University of Helsinki delegation visits Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

Composed of Rector Sari Lindblom and Vice-Rector of International Affairs Hanna Snellman, the delegation from Finland first met on 22^nd November at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne’s International Relations Department (DRI) with Vice President for European Affairs Fabienne Peraldi-Leneuf, Director of International Relations Annie Soriot and representatives of the cooperation office. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss both universities’ strategic goals for the development of teaching and internationalisation, with the participation of the University of Helsinki’s Director of Development, Susanna Niinistö-Sivuranta, who joined the discussion remotely. The delegation was also welcomed by representatives of the university’s Research Department (DIREVAL) in order to reflect on research-based development of education and the link between education and research, before meeting with Christine Neau-Leduc, President of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

The universities of Helsinki and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne have been collaborating within the framework of the European university alliance Una Europa since 2019 and will continue doing so as part of Una.Futura, the alliance’s new four-year project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme’s European Universities Initiative. In this context, the delegation from the University of Helsinki met with the Pre-Award Project Department (D2P) of Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne on 23^rd November to explore plans for the Una.Futura project, which will enable the alliance to take the next steps towards its ambition of developing a truly integrated European University of the Future.

Besides their joint cooperation within Una Europa, both universities have been collaborating together for many years through student and staff mobility Erasmus+ agreements in the fields of arts, economics, history, law, philosophy and political science. Over the last five years, nearly 70 students, either from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne or the University of Helsinki, have benefited from these exchange agreements.