Africa Day at UEF

Africa Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the African Union, which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 25th May, 1963. Africa Day is celebrated around the world and is an opportunity to appreciate and mark the African continent’s diverse history and heritage, while acknowledging its cultural and economic potential.

At the University of Eastern Finland, Africa Day represents an opportunity to acknowledge a diverse and important group of scholars and academics who enrich and make a valuable contribution to education and research in and on Africa.

The official theme for Africa Day 2023 is ‘The year of accelerating collaboration and trade”.

We shall have a series of different activities and communications about our collaborations with our African colleagues, partner institutions and networks. Further information below and on our social media #AfricaDayUEF.

Events:

10.00-11.00 Launch event: Social Enterprise for Sustainability

The University of Eastern Finland, the University of Namibia and the University of Venda launches their joint project “Social Enterprise for Sustainability”. The launch underwrites the theme of developing an Africa which is committed to the green transition, inclusiveness, resilience and self-reliance. This is Finnish-funded collaborative project is based on the processes of Social Enterprise and is implemented under the global network the Finnish-Africa Platform for Innovation funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland.  The aim of the SES project is to promote the adoption of the circular economy at a community level, creating opportunities for local communities. The SES project will co-create a series of pilot social enterprises that promote innovation of waste management in collaboration with local communities in South Africa and Namibia.

Programme and link to the event.

12.00-13.30 Joint HEIs session: Spotlighting Africa-related research conducted by doctoral and early stage researchers

In this event, doctoral and early stage researchers at  the University of Eastern Finland, University of Helsinki, University of Turku and the University of Jyväskylä Finnish HEIS present their work in themes focusing on education, health, gender and migration. The event is brought to you under the auspice of the Africa related global networks of the Ministry of Education and Culture: the Global Innovation Network for Teaching and Learning (GINTL), Finnish Africa Platform for Innovation (FAPI), Educase Platform and Southern Africa Finnish Network for Health and Wellbeing (SAFINET).

Programme and registration link to the event.

13.30-14.15 Understanding maternal health outcomes post COVID-19 vaccinations: Experiences from South Africa and Finland

In this webinar, we discuss a study being developed between the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Finland and the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) of South Africa focusing on maternal health and understanding the pattern of vaccines, antibiotic and other medicinal drug use and interactions during pregnancy.

The collaboration is being developed under the umbrella of a global network, the Southern Africa Finnish Network for Health and Wellbeing (SAFINET), funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland.

Presenter: Doctoral Researcher Rethabile Joyce Moshoeshoe, TUT, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Moderator: Post-doctoral Researcher Dr Frank Adusei-Mensah, UEF, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition

Link to the event.

15.00-16.00 Café Smart: One Africa, One Health

The University of Eastern Finland’s Café Smart on Africa Day will serve the discussion: One Africa, One Health.

In 2023, Africa is making plans to accelerate collaboration and trade within the continent. Notwithstanding this, it is more essential than ever before to look towards more multisectoral and transdisciplinary collaborative approaches at the local, regional, national and global levels to recognise the interconnection between people, animals, plants and the shared environment for a healthy planet - the concept of One Health.

Welcome to hear more about collaborative efforts and steps towards One Africa, One Health in the UEF Café Smart in an expert discussion between Dr Frank Adusei-Mensah, Wadzanai Masvosva (MD, MSc) and Isaac Adaam (MA), hosted by Dr Suchetana De Storvik. Her Excellency, Former President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim of the Republic of Mauritius will give an opening address.

The event will take place in the UEF Kuopio Campus, Snellmania Building Lobby and will be live-streamed.

Link to the event.

16.15-17.30 Armchair Safari to Kenya

Welcome to join an armchair safari all the way from Kuopio to Kenya.

The safari will take you on a trip from Nairobi to the Masai Mara and the Kakamega Rainforest, the only tropical rainforest in Kenya. The event is brought to you by the Finnish Kenya Society and presented by Chair Erkki Kyllönen. The event takes place in the UEF Kuopio Campus, Snellmania Building Lobby.

Link to the event.

