Baltic University Programme

Last updated

The Baltic University Programme (BUP) is one of the largest university cooperatives in the world with over 110 participating universities (as of September 2024) and other institutes of higher education in the Baltic Sea Region. It has its coordinating secretariat at Uppsala University, in Sweden. The programme strives since its foundation in 1991 to find novel ways of interaction among universities by promoting openness, internationalization and mobility. The main aim is to support building strong regional educational and research communities. The main focus of the programme is Sustainable development, Environmental protection and Democracy.

Contents

The participating universities are located in countries that fully or partly lays within the Drainage basin area of the Baltic Sea, and includes the countries of Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Ukraine. In each country, a national centre provides the local contacts within the Programme, the national centres are also responsible for content and arrangement of the BUP events in a half-year rotation presidency within the Programme. Some of the annual activities that are arranged are: student conferences, PhD students trainings, university teacher's training, summer schools, research conferences and different online activities.

Much of the programme's work is centralized around the 10 themes. [1]

  1. Circular economy
  2. Climate change
  3. Education for sustainable development
  4. Energy Systems (previously Renewable energy)
  5. Sustainable food system
  6. Sustainable mobility
  7. Sustainable societies
  8. Sustainable tourism
  9. Sustainable Water resources
  10. Urban-Rural development

BUP Logotype and BUP history

During 2018 an update to the BUP logotype was made. This was done to better explain the BUP history and future aim. The logotype shows a satellite in the middle, reflecting on the innovative way of teaching and networking. In the 1990s the BUP set up satellite TV arrangements, which was very novel at the time.

The use of satellite TV allowed for a much broader participation and student involvement. The first satellite TV broadcast was staged in October 1991. It had documentaries from many of the countries in the Baltic Sea Region and with several researcher present in the broadcast. In the following year, several such broadcasts were performed enabling discussions between universities in the network. After a few years, the broadcast were made not only from Sweden and Uppsala but from all countries around the Baltic Sea, from Visby, Åbo/Turku, and St Petersburg, to Gdansk and Berlin, and there were as well space bridges. By the late 1990s, the internet had been developed and started to replace Satellite TV. Discussion between student groups were made using this new channel for interaction instead.

The history of involving people that were far apart from each other, is something the BUP have chosen to honour in the logotype. The satellite in the middle is a reflection of connecting and enlightening the people in the Baltic Sea Region.

In February 2022, the BUP stopped all collaboration with universities in Russia and Belarus as a consequence of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. [2]

Organizational structure

The programme is governed by an international board [3] and coordinated by the coordinating secretariat at Uppsala University, Sweden. The programme also has three associate secretariats located at Åbo Akademi University in Finland, Lodz University of Technology in Poland and Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany [4]

Secretariats
CountryUniversitySecretariat type
Sweden Uppsala University Coordinating secretariat
Finland Åbo Akademi University Associated secretariat
Poland Lodz University of Technology Associated secretariat
Germany Hamburg University of Applied Sciences Associated secreteriat
National centres and participating universities [5]
CountryNational centreNumber of

participating universities

as of September 2024

Czechia University of Ostrava 3
Estonia Tallinn University 4
Finland Åbo Akademi University 8
Germany Hamburg University of Applied Sciences 9
Latvia Riga Technical University 5
Lithuania Kaunas University of Technology 8
Poland Lodz University of Technology 33
Slovakia Slovak University of Agriculture 4
Sweden Södertörn University 12
Ukraine University of Lviv 28
Total114

Footnotes

  1. Andersson, Christian. "Themes - The Baltic University Programme - Uppsala University, Sweden". www.balticuniv.uu.se. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  2. "Statement regarding the current war in Ukraine - Uppsala University". www.uu.se. 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  3. Walter Leal Filho (2002). Prospects of Integration and Development of R & D and the Innovation Potential of Black Sea Economic Co-operation Countries. IOS Press. ISBN   978-1-58603-263-0.
  4. Andersson, Christian. "About us - The Baltic University Programme - Uppsala University, Sweden". www.balticuniv.uu.se. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  5. Ambros, Pontus. "Member Universities - The Baltic University Programme - Uppsala University, Sweden". www.balticuniv.uu.se. Retrieved 2020-09-14.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lund University</span> Swedish university

Lund University is a public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. It traces its roots back to 1425, when a Franciscan studium generale was founded in Lund. After Sweden won Scania from Denmark in the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde, the university was officially founded in 1666 on the location of the old studium generale next to Lund Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uppsala University</span> Research university in Uppsala, Sweden

Uppsala University (UU) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Environment Programme</span> Agency of the United Nations focused on solving environmental issues

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements; publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of the Baltic Sea States</span> Intergovernmental organization

