorderLink) merges at a critical juncture of increasing global uncertainty and shifting geopolitical realities. In today’s unpredictable landscape, borders have become sites of heightened tension and strategic importance, creating an urgent need for specialized expertise in understanding these dynamic boundaries. The project will implement several key activities: developing a joint virtual course on border studies, conducting workshops in Finland and Taiwan, facilitating mobility exchanges for doctoral students and faculty, developing joint curriculum alignment, and creating a digital teaching platform for cross-border knowledge exchange. The project is implemented with the National Taiwan University (Taiwan), and the National Quemoy University (Taiwan) is an associate partner. Funding awarded for this project amounts to 66,725 euros at UEF’s Karelian Institute, and the contact person is Professor Jussi Laine. The project brief is available on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.     

The project “Improving Student Teachers’ Mathematical Literacy in Real Life Contexts” (RealLifeMath) aims to improve the understanding of mathematical literacy in real life contexts for student teachers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Finland. The project brings together mathematics and home economics knowledge and works across the Global South and Global North to support improved practices regarding, for example, budgeting, financial planning, and consumer spending – in families, communities, and for individuals. A common learning module “Real Life Math” will be co-designed and co-developed with the partners: LUMA Centre Ostrobothnia University of Vaasa (Finland), North West University (South Africa), Lesotho College of Education (Lesotho), National University of Science and Technology (Zimbabwe) and Lupane State University (Zimbabwe). Funding awarded for this project amounts to 68,000 euros, at the UEF School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, and the contact person is Professor Hille Janhonen-Abruquah. The project brief is available on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.  

The project “Virtual Studies for Global Sustainable Development in Southern African collaboration” (GLOBUS) aims at increasing collaboration and develop joint virtual courses based on the collaborative international online learning (COIL) methodology in the multidisciplinary field of global sustainable development. The project is implemented together with Tampere University, the University of Oulu and the University of Turku, all in Finland, and the University of the Western Cape, Durban University of Technology, and Stellenbosch University, all in South Africa, and the University of Namibia (Namibia). The project is coordinated through the Finnish University Partnership for International Development (UniPID), which all the Finnish universities mentioned are a member of, and all the universities in this project are also members of the Southern Africa Nordic Centre (SANORD). Funding awarded for this project amounts to 64,000 euros  at the UEF Department of Geographical and Historical Studies. The contact person at UEF / UniPID is Director Kaisa Kurki. The project brief is available on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education.  

The Erasmus+ global mobility funding is allocated to UEF and its partner universities in Sri Lanka, China, Nepal, Japan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Ukraine, New Zealand, Australia, Palestine, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and the US.  

Further information about granted funding is available on the website of the Finnish National Agency for Education. 

Researchers' contact information: UEF Connect