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

Research Assistant

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

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!” 

Lessons Learned: Thematic workshop 2

Africa, China, India, GlobalRegistration required

Main topic: Conferences and workshops

In 2024, the Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning (GINTL) will be identifying and sharing a set of “lessons learned” from GINTL funding. This is the first workshop to work on the lessons learned outputs.

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.

Youth mobility from Finland and Portugal to the Global South: Policies, practices, and perceived impacts on global citizenship dispositions and on the host contexts

This study analyses the impact of temporary youth mobilities to the Global South countries in participants’ own global citizenship dispositions on the local host context. It analyses policies, practices and perceptions of participants in two countries with different historical and political paths, and cultural and societal characteristics–Portugal and Finland. In addition, the study will also analyse the perceptions of the hosts of such mobilities and their local impacts. Overall, the study aims to: a) Identify and analyse the existing policies and practices of youth temporary mobilities to the Global South countries in Portugal and in Finland and contextualise these within the larger international mobility recommendations and guidelines from, for example, European Union and UNESCO; b) understand the impacts of these mobilities in the individuals’ global citizenship dispositions and in the host contexts c) produce recommendations to improve these mobilities' policies and practices, granting equity in benefits for mobile youngsters and host contexts.

Partership and cooperation with Johannesburg University for learning and teaching resulting in Elias Pekkola nominated associate professorship

As part of the GINTL activities, the University of Tampere has established academic relations with the University of Johannesburg. This partnership has resulted in two research applications (one for an EU project and one for the Academy of Finland). In addition to research collaboration, GINTL funding (as a means of work time allocation) has been used to establish teaching collaboration. This collaboration is intended to be two-directional. First, the University of Tampere will support the development of higher education programs at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies at the University of Johannesburg. Meanwhile, two teachers from the institute have been participating in the development of the content of the study module "Systems Transition 2" (MARIH07) offered by Tampere University as part of its international curriculum. Eventually, two teachers will travel to Tampere to teach on the transition of African higher education systems. Tampere University has been a partner in the Master in Research and Innovation in Higher Education (MARIHE), an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree, for several years. The master's degree program's teaching has also been used as course content for Ph.D. studies for (African) Ph.D. candidates studying in Tampere. As a concrete illustration of institutional collaboration, Elias Pekkola has been appointed as a "research associate" at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies at the University of Johannesburg.

FUTE project: GINTL network expanded to develop sustainability in teacher education

Africa

Published Sari Havu-Nuutinen, Ella Suortti (University of Eastern Finland)

The University of Eastern Finland, University of Namibia and University of Dar es Salaam have started a new Higher Education Partnership (HEP) project. Originally, the project is rooted in a GINTL collaboration. The newly funded project aims to develop collaborative activities to promote education for sustainable development in teacher education by focusing on sustainability competences, pedagogical solutions and implementing the sustainability activities in regards of the local needs. Following the goals of GINTL, the project aims to support lifelong learning and inclusive education in teacher education.

Call for posters: Africa Day 2024

Africa

Published

GINTL Africa is once again teaming up with the University of Jyväskylä – Coalition of African Networks to co-organise Africa Day on May 24th, from 12:00 to 16:30 at the University of Jyväskylä main library. This year's theme for the Africa Day is "Educating an African fit for the 21st Century". The theme underscores the importance of enhancing access, inclusivity, quality, and relevance learning. Submit a poster for the event by 19 May.

Physical Education Development in Tanzania

Africa

Published GINTL Africa, Niina Loukkola, niina.loukkola@oulu.fi

GINTL Tanzania Physical Education Development practical workshops were held in South Tanzania as a joint collaboration between University of Oulu, University of Eastern Finland and LiiKe NGO. Collaborating partners in Tanzania were University of Dar es salaam, State University of Zanzibar and Sports Development Aid.

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