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barents Region</span> Place

The Barents Region is a name given, by advocates of establishing international cooperation after the fall of the Soviet Union, to the land along the coast of the Barents Sea, from Nordland county in Norway to the Kola Peninsula in Russia and beyond all the way to the Ural Mountains and Novaya Zemlya, and south to the Gulf of Bothnia of the Baltic Sea and the great lakes Ladoga and Onega. Among the projects is the Barents Road from Bodø in Norway through Haparanda in Sweden and Finland to Murmansk in Russia. The region has six million inhabitants on 1.75 million km2; three quarters of both belong to Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Tartu</span> Public university in Tartu, Estonia

The University of Tartu is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country. The university was founded under the name of Academia Gustaviana in 1632 by Baron Johan Skytte, the Governor-General of Swedish Livonia, Ingria, and Karelia, with the required ratification provided by King Gustavus Adolphus, shortly before the king's death on 6 November in the Battle of Lützen (1632).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedbank</span> Swedish banking group

Swedbank AB is a Nordic-Baltic banking group based in Stockholm, Sweden, offering retail banking, asset management, financial, and other services. Swedbank has a leading presence in Estonia and has a strong presence in Latvia and Lithuania.

Viasat was a satellite and pay television brand, co-owned by the Swedish media group Viaplay Group in the Nordic countries, Antenna Group in Hungary, and by Viasat World internationally. Founded in Sweden in 1991, Viasat has previously been owned by Modern Times Group. The channels of both companies were broadcast from London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gävle</span> Place in Gästrikland, Sweden

Gävle is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 77,586 inhabitants in 2020, which makes it the 13th-most-populated city in Sweden. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland, having received its charter in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria. However, Gävle is far nearer to the greater Stockholm region than it is to most other major settlements in Norrland and has a much milder climate than associated with said region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattias Klum</span> Swedish freelance photographer and film producer

Mattias Klum is a Swedish freelance photographer and film producer in natural history and cultural subjects. He is the son of Swedish academic educator Arne Klum (1925-2016) and Ingegärd Klum, née Stefanson. Klum has worked full-time as a freelance photographer since 1986, and as a cinematographer and director on numerous film and television projects since 1994. Klum describes and portrays animals, plants, and natural and cultural settings in the form of articles, books, films, lectures and exhibitions.

The European Geography Association (EGEA) is an association encouraging European students to engage with geography through hands-on learning experiences. EGEA provides exchange programs and excursions to facilitate connection between European students and others from across the globe.

The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) is a data collection program on organized violence, based at Uppsala University in Sweden. The UCDP is a leading provider of data on organized violence and armed conflict, and it is the oldest ongoing data collection project for civil war, with a history of almost 40 years. UCDP data are systematically collected and have global coverage, comparability across cases and countries, and long time series. Data are updated annually and are publicly available, free of charge. Furthermore, preliminary data on events of organized violence in Africa is released on a monthly basis.

Baltic 21 is a plan to cooperate on implementing regional sustainable development. It is managed by the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">INOGATE</span> International energy co-operation programme

Interstate Oil and Gas Transportation to Europe (INOGATE) was an international energy co-operation programme between the European Union (EU), the littoral states of the Black and Caspian seas and their neighbouring countries. The programme was operational from 1996 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euroregion Baltic</span>

The Euroregion Baltic (ERB) refers to a cross-border Euroregion in the south-east of the Baltic Sea Region, consisting of eight regions of Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. On 2 March 2022, the ERB's Executive Board suspended Russia's membership, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being</span> International networking platform

The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) is an international networking platform for strengthening professional connections, sharing and co-creating knowledge, and developing joint activities in public health and social well-being. The Partnership is served by the NDPHS Secretariat that was established in 2012 as an international legal entity hosted by the Swedish Government located in Stockholm and funded jointly by the Partner Countries.

Eva Barbro Helen Åkesson is a Swedish professor of chemical physics who was the Rector of Uppsala University 2012–2020. She was previously Pro-Rector of Lund University.

Alvin is a national technical platform for the dissemination and long term preservation of digitised cultural heritage and digital collections in Sweden. The platform contains material from several Swedish cultural heritage organisations, and is operated and developed at Uppsala University Library in collaboration with Gothenburg University Library and Lund University Library through the Alvin consortium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florian Krampe</span>

Florian Krampe is a German/Swedish political scientist and international relations scholar at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).[2] He is best known for his work on climate-related security risks, Environmental Peacebuilding, and the governance of natural resources after armed conflict. He also serves as Affiliated Researcher at the Research School for International Water Cooperation at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University. Between 2020 and 2022 Krampe was cross appointed Specially Appointed Professor at the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability at Hiroshima University, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristina Edström</span> Swedish inorganic chemist

Kristina Edström is a Swedish Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at Uppsala University. She also serves as Head of the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre (ÅABC) and has previously been both Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Science and Technology and Chair of the STandUp for Energy research programme.

References