Coordinator
Tampere University (TAU) – Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI)
Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI) has a long and visible national and international standing in the field of Peace Research. It is a multidisciplinary and international research centre whose mission is to conduct high quality research on the causes of war, on non-violent resolution of conflicts, and on conditions for peace. Since its foundation, TAPRI has been a hub of peace research in Finland.
Today, TAPRI is the most international unit at the entire university, and it is an internationally recognized as a reputable institute. International cooperation has been an essential part of TAPRI’s activities since its inception. Especially over the past 15 years, it has increasingly focused on international cooperation expanding its activities and presence beyond Finland. TAPRI is recruiting researchers, doctoral students and master’s students internationally, and currently TAPRI is an international community with staff members and students from different corners of the world. The working language of TAPRI is English.
In accordance with the present research agenda, the focus of TAPRI’s research is peaceful change. TAPRI is well known for qualitative and critical theory-oriented research with interest in praxis. Research themes include, among others, peacebuilding, post-conflict societal arrangements, peaceful third-party interventions, and the prerequisites of durable peace including the mundane and everyday dimensions of war and peace. Research themes covered at TAPRI are diverse and open to new interventions, but four thematic priority areas can be recognized: Feminist Peace Research, Peace Mediation and Peacebuilding, Everyday Peace and Global Mobility.
Beneficiaries
Co-coordinator
Ilia State University (ILIAUNI)
Ilia State University (ILIAUNI) is a flagship public research and comprehensive university in Georgia, located in its capital, Tbilisi. It was established in 2006 as a merger of six different institutions, each having a long history and a diverse institutional profile. Shortly afterwards it transformed itself into a multi-profile university with its significant research outputs visible at the national and international levels. ILIAUNI’s four faculties – the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Medicine, the Faculty of Business, Technology and Education, and the School of Law – offer a variety of unique academic programs, including joint and double degree programs in their respective disciplines. Along with 47 large and small-scale research institutes, laboratories and centers, the University creates in-depth research opportunities in arts, social sciences, education, humanities, business, law, medicine, public health, life sciences, basic sciences, earth sciences, engineering and architecture.
Over the past 17 years ILIAUNI’s student body has been growing gradually. Currently, the University serves approximately 17,700 students, more than 700 international students among them. It has an academic community of 354 high caliber academic faculty members, 972 invited instructors and 236 researchers. Its educational and research processes are supported by 1206 staff members. Coupled with its highly qualified human capital and modernized research facilities in Tbilisi and in the regions of Georgia, ILIAUNI has become one of the most desirable universities for students and faculty members today.
STIFTUNG UNIVERSITAT HILDESHEIM (UNI HILDESHEIM)
The University of Hildesheim Foundation emerged from the Teacher’s Training University of Lower Saxony (founded in 1946), and currently has four divisions: “Educational and Social Sciences,” “Cultural Studies and Aesthetic Communication,” “Linguistics and Information Science,” and “Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Economics and Computer Science”. The number of students enrolled at the University of Hildesheim has increased steadily since 2000 to 8,000 in Winter Semester of 2018/19. Around 73 % are female students. Women also comprise 43 % of the faculty, above the national average. Indeed, gender equality, and equal treatment for those from different social, ethnic and religious backgrounds, as well as educational integration in general, are important parts of the university’s mission.
Interdisciplinary work, and narrowing the gap between theory and practice, are important components of the research and teaching profile of the University of Hildesheim. Its well-designed and tested educational studies programs as well as cultural studies and applied linguistics are the traditional strength of the University of Hildesheim. In addition, Psychology, Childhood Education, Diversity Education, Translation Studies, Intercultural Communication, Environmental Studies and Business Information/Computer Science programs are also in high demand.
Since 2003, the University of Hildesheim has been a foundation under public law, and therefore enjoys a comparatively high degree of autonomy. Among other things, it can award professorships and approve its own construction projects. Annual third-party funding has increased sevenfold since the foundation was created, and three major construction programs have followed (Main Campus, Marienburg Culture Campus and Bühler Campus), in addition to a number of other foundation projects and ten innovative endowed professorships. As a public foundation, the University of Hildesheim maintains close relationships with civil society, and a strong network of affiliation with educational, scientific and cultural institutions, as well as economic and business organizations.
SOKHUMI STATE UNIVERSITY (SSU)
This main mission of Sokhumi State University, together with the authority, is a historical and special responsibility, and reveals the possibility that the university, together with the educational hearth, can become a regional center for the study of conflicts.
