Results of HEI ICI projects 2017-2020
The development cooperation programme HEI ICI (Higher Education Institutions Institutional Cooperation Instrument) supports cooperation projects between HEIs in Finland and HEIs in developing countries to strengthen and develop higher education. The programme offers an opportunity for HEIs to participate in strengthening the higher education sector in developing countries.
Between 2017 and 2020, the financing granted to the HEI ICI programme totalled EUR 12 million. The financing was used to implement 20 projects in 16 countries. Especially the quality of higher education, the pedagogical capacities, the connections of higher education with the world of work, and students’ access to higher education in the developing countries were improved in the projects.
The key achievement of the programme period was the improved quality of higher education in the target countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. During the programme period, HEIs in Finland and HEIs in the partner countries worked together to develop and reform almost 30 degree programmes and more than 50 individual courses in different fields of study. They were officially accepted as part of the studies provided by the partner HEIs.
In the degree programmes and courses, teachers’ methodological and pedagogical capabilities were developed with a special focus on innovative learner-centric methods. In addition, research capacity was strengthened in several of the projects. During the programme period, actors in HEIs published more than 100 research articles related to their HEI ICI projects.
Read more about the results from the synthesis report of the programme period: Results of the HEI ICI programme 2017-2020.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs finances the HEI ICI programme from Finland’s development cooperation funds and the Finnish National Agency for Education is responsible for the administration of the programme.
Get to know the HEI ICI projects
BUCSBIN
Startup buzz in Nepal – teaching method from Oulu wins over Nepalese people in the BUCSBIN project.
EARLI
Lighting more homes with the same amount of energy – the EARLI project improved energy efficiency in Tanzania, Mozambique and Ethiopia.
eLearning FinPal
“Education is a path to freedom for Palestinians” – university education modernised in a joint Finnish-Palestinian project.
PECOLO
Improving public health in Colombia – Doctor Jeadran Malagón-Rojas’s researcher exchange to Turku sparked an interest in fermented foods.
TECIP
“Development cooperation should stem from genuine needs” – Finns and Ethiopians worked together to improve inclusive teacher training.
Summaries of the projects
BUSCO
The BUSCO project contributed to sustainable and resilient communities through co-creation between universities and businesses in Tanzania and Finland.
ELFA2
The project applied an action research approach to capacity development, with an emphasis on the Eritrean contexts of teacher education and education, with the ultimate aim of improving the quality and relevance of education in Eritrea.
FishEDU
The FishEDU project built capacity at Kyrgyz National Agrarian University (KNAU) to develop fisheries and aquaculture training. The collaboration included training of trainers, developing teaching and study material and building the teaching infrastructure at KNAU.
Geo-ICT
The Geo-ICT collaboration focused on improving the quality of higher education and research environment in the sector of geospatial-ICT in four Tanzanian universities.
IRIS
The IRIS project connected the Tanzanian Tumaini Dar Es Salaam College with its surrounding local society under the framework of reverse innovation, which focuses on phenomena arising from local communities.
KENFIN-EDURA
The KENFIN-EDURA collaboration strengthened the role of the partner institutions in societal development and improved the higher education and research in the areas of health promotion and healthy lifestyles.
LMEU
The LMEU project played an instrumental role in modernizing higher education leadership and management capacities in Ethiopia.
MARIBILIS
The MARIBILIS project developed higher education competences in the field of maritime, fisheries and logistics in Namibia.
PARFORM
The PARFORM project strengthened forestry education and research in Laos and Myanmar in order to enhance the management and sustainable use of the region's forest resources.
PBL East Africa
The project established best practices in problem-based learning (PBL) for innovation, engaged several disciplines, empowered students, and developed an approach to critically address societal challenges in facilitated real-world situations.
SHUREA
The SHUREA project improved capacity in partner countries to conduct human rights research and provide research-based teaching in human rights.
SuMNatuRe
The SuMNatuRe project enhanced sustainable development and democracy in Mozambique by promoting higher education and increasing the knowledge on sustainable natural resource and land-use planning.
TAITAGIS
The TAITAGIS project developed a Master’s degree programme in Geoinformatics for the young under and postgraduate students at the Taita Taveta University, and build teacher capacity in the field through Training of Trainers education.
TELECOM
The TELECOM for YTU project responded to the needs of the expanded telecom sector by setting up Telecommunication degree programs at Bachelor and Master levels in the partner university in Myanmar.
TPP-Nepal
The TPP-Nepal project enhanced the quality and relevance of education in Nepal by improving the access to teacher qualification upgrading programs via Open and Distance Learning (ODL).