The University of Eastern Finland Hosts the Coordination of the UniPID Network 2026-2029.

Starting in 2026, the UniPID Coordination Unit moved from the University of Helsinki to the University of Eastern Finland. To learn more about what this transition means, we invite you to read this text written by UniPID’s director, Kaisa Kurki. Thank you, UEF, for the warm welcome!

The University of Eastern Finland has taken on the role of coordinator for the Finnish University Partnership for International Development (UniPID) at the beginning of 2026. The coordination term will last until 2029. The network comprises ten Finnish research universities and three observer members, and its activities are guided by a Board appointed by the member universities.

The Department of Geographical and Historical Studies (HiMa) within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies hosts the Coordination Unit of the network. The coordination unit employs four people whose responsibilities include both network administration and UniPID’s projects.

“The Department of Geographical and Historical Studies is happy to host the UniPID coordination unit. Once our department has long history to working with our Global South partners, I do believe that we can offer new collaboration opportunities for UniPID network.” said Irmeli Mustalahti, UEF representative on the UniPID board.

In early January 2026, part of the Coordination Unit’s team visited the Joensuu campus, where we were warmly welcomed by our new colleagues at HiMa. While UEF has been a very active contributor to UniPID activities in the past, we are hopeful that our new hosting university will bring a positive impact to UniPID’s community while strengthening engagement with our other member universities.

At the beginning of the year, the network’s new strategy for 2026–2030 entered into force. At the same time, UniPID adopted a new Finnish name, Yliopistojen globaalin kehityksen verkosto UniPID, and a new Swedish name, Universitätsnätverket för global utveckling UniPID. The mission of the network is to strengthen the capacity of its member universities to enhance global responsibility and Global South perspectives in their education, research, and societal engagement.

UniPID encourages members of the academic community to engage in multidisciplinary, inclusive, innovative, ethical and equitable collaboration with partners in the Global South to advance global sustainable development and shared priorities.

“I am very pleased to see the University of Eastern Finland serving as a coordinator of the UniPID network. With current technological advancements, collaboration and networking in the field of ICT4D are becoming increasingly important. Our research group at the UEF School of Computing, together with our Global South partners, is ready to contribute to UniPID network activities in this field as well.” Ilkka Jormanainen, UEF vice-member on the UniPID board.

The core functions of the network include UniPID Virtual Studies on global sustainable development, the DocNet network for early-career development researchers, the Master's Award in Development Studies, and the Essentials in Development Studies MOOC. The coordination unit also takes care of the governance of the Finnish Scholar Protection Scheme implemented by the Scholars at Risk Finland section.

UniPID has been a key actor in the science policy dialogue between the European Union and the African Union and has participated in Horizon-funded EU-AU initiatives since 2008. Currently, UniPID is involved in an EU-AU project on food security and sustainable agriculture, which implements a joint research consortium across the two continents. The University of Eastern Finland is a member of this international research consortium. Recently, Horizon Europe funding was awarded to a new UniPID project that will develop an AU-EU knowledge and innovation system for food security and sustainable agriculture.

Please find the updated contacts and staff information here. Subscribe to our new mailing lists here and let’s keep in touch in this new UniPID era!

This text was partially published originally on the University of Eastern Finland’s website here: https://www.uef.fi/en/article/university-of-eastern-finland-now-coordinates-the-unipid-network.

Photo credits: Lumi Kangas, 2026 on UnSplash.