Internationalizing Finnish Science: Building Sustainable Bridges to Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean (BRIDGES)

The FinCEAL Plus BRIDGES project (2019-2021) supports the development of partnerships and collaborative research activities between the Finnish research community and those in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In addition, the project facilitates connections with European partners, whenever the cooperation also includes partners from the target regions. The project is an extension of the FinCEAL (2013-2014), FinCEAL Plus (2015-2016) and FinCEAL Plus Continuation initiatives, all financed by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The Ministry has mandated the UniPID network to coordinate the initiative.

The main objectives of FinCEAL Plus BRIDGES are:

Previously, the focus of FinCEAL has been on supporting research collaboration in the thematic areas determined by the EU's bi-regional science, technology and innovation (STI) policy dialogues with Africa, Asia and LAC. FinCEAL BRIDGES will continue to contribute towards strengthening bi-regional cooperation, while expanding the thematic focus to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development (Goal 17). On a national level, BRIDGES also supports the International Strategy for Higher Education and Research 2017-2025.

The principal target group of the project are researchers and experts based in Finnish universities and research institutions. Other key stakeholders include decision makers in different Finnish ministries, research and innovation funding agencies, Finnish Embassies in Africa, Asia and Latin America, companies and partners in the target regions.

The project team is supported by a Steering Committee that includes representatives of the following organizations:

  • Academy of Finland
  • Arene - The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences
  • Business Finland
  • Finnish National Agency for Education
  • Ministry for Foreign Affairs
  • Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
  • UNIFI - Universities Finland
  • Ministry for Education and Culture (observer)

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FinCEAL Plus BRIDGES is funded by: