FinCEAL+ co-organizes "Nordic Perspectives on Strengthening Higher Education, Research and Innovation Cooperation with the LAC region" Nordic stakeholder meeting
European Institute of International Studies (EIIS) in cooperation with the Government Offices of Sweden, the FinCEAL project (Developing Finnish Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Europe and the LAC Region) and supported by Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, Embassy of Peru and Embassy of Colombia are organizing MEETING OF NORDIC STAKEHOLDERS in Stockholm on June 2-3, 2016 to discuss the challenges, best practices and potential synergies in collaborating with Latin American and Caribbean institutions in higher education, research and innovation.
Background
In the last decades, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has undergone a deep social transformation process, which has brought forward an overall reduction of poverty and an expansion of the middle classes. As a result, the importance of higher education has grown significantly in the region. Several Latin American countries are dedicating important resources to the quality improvement and internationalization of their higher education systems. These processes offer considerable possibilities for increasing mutually beneficial collaboration between Latin American and the Caribbean and the Nordic countries.
Although various forms of mostly bilateral academic exchanges (teacher and student mobility, capacity building projects, research collaboration and education export initiatives) already exist, a lot of the collaboration potential remains untapped. There seems to be boundless interest from the Latin American higher education institutions to work together with Nordic counterparts, but for an individual Nordic country with limited resources it is difficult to fully take advantage of these possibilities. As a region we would be better equipped to respond to the demand. Advancing our countries’ interests together through joint Nordic efforts could bring many benefits: further internationalization of our universities, institutes and research centers; new strategic partnerships for developing joint projects and programs; pooling of resources and access European and international funds; enhanced influence on bi-regional science policy dialogues; new job markets for our graduate students; as well as better visibility as a region and as a study destination for both exchange and degree students from the LAC region. At the same time, it is an opportunity to contribute to the global education agenda (Education 2030), one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In order to address these issues together, European Institute of International Studies (EIIS) in cooperation with the Government Offices of Sweden, the FinCEAL project (Developing Finnish Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Europe and the LAC Region) and supported by Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, Embassy of Peru and Embassy of Colombia are organizing MEETING OF NORDIC STAKEHOLDERS in Stockholm on June 2-3, 2016.
The aims of the meeting are to
- Share information on each Nordic country’s current state of higher education and scientific cooperation and future priorities
- Discuss the challenges, best practices and potential synergies in collaborating with Latin American institutions
- Map areas in which Nordic cooperation could be strengthened, and envision concrete ways to move forward
- Increase awareness of the EU-CELAC Academic Summit and the EU-CELAC Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation (JIRI) as potential platforms for Nordic-Latin American cooperation
- Agree and adopt joint proposals between the Nordic countries for the next Preparatory Seminar of the 3rd EU-CELAC Academic Summit (2017) to be held in Stockholm, 6 and 7 October 2016[1].
Target group
The meeting is targeted to representatives of public authorities, funding agencies and academia dealing with Latin American and Caribbean cooperation from all the Nordic countries. Participation is by invitation only. If interested in attending, please contact FinCEAL+ LAC Coordinator Kajsa Ekroos kajsa.ekroos[at]helsinki.fi
[1] The Preparatory Seminar of the 3rd EU-CELAC Academic Summit (2017) to be held in Stockholm, 6 and 7 October 2016, will be organized by the European Institute of International Studies (EIIS). This event represents an EIIS initiative, in partnership with the Executive Secretariat of the EU-CELAC Permanent Academic Forum and the EU-LAC Foundation and also with the collaboration of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden and the Stockholm University. The main goal of this Preparatory Seminar is to advance in the implementation of the Euro-Latin American and Caribbean Common Area for Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation. This Common Area represents a fundamental pillar in the EU-CELAC Strategic Bi-regional Association.
