UniPID - Finnish University Partnership for International Development

07/09/2026

🎓 Dissertation Defence

How do cross-border family responsibilities shape international students' study and work choices?

Join online for the public defence of Zain Ul Abdin's doctoral dissertation, Reconfiguring Student Migration Pathways: A Transnational Social Protection Approach to Remittances and Economic Integration. The dissertation explores how financial support and obligations between international students and their families influence educational pathways, employment opportunities, and long-term integration in Finland and Sweden. You can already read the dissertation online!

📅 11 September 2026
🕛 12:00-15:00
📍 Online & Joensuu Campus, Itä-Suomen yliopisto - University of Eastern Finland (UEF)

More info here:

Novel study shows how international students’ choices are connected to family circumstances across borders.

04/09/2026

🌿🎨 Looking for inspiration this autumn?

Moving Ecologies, a new exhibition at our member university Hanken School of Economics explores the connections between nature, biodiversity, culture, and sustainability through the works of four contemporary artists. The exhibition is part of Hanken's SDG Week programme and runs from 21 September to 21 October 2026.

An excellent example of how art can challenge us to think differently about sustainability and our place within changing ecological systems. 🌍

🔗 Read more:

You can find the entire programme for the SDG week on the Hanken website.Moving Ecologies is a group exhibition featuring works by artists Alejandra Alarcón, Vedran Brnjetić, Kriti Kumari and Veronika Vegesent. The exhibition explores the evolving relationship between nature, biodiversity and huma...

04/09/2026

Ohoi students at UniPID Member universities! Are you still looking for an interesting course for this autumn?

There are still seats available on the course The power dynamics between Global North and Global South in addressing climate mobilities. The late registration is open until Tuesday 8 September 2026.

Read more about the course here: https://www.unipid.fi/virtual-studies/the-power-dynamics-between-global-north-and-global-south-in-addressing-climate-mobilities/

Note that the registration takes place through your own Peppi/Sisu system!

03/09/2026

🌍 How can education contribute to safety, security, and resilience in a rapidly changing world?

Join the Helsinki Global Education Partnerships Forum 2026 ( ) on 28-29 October in Helsinki, bringing together education experts, researchers, policymakers, practitioners, NGOs, and private-sector actors to explore innovative approaches to international collaboration in education. The 2026 theme is "Education as a foundation for safety, security, and resilience" and the event is organized by Finnish National Agency for Education.

We are also pleased to share that UniPID will co-host two sessions at the forum, contributing perspectives on global partnerships, higher education collaboration, and sustainable futures.

📅 28-29 October 2026
📍 Helsinki Congress Paasitorni

Read more about the event and find the registration information here:

FinCEED and Education Finland are once again thrilled to host the Helsinki Global Education Partnerships Forum ( ), taking place in Helsinki on 28-29 October 2026.

02/09/2026

Do we always mean the same thing when we talk about equality, inclusion, or diversity?

In this latest UniPID blog, our intern Paola Bullon reflects on how shared concepts can carry very different meanings depending on our social, cultural, and institutional contexts. The blog invites us to look beyond familiar terminology of our everyday working lives, and engage in critical reflection on how different perspectives shape our understanding of inclusion, equality and diversity international higher education.

Read the text here:

This blog by Paola Bullon Pinares, a UniPID intern during summer 2026, reflects on how people may use the same concepts, such as equality, inclusion, or diversity, while attaching very different meanings to them. Drawing on examples from higher education and international collaboration, Paola highli...

02/09/2026

💫 Webinar invitation!

What happened to the spirit of international cooperation that shaped the adoption of the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and other major global frameworks in 2015? Join European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI)'s Virtual Dialogues in two weeks to explore how collective moods and emotions shape our responses to crises and global challenges.

📅 16 September 2026 | 16:00 CEST
💻 Online

Learn more and register:

This webinar launches the newly released book Global Cooperation in Times of Crisis: Grasping the Changing Mood of the World and opens the first session of the...

01/09/2026

📢 Career opportunity in global development!

Our observer member UNU-WIDER is currently looking for an Executive & Development Coordinator to join the Director's Office in Helsinki. The role combines programme coordination, partnership development, stakeholder engagement, and resource mobilization, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to one of the world's leading institutes in development economics and policy research.

If you're interested in international cooperation, development research, and strategic engagement, this could be an exciting next step.

🔗 Read more and apply by 16 September:

UNU-WIDER is hiring an Executive & Development Coordinator to join the Director's Office in Helsinki, Finland. In this role, you will support the effective delivery of the Institute's programme while advancing its external engagement, partnerships, and resource mobilization efforts. Working closely....

31/08/2026

📖 Read of the Day

What would it mean to decolonize economics?

In this thought-provoking article for The Conversation, Junaid B. Jahangir invites us to question where some of the ideas treated as universal in economics actually came from-and whose experiences and knowledge have been left out.

From challenging Eurocentric assumptions and examining the legacies of colonialism and resource extraction to bringing perspectives from the Global South into economic thinking, the article asks us not only to rethink dominant frameworks, but also to imagine alternatives that place people, communities, and ecosystems at the centre.

💭 What might economics look like if we expanded what counts as economic knowledge?

📚 A worthwhile read for anyone interested in development, decoloniality, inequality, and rethinking the way we understand our economies.

🔗 Read the full article on The Conversation:

Calls to decolonize economics challenge the discipline’s foundational assumptions about development, markets and inequality.

28/08/2026

We are delighted to see Shimelles Tenaw being recognized among Africa’s 50 Most Influential Cooperative Leaders.

Shimelles has dedicated decades to advancing cooperative development, sustainable development, and international collaboration. As one of UniPID's founding members, he helped shape partnerships between universities and research institutions across Africa and Finland, creating lasting connections that continue to support knowledge exchange and development cooperation today.

Warm congratulations, Shimelles, on this truly well-earned achievement! 💐

Read more:

Shimelles Tenaw on palkittu yhtenä Afrikan 50 vaikutusvaltaisimmasta osuustoimintajohtajasta. Tunnustus myönnettiin kesäkuussa Mosambikin Maputossa järjestetyssä ICA Africa Cooperative Excellence Awards 2026 -gaalassa.

28/08/2026

Missed the UniPID webinar this week? No worries! 🌍

Our latest blog post highlights key insights from the webinar AU-EU science, technology and innovation collaboration for Finnish universities, bringing together experts from the European Commission, Finnish Universities, funding organizations, ministries and international research cooperation networks.

One message stood out: successful AU-EU collaboration is about more than funding - it requires investing in relationships and building partnerhips that can create lasting impact beyond individual projects.

👉 Read the highlights from the webinar:

On 25 August 2026, UniPID brought together experts from universities, research funding, policymaking and international research cooperation for the webinar AU-EU Science, Technology and Innovation Collaboration for Finnish Universities. The event explored how Finnish universities can engage with the...