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: FAPI, SAFINET and EDUCase.
GINTL Africa Coordination
Events
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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
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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.
Education for Emergencies (E4E) – Climate change pedagogy (CCP)
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.
News
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GINTL lessons learnt process
Africa, China, India, Global
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
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
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
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!
