UiA hosted an international short-term mobility programme that brought together 28 students from nine countries and more than 20 nationalities.
Through a series of presentations, workshops, and panel debates, they examined how global development is taught, researched and practiced.
The event was part of the FORTHEM Alliance, a network of nine European universities a committed to fostering collaborative, inclusive and innovative higher education.
"Going on exchange is an important experience for students, and not everyone can take a full semester abroad. These short-term mobilities are ideal to meet people from other countries and cultures, and becoming more open-minded" says Paula Elmere from the University of Latvia.
Student-driven from start to finish
"What made this special is that it was initiated and organised by students for students. They chose the subjects, the speakers and the participants from over 85 applicants. They involved local and national experts in the delivery of keynotes, workshops and panel discussions", says Clare Jortveit, senior adviser for internationalisation at UiA.
For Rania Farah, one of the organisers and a student at the School of Business and Law at UiA, the process was as much a learning experience as the event itself. "It was a challenging process. In the beginning we didn't know what this would become," she says.
The organisers worked with academic staff at UiA, as well as partner institutions, including UN agencies, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Strømme Foundation, Effective Altruism, Arkivet, and NORAD.
A week of critical discussions
What are short-term mobilities (STM's)?
FORTHEM’s short-term mobilities are mini-exchange programmes in which students from different study programmes immerse themselves in a shared theme alongside peers from European partner universities.
The format is designed to offer the international experience of a semester abroad in a concentrated, accessible package, minimizing the barriers of time, cost and logistics that can prevent students from studying abroad.
The programme was structured to move students from theory towards practice over the course of the week.
The first day was entirely student-led, with participants sharing on how global development is researched and taught at their home universities.
Midweek, field experts were brought in to challenge assumptions and open up new ways of thinking about academic curricula.
The week concluded with a career fair, giving students the chance to connect with professionals working in the sector.
"The field of global development is international; we can't do this alone," says Farah. "It's important to have different perspectives from different countries, and the FORTHEM Alliance unites us in that way", she says.
Within reach of most students
Elmere described a straightforward application process and was pleasantly surprised by the financial support available.
"I got funding both from the European Union and from the University of Latvia, and I would say that that has covered almost all the costs," she says. "I would recommend students in my position to take this opportunity because there aren't any obstacles", she says.
What comes next
Ibrahim says the group has agreed to stay in touch and has begun planning a follow-up event.
"These discussions are just the beginning. We need to have them more often, to bridge the gap that this project has started to address. I hope this project encourages other students to do the same at their universities", Farah says.
More FORTHEM opportunities at UiA this spring
In April, UiA is hosting two further short-term mobilities:
- Understanding Diversity and Inclusion, hosted by the Department of Education.
- GeoData, AI and VR Week, initiated by the IT cluster Digin and involving students from Information Systems.
A record number of students have applied for the upcoming Democracy Week, though places are still available for UiA students. Send an email to apply.
Four UiA students will also travel to the University of Valencia in Spain to take part in the fourth Entrepreneurship Summer School. Learn more.
There are also upcoming programmes scheduled for the autumn semester. Students interested in applying for any of these programmes have until 12 April to submit their applications. Explore all opportunities.