Africa
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.
Developing an network between Finland and Portuguese-speaking African countries
As part of GINTL activities, TAU has begun a pioneering project of building a network and partnerships between Finland and Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP). The final goal of this new network and research project is to provide new contributions to the development of learning, teaching and curricula. This initiative aims at increasing Finnish research collaboration in Africa. Also known as the Lusophone Africa, the PALOP are less represented in international networks, despite official agreements with the European Union. They are also rarely included in Finnish African cooperation activities. GINTL funding (as means of worktime allocation) has been used to network building and management. This included reviews of past and current collaborative initiatives between Finnish and PALOP Universities, based on UniPID InfoBank, and research about these countries based on Elizabeth Eta’s study (GINTL Africa coordination). Partners identification included several meetings and e-mail exchanges with Finnish Counsellors of Education in Angola, South Africa and Mozambique. The contacts established by TAU go behind the PALOP area, as can be seen in the partnerships for two research applications (DeCoEd and 2EdCo). The PALOP network includes institutions and experts from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique. Contacts in São Tomé and Príncipe and Equatorial Guinea are pending because they are yet to be considered a priority in European and Finnish cooperation activities.
Seminar: Conventions of higher education in the arts
In Spring 2023, the University of the Arts Helsinki hosted a group of artists, researchers, and teachers in the arts from Tanzania. The trip included visits to the different academies that make up Uniarts Helsinki, and presentations about the work of the Tanzanian institutions. During the visit, a seminar day was held. The guests representing four Tanzanian arts institutions, and the Finnish teacher-researchers discussed both arts pedagogy at the higher education level, and the status and skillsets of the informally trained teacher in the arts. The challenge identified in both Finland and Tanzania is the recognition of informal learning in higher education systems. As interest in curriculum development in higher education pedagogy in the arts was expressed by the guests, teachers from Uniarts Helsinki’s University Pedagogical Studies in the Arts held a presentation on the structure of the studies, and the contents of and values underlining the curriculum.
Advancing antiracism and decolonising the university in higher education pedagogy in the arts
The UniArts GINTL project and the University Pedagogical Studies in the Arts collaborated on the development of a new study unit. The pilot of the study unit was conducted in the Autumn term of 2022. It aimed at introducing critical and decolonial theories and practices to the teachers and researchers of the Uniarts Helsinki community. The study unit allowed for collaboration between teachers and researchers from different academies and degree programmes. Additionally, degree students worked as experts during the project. The study unit pilot was presented at the GINTL academic Coffee Chat event in March 2023 and at the Higher Education Pedagogy conference Pedaforum in June 2023. A topic that aroused interest was linking developing pedagogy with artistic thinking and arts-pedagogical competence.
Seminar: Co-creating decolonized knowledges through arts
The seminar was organised at the Uniarts Helsinki in May 2022. Decolonial practices and decolonising knowledge were approached through lectures, participatory sessions, and sharing. The list of presenters, facilitators, and panelists at the event included Heli Kauppila, Marika Orenius, Katja Thomson, Aminkeng Atabong, Kauzeni Lyamba, Kasheshi Makena and Heidi Seppälä, among others.
Generating better practices in education through international partnerships in doctoral education
The project builds upon four doctoral dissertations that are being completed in 2024 to synthesise and publicise their key findings on education development and to understand the conditions for completing doctoral degrees in international partnerships. The dissertations cover topics critical to education development in Eritrea: Enhancing student learning through learner-centred interactive pedagogy and dialogic teaching in Eritrean secondary school, the conditions of language education in Eritrea and their ramifications for overall students’ educational achievement, differentiated instruction in Eritrean elementary and middle schools; and professional development of teacher educators. Connecting individual research projects to the broader frames such as context-relevance of education and international partnerships, and internationalization and decoloniality in higher education, this collaboration between doctoral researchers and supervisors results in synthesis of research findings to inform development of education in Eritrea and improving conditions for doctoral education in Finland-Africa partnerships.
Somali teacher education development expands (STRIDE)
In previous projects our efforts have focused on long-distance collaboration to develop teacher educator competences in the University of Helsinki (UH), Somali National University (SNU), and East African University (EAU) (a new partner who joined our latest project). This project takes us a step further with expanding collaboration to Kenya and finally organizing a face-to-face workshop among the stakeholders in Nairobi, Kenya. Project partners from Finland, two universities in Somalia, and a new partner from Kenya will join a 4-day workshop that: (1) Enables us a more thorough discussion and understanding of the needs and situational requirements of the Somalian cultural and educational context while building networking within the African partners. (2) The project provides a forum to work on and enhance teacher educator competences in relation to tools and tasks suitable for seminar working. (3) All partners will be equipped with new knowledge and skills to be shared and utilized in their home universities and the GINTL network.
Higher Education Pedagogies for Teacher Education (HEP-TED)
The Higher Education Pedagogies for Teacher Education (HEP-TED) project, spanning from January 2024 to August 2026, aims to develop and strengthen the capacity of Rwandan higher education institutions (HEIs). In response to Rwanda’s “Vision 2050” and the National Strategy for Transformation 2017–2024, the project focuses on quality teacher education for general and technical/vocational education, addressing needs identified through a joint assessment. HEP-TED envisions three outcomes: enhanced management capacities within HEIs, improved teacher education quality, and strengthened cross-institutional collaboration. To achieve these goals, the project supports the development of internal quality assurance mechanisms, training educators in competence-based curricula and inclusive pedagogies, as well as fostering collaboration among Rwandan and Finnish HEIs. Activities include curriculum revisions, training sessions on digital pedagogies, and cross-institutional learning opportunities.
Want to know more?
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.
