The project addresses internationalization in teaching at higher education institutions in the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Partnership countries. An output will be a joint course on global challenges and a common methodology.
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, academic institutions in the partner countries have been working together. One common goal has been to create internationally oriented and politically independent research institutions, to attract researchers to Eastern Europe. This project notes, however, that it is a huge challenge for the institutions to maintain the international dimension over time. Some of the reasons for this are limited financial resources and geographical distances. The project also suggests that the pull of Western countries for young and ambitious students makes it difficult for academic institutions in Eastern Europe to compete for both local and foreign students. To address these challenges, the project wants to deepen the collaboration within the existing network of FREE (Forum for Research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies). It will focus on internationalization in teaching. The idea is to create a common methodology for international courses. The course will be modelled off a “Global Challenges course”, which has been given at Stockholm School of Economics for years. It will eventually be delivered synchronously to students in all participating institutions. A series of mass media publications will be produced for each covered topic to showcase ideas and expertise of the participants and invited speakers.