Africa

Seeking new ways of working and broadening partnerships for impact 

About GINTL Africa

GINTL Africa builds upon existing partnerships and successes of collaboration with higher education institutions in African countries. We tap into the institutional expertise and experience of our 20 Finnish higher education institutions and African partner institutions for the benefit of the network and simultaneously look for new and innovative ways of working.  

We welcome and support different actors to participate in joint activities in areas of teaching, research and societal impact in higher education institutions. While some activities may be open, especially for staff and students in African and Finnish higher education institutions, we also serve as a platform for inviting organisations and individuals who are interested in research-based collaborations in the GINTL focus areas.

 The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture’s Global programme includes several networks active in Africa. To find out more about our sister networks, visit: FAPISAFINET  and EDUCase.

GINTL Africa Coordination

Sai Väyrynen

Academic Director

sai.vayrynen[at]helsinki.fi

Elizabeth Eta

Postdoctoral Researcher

elizabeth.eta[at]helsinki.fi

Nico Stockmann

Project Planner

nico.stockmann[at]helsinki.fi

Hanna Kontio (former Posti-Ahokas)

Regional Expert (Africa)

hanna.kontio[at]helsinki.fi

Maaria Manyando

Project Coordinator

maaria.manyando[at]helsinki.fi

Building bridges: Academic partnerships with Africa for a sustainable future

AfricaOpen for all

Join the colleagues at UEF for the Building Bridges: Academic Partnerships with Africa for a Sustainable Future seminar! Explore collaboration opportunities between Finnish and international partners with Erasmus+ Global Mobility academics and students from Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, and Mozambique. The seminar will cover topics like sustainable natural resource management, climate-induced conflict resolution, and inclusive education in Africa.

Conference: “Reimagining Teachers and Teacher Education for our Futures”

Africa, China, India, GlobalOpen for all

Main topic: Conferences and workshops

The “Reimagining Teachers and Teacher Education for Our Futures” conference will explore the future of the teaching profession and teachers’ work, and the crucial role that teachers have in shaping the critical, transversal skills that are necessary for our futures as outlined in the seminal report “Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education” by The UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education (2021). We aim to gather researchers, teacher educators, teachers, representatives of civil organizations, policy makers and all actors involved in building a sustainable society through education. The Conference will be held at the University of Helsinki, City Center Campus.

GINTL Dialogue: Reflect, vision, share

Africa, China, India, Global

Main topic: Conferences and workshops

At the end of 2024, the Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning (GINTL) will be moving to a new era. Our current funding scheme comes to an end and new plans need to be developed. The network coordination would therefore like to call for a two-day Dialogue event to reflect on what has been learnt, to envision future collaboration, and to share examples of current and past work. Day 1 of the Dialogue is addressed to all stakeholders who have already participated in GINTL activities, while Day 2 is open for everyone interested in Global Education Development.

GINTL Research Seminar 2.0 – Emerging research in the global education landscape

Africa, China, India, GlobalRegistration required

Main topic: Conferences and workshops

Are you a master’s degree student with an ongoing or finished master’s thesis work? Is your thesis topic related to international education development, educational partnerships, or internationalisation? If yes, you are most welcome to present your research at the “GINTL Research Seminar 2.0 – Emerging research in global education landscape!” 

Collaboration in the region

See all collaborations

Education for Emergencies (E4E) – Climate change pedagogy (CCP)

Pedagogical Leadership Study and Training for ECD Managers in the Rural Areas of South Africa

The purpose of the research project is to develop an international hybrid training for leadership in early childhood education in international collaboration with universities and organizations from different countries (University of Helsinki and University of Jyväskylä from Finland,  ADA University from Azerbaijan, University of South Africa and University of Pretoria from South Africa and German Youth Institute from Germany). The objective of the project is to provide training and assistance to ECD managers involved in Early Childhood Development (ECD) in South Africa. The training program is designed and based on the research conducted during the initial phase of the project. With the research, we aim to provide understanding about professional development of ECD managers through training. Knowledge will be shared with scientific articles and utilized with planning the future training.

Social sustainability in ECEC and ECEC teacher training

Funding was granted for a preparatory visit to the University of Pretoria (Faculty of Education), where Prof. A Muthivhi and colleagues shared research and teaching interests with the grant recipient (e.g., early education, children's agency and participation, teacher training, participatory action research). Collaboration being discussed would aim to promote social sustainability (such as equity, well-being and participation) in ECEC teacher training to support the most vulnerable group around the globe, young children.

Play-based teaching and learning approach to early mathematics in Zanzibar

This activity is part of the principal investigator's PhD research at University of Jyväskylä. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in Zanzibar, the PI will conduct ECEC teacher training workshops, which will introduce play-based teaching and learning approach to early mathematics. The aim is to develop and research practices for teaching young learners how to be competent in mathematics from kindergarten to elementary education. GINTL funding will be used for the ECEC teacher training workshops, data collection for PhD research, and conference participation.

GINTL lessons learnt process

Africa, China, India, Global

Published

In 2024, the Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning (GINTL) will be identifying and sharing a set of “lessons learnt” from GINTL funding. Materials related to the process will be published on this page. All interested stakeholders are invited to participate the process at any point. Please join any of the events of your choosing – no need to have participated any of the previous events!

Understanding partnership dynamics from a global South perspective: Reflections through engagements in South Africa

Africa, Global

Published Elizabeth Agbor Eta, Anaïs Georges

As researchers and practitioners engaged in North-South partnerships, we welcome opportunities that allow us to dialogue with colleagues to deepen our understanding of the dynamics of building responsible partnerships. We acknowledge that we often bring our own agendas (personal, institutional, cultural), biases, expectations, and even unconscious oversights into partnership building processes and discussions, which can undermine efforts to establish partnerships that are truly responsible. Dialogue with other partnership stakeholders can shed light on these issues and put them into perspective.

GINTL lessons learnt: stakeholders invited to contribute to finalisation

Africa, China, India, Global

Published GINTL Coordination

In November 2024, we will publish the "GINTL Lessons Learnt," a series of concise documents aimed at informing future internationalisation efforts within Finnish higher education institutions, particularly in educational sciences and related fields. In this update, we summarise the input received during the GINTL Dialogue held in June 2024 and outline the upcoming schedule. We appreciate the valuable insights many stakeholders have already provided and encourage you to continue contributing, either during the ongoing drafting process or when the final drafts are circulated for review in October. Your continued input will help ensure that these lessons are comprehensive and reflective of our shared experiences.

Would you like the GINTL network to continue?

Africa, China, India, Global

Published GINTL Coordination

At the end of 2024, the GINTL network will be moving to a new era as our current funding scheme comes to an end. Would you like to continue collaborating under the GINTL banner? University of Helsinki is currently discussing the possibility of continuing the coordination of GINTL. This text introduces their early thoughts. Please share yours!

Members of our network

We are a network of dedicated scholars and practitioners, who work jointly with our partners to co-create research-based solutions for local needs.

Together, we can spark cycles of learning for better education. 

Coordinating University

GINTL Finnish higher education institutions