UniPID and EADI will convene a workshop session to have a dialogue and reflect on policy-level discussions and structural changes needed to enable responsible global academic collaboration. Policy-level transformation is needed to make these collaborations more sustainable and equitable. In this workshop, we will explore the elements, opportunities, and good practices to guide this transformation process.

UniPID is a network of nine Finnish universities that seeks to advance universities’ global responsibility and strengthen their response to global challenges. The Network engages actively with policy makers to promote the role and importance of higher education and research in creating a landscape for more sustainable global academic partnerships. UniPID has been developing guidelines to complement the existing Finnish national guidelines on research integrity, with the aim to provide the academic community with a conceptual framework and practical tools for creating responsible and equitable approaches to their academic work in and collaboration with the Global South. The first step of the guidelines work is meant to provide ready-to-hand good practices for preventing and mitigating concrete ethical issues within North-South academic partnerships. These practical guidelines will be followed by a policy level discussion and drafting of recommendations for relevant policy makers and other national bodies, funding agencies, and academic institutions to attend the needs for more structural level changes to enable responsible partnerships.

The workshop session will include presentations of the on-going actions of UniPID and EADI towards building responsible partnerships. The session will provide a platform for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders for dialogue on the policy-level needs for structural transformation. The session also includes an opportunity for participants to engage in and co-create knowledge together.