FinCEAL project launched in June
The FinCEAL project was launched in a two-day kick-off seminar held at the University of Helsinki on June 3rd and 4th 2013. The event received an enthusiastic welcome from both the Africa and LAC research communities, with over one hundred registered participants representing a wide variety of Finnish higher education and research institutions, as well as Ministries, NGO’s and the private sector.
The FinCEAL project was launched in a two-day kick-off seminar held at the University of Helsinki on June 3rd and 4th 2013. The event received an enthusiastic welcome from both the Africa and LAC research communities, with over one hundred registered participants representing a wide variety of Finnish higher education and research institutions, as well as Ministries, NGO’s and the private sector.
The plenary session of the first day started with an introduction to the FinCEAL project followed by keynote speeches from officials from the Ministries of Education and Culture, Employment and Economy and Foreign Affairs. The keynotes as well as the panel discussion that ensued kick started a lively discussion on the current state and challenges of research cooperation between Finland and Africa and the Latin America and the Caribbean region. One of the key messages recurring throughout the speeches was the need for cross-sectoral cooperation between the research communities, Ministries as well as companies to maximize the impact of Finnish input in international STI and development cooperation initiatives. The strategic intent for a Team Finland –approach was evident and FinCEAL looks forward to contributing to its implementation.
The discussions and networking continued on the second day in the regional workshops, where researchers engaged in interactive group work to map out the current research, networks and challenges related to research collaboration in the FinCEAL thematic areas. The information gathered in the workshops and through the feedback questionnaire, provides the baseline for the upcoming FinCEAL activities, such as the launch of the Research InfoBank as well as the travel grants and the project preparatory funding. The FinCEAL coordinators along with the entire UniPID team wish to thank all participants and look forward to your active participation also in future FinCEAL events.
For any questions or comments, please contact the FinCEAL coordinators.
Group work at the LAC thematic workshop on June 4th.
Experts discussing in the Africa workshop.
FinCEAL LAC Workshop Findings and FinCEAL Africa Workshop Findings
Pictures: Outi Etuaho
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FinCEAL – Developing Finnish Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation
between Europe, Africa and the LAC Region – is an initiative of the Finnish
Ministry of Education and Culture with the purpose of deepening the links
between the research and science policy communities in Finland, Africa and
Latin America and the Caribbean. The project is focused on networking Finnish
experts and supporting thematic research for each region:
Africa - Food security, Health, Climate Change, Renewable energy and
Information Society; LAC - ICT for Societal Challenges, Bioeconomy, Biodiversity
and Climate Change, Renewable energy and Health.
