International partnerships and networks

The University of Eastern Finland is a member of one of the first networks of universities established in Europe, which started operating in the autumn 2019. Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE) aims to build a modern higher education ecosystem. For this, it has brought together 10 universities and four other partners. In addition, the university participates in several international networks of universities, among which are the European University Foundation (EUF), Young European Research Universities (YERUN), and the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP).  

The university is also a member of the Nordic Centre at Fudan University (NCF), Nordic Centre in India (NCI), and the Southern African-Nordic Centre (SANORD) networks.

The university is a member of the Sino-Finnish Environmental Research Centre (SFERC), which is based in Nanjing, China. SFERC specialises in research in environmental sciences. In addition, the university's faculties and academic departments are also active members of several field-specific networks of universities.

The university participates actively in many research, educational, and development cooperation programmes of the European Union, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and other international funding agencies.

UEF Erasmus Charter (PDF file)

UEF European Policy Statement (PDF file)

Our objectives are to increase the number of international staff members and students, and to promote the internationalisation of the university community. We implement Russian-Finland student and teacher exchange under the FIRST mobility programme, administered by the Finnish National Agency of Education and funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland.

Student, teacher and staff exchanges with European universities are mainly realised within the Erasmus+, Nordplus, FIRST and Campus Europae programmes. With North American universities, student and research staff exchanges are mainly carried out within the framework of the ASLA-Fulbright programme and the International Student Exchange Programme, ISEP. Student exchanges with universities in the Arctic areas are realised within the UArctic’s mobility programme North2North. In addition, the university has several bilateral exchange programmes with other universities abroad. Furthermore, we also realise student, staff and teacher mobility with universities outside the EU/ETA region through the Erasmus + Global Mobility programme.

Every year, around 1,200 exchange students from abroad come to study at the university. We offer a wide range of Master’s and Bachelor’s degree programmes in English to our degree students arriving from other countries. Several study modules are available to exchange students in English.

We actively collaborate with organisations and universities in the Global South and have a long history of development cooperation, going all the way back to the 1970s. Supporting education and research in the Global South is part of UEF's global responsibility, which aims at enhancing sustainable development, promoting equality and reducing poverty, in alignment with the development policy of Finland and the EU, and with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).

UEF’s collaboration with higher education institutions and international partners in the Global South is implemented through various funding instruments and funding agencies, governments and international NGOs. These include the Higher Education Institutions’ Institutional Cooperation Instrument (HEI ICI) administered by the Finnish National Agency for Education and funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Erasmus + Capacity Building grants, the UN, the World Bank, EuropeAid, etc. UEF is a member of the University Partnership for International Development (UniPID) network, which promotes education and research collaboration with the Global South.

The university has concluded a partnership agreement with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and with the World Food Programme (WFP).

In addition to our degree programmes and exchange studies, the University of Eastern Finland offers professional development training programmes to meet various needs. Our expertise is globally available through Finland University Inc., a company specialising in global and transnational education. We are one of the three Finnish universities that own the company.

Finland University represents extensive experience in international cooperation, with projects including international training programmes and study visits to Finland, in-service training for companies and organisations abroad, and much more. Through Finland University, public and private sector organisations can gain access to the latest research and the best lecturers in their particular field, for up-to-date professional development of the highest quality. Programmes and courses available through Finland University can be tailored to suit professional development needs, offering education and training on campus, online or in the workplace.