Erasmus+ develops teacher education - Finland is involved in every third project funded in Europe

In the 2024 Erasmus+ Teacher Academies application round a total of 17 projects were funded across Europe. Finnish organisations are participating in eight of these. The European Commission allocated 22.5 million euros to this initiative of which Finnish organisations received 1.5 million euros.

Finnish organisations have had a strong presence in all three Teacher Academies calls (2021, 2022, and 2024) and are now involved in a total of 15 project consortias. This means Finland is participating in every third funded network in Europe. Altogether Finnish organisations have secured 3.2 million euros in funding. Total of 60 million euros have been available for the initiative.

Technological transformation, inclusion, and European values as themes

In the 2024 Erasmus+ Teacher Academies application round a total of 118 proposals were submitted across Europe. The applications reflected several timely and educationally significant themes. Particular emphasis was placed on promoting inclusive education and addressing diverse learner needs. The proposals also highlighted support for the well-being of teachers and learners, sustainable development, and the strengthening of digital skills and the versatile use of technology. Additionally, the development of STEM/STEAM education and the promotion of European values, democracy, and active citizenship in teacher education emerged as key themes.

The projects funded in 2024 aim to address climate change, rapid technological development, and social inequality. In the projects involving Finnish partners, there is a strong focus on responding to the accelerating development of digitalisation and artificial intelligence—four out of the eight projects with Finnish organizations address this theme.

Finnish partners include Häme University of Applied Sciences, University of Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä, and University of Turku. Also participating are Hermanni School in Salo and the educational technology company Context Learning Finland Oy. The projects are coordinated by universities in Spain, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, the Netherlands, and Lithuania.

University of Helsinki participates in three new projects

The Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki is involved in three projects funded in 2024. The university contributes strong research-based expertise in teacher education and actively promotes the international development of the field.

• EmpowerAId focuses on the creative, critical, and ethical use of artificial intelligence in education.
• FEDORAS Academy aims to strengthen subject teachers’ capacity to address sustainability, science, and future-oriented themes in their teaching.
• G-STEAM seeks to promote a gender-sensitive approach in primary STEAM education and challenge gendered perceptions of school subjects. The project offers research-based professional development for teachers, with the goal of institutionalising the resulting practices.

"Finnish higher education institutions are popular partners in Teacher Academies consortia due to the high quality of Finnish education. The projects emphasise research collaboration, and some have successfully built strong synergies with EU-funded Horizon research projects, further strengthening European cooperation,” says Raisa Asikainen, expert in international education cooperation at the University of Helsinki.

The Teacher Education Forum’s Vision for Teacher Education 2050 highlights the importance of research-based approaches and international collaboration in developing Finnish teacher education. The Erasmus+ Teacher Academies networks provide one pathway to advance these goals.

“The G-STEAM project primarily focuses on mathematics education in primary schools, but the knowledge and policy recommendations generated will be applicable much more broadly across subjects and age groups,” notes project lead Professor Minna Huotilainen.

2025 call closed – eyes on 2026

The 2025 application round for Erasmus+ Teacher Academies has closed, and results are expected to be published later this year. The call is coordinated by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) in Brussels. The next opportunity to apply is expected in 2026. More information will be available in autumn 2025 when the European Commission publishes the new call for proposals.

The Finnish National Agency for the Erasmus+ programme, the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI), will provide updates on project results and future application opportunities.