UEF Africa researchers

Get to know some of the researchers at UEF who partner with Africa on UEF Connect. Check out the section on Experts by Region and choose Africa! https://uefconnect.uef.fi/en/group/global-development/

African Student Stories

We have over 200 African students currently enrolled at UEF, over 100 master’s students and about 100 doctoral researchers. They come from 22 different African countries. Here are some of their stories:

• Mariam Maku Quarshie from Ghana.
• Isaac Doughan from Ghana.
• Christian Muragijimana from Rwanda.
• Godswill Ikegbu from Nigeria.

Read more about UEF degree programmes offered in English.

African Student Exchange Stories

UEF collaborates through the Erasmus + Global Mobility programme to implement student mobility with the following African universities in Cameroon: Pan African Institute of Governance, Egypt: Pharos University, Eritrea: National Higher Education and Research Institute; Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Ghana, University of Development Studies, and CSIR College of Science and Technology, Kenya: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Morocco: University of Ibn Zohr and Al Akhwayan University,  Mozambique: Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Namibia: University of Namibia, Nigeria: University of Lagos, South Africa: STADIO University and University of Limpopo, Tanzania: College of Business Education, Uganda: Makerere University. The UEF School of Pharmacy also have an opportunity to complete some of their pharmacy practical training in Ghana.

• See what Namibian exchange student Gebhardt Kanime from the University of Debrecen, Hungary has to say about his exchange at UEF.
• See what Ghanaian exchange student Mina Poku-Agyemang from CSIR Ghana has to say about her exchange at UEF.

African Alumni Stories

Over the years, over 1000 Africans from 30 different African countries have studied at UEF.  Here are some of the stories of our African alumni.

• Jimmiel Mandima from Zimbabwe.
• Emma Kwegyir-Afful from Ghana.
• Victor Nyange from Kenya.
• Tanke Aba Samson from Cameroon.

Join the UEF Alumni network here!

Networks

Finnish University Partnership for International Development (UniPID)

UniPID supports engagement with Africa and other parts of the Global South. Some examples of the support provided to enhance this collaborations include:

• UniPID Virtual Courses.

Many courses soon opening up for registration. Courses are open to students and exchange students at UniPID member universitites

• UniPID DocNET. The Finnish development research doctoral network.
• UniPID Infobank is a multidisciplinary expert and project database with researcher profiles and collaborative project descriptions to facilitate knowledge exchange, communication and cooperation opportunities.
• UniPID Toolkit for global academic partnerships.

Southern Africa Nordic Centre (SANORD)

SANORD furthers multilateral academic cooperation between the southern Africa and Nordic regions and helps strengthen the capacity of all member institutions to address new local and global challenges of innovation and development. SANORD’s annual conference in 2023 will be held from 20-22^nd September in Hamar, Norway at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences. The SANORD 2023 conference is titled "The role of higher education in contributing to just and sustainable futures". More information on website.

Podcasts and blogs

Co-designing learning solutions in Africa, for Africa, with Africans

Hear from our researchers in the School of Computing at UEF, Doctoral Researcher Satu Järvinen and Dr Friday Agbo discuss their work on development of learning solutions in different parts of Africa.

Dr Friday Agbo, who recently completed his PhD, tells us about his doctoral research, which focused on how to teach computational thinking to novice computer science students. Satu Järvinen, on the other hand, has just started her research. The aim of her doctoral thesis is to understand the opportunities and challenges of skills micro certification in Africa. Podcast available on Soundcloud.

Read more about the IMPDET - PhD studies in Education Technology that supports this research.

Detangling Development Podcast (UniPID) : Finland’s Role in Global Sustainable Development

In this episode we take a look at Finland's role in global sustainable development with Teppo Eskelinen, philosopher and senior lecturer in Social Sciences at UEF. Listen to the episode here.

Detangling Development, is a 7-part podcast series brought to you by UniPID, to dive deeper into important themes that bridge between the activities of universities and the aims of sustainable development by interviewing a guest with expert insight or research in the specific topic. Find the podcast here.

Blog post

Roseanna Avento, Global Development Manager at UEF reflects on UEF and Africa relations and partnerships.

Read more here.