The mission of the university is to train specialists of different educational levels who have a university education corresponding to the world’s modern standards based on the main value of humanity – the latest scientific ideas, the receipt and dissemination of education, which will have a high sense of civic responsibility for integration in a global society. The doors of the university are open to all students and professors despite ethnicity, social background, political and religious views.
For Sokhumi State University, priority is the development of such important spheres and areas as: Georgian studies, Abkhazian studies, teacher education, exact and natural, humanitarian and socio-political sciences, law and business administration. At the same time, for Sokhumi State University, it is important to implement interdisciplinary spheres, short-term and proffesive programs, the purpose of which is to train highly qualified personnel that are relevant to the labor market, competitive, modern requirements. Sokhumi State University helps internationalization, continuity, sustainability and accessibility of education; from the point of view of this, it is important to actively participate in educational programs and research projects together with various foreign partners, their support, which, for its part, will give international recognition to the Sokhumi State University.
CENTER FOR PEACE AND CIVIC DEVELOPMENT (CPCD)
CPCD was founded on March 20,2011.On September 2017, name of the organization has been changed to “Center for Peace and Civic Development”, since that time organization has three board members. The main goal of the organization is to promote integration within the region, use advocacy for better engagement of the civil society members in community activities, make young people more active and raise engagement in civil society through informal education and cultural events. The organization works to create common peace vision among young generation in Region, raise awareness on peace building issue in youngsters.
The members of the organization are young people, who have huge experience in working with vulnerable groups.
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (TSNUK)
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is today a top and largest classic university with a distinct research profile, and the leading contemporary academic and educational hub of Ukraine. With the independent Ukrainian nation arising, the University is facing new challenges and responsibilities.
The high status of a classical research University is underpinned by the numerous academic achievements of its staff. The staff at the University have a broad range of formal achievements recognised, in particular with the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology, Awards from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and branches of the national academies of sciences, Orders of Merit, Orders of Saints Cyril and Methodius, awards of the honorary title of Honoured Educationalist of Ukraine and Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine, also Awards by the President of Ukraine for young academics and Awards by the Ukrainian Parliament to the most talented young scientists in basic and applied research, and scientific and technological development.
The University awards Junior Specialist’s, Bachelor’s, Specialist’s and Master’s degrees, Higher Qualification Post-graduate degrees and Doctoral degrees. Training and retraining programs are provided in 14 specialties of Junior Specialist qualification, 55 fields of Bachelor training programs, 49 areas of Specialist training programs and 98 fields of Master training programs. More than 26 thousand students study at the University. Approximately 1,645 postgraduate students and 125 PhD students are working for higher qualifications at the University.
Over 350 doctoral and higher postgraduate theses are submitted annually at the university. Courses are provided by 198 Departments. The academic potential of Kyiv University is today demonstrated by more than 60 full members and corresponding members of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine, 626 members of staff with Doctor’s degrees and 1,645 staff with higher postgraduate degrees.
V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (KKNU)
Kharkiv National University is one of the oldest universities in Eastern Europe. Currently, the university consists of 26 schools and educational and research institutes: Pedagogical Academy; Biological; Geological, Geographical, Recreational and Tourism; Economic; Foreign Languages; History; Computer Science; Medicine; Mathematics and Computer Sciences; Education and Research Institute of Ecology; Education and Research Institute “Karazin Business School”; Education and Research Institute “Institute of Public Administration”; Education and Research Institute “Karazin Banking Institute”; Education and Research Institute of Computer Physics and Energy; Education and Research Institute “School of Physics”; International Economic Relations and Travel Business; School of Psychology; School of Radiophysics, Biomedical Electronics and Computer Systems; Sociological; Physical; Philological; Philosophical; Chemical; Law; as well as the Research Institute of International Education for Study and Research.
Karazin University educates over 15,717 students, including 1,014 international students from 31 countries, 650 postgraduates, and 14 doctoral students. 3,112 full-time teachers are involved in scientific research and personnel training, including 113 researchers, 6 academicians and corresponding members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 296 doctors of sciences, professors, 945 candidates of sciences, associate professors, and 1 member of the California Academy of Sciences. Overall, the university community comprises over 160,000 graduates.
NGO Public Diplomacy Platform (PDP)
Public Diplomacy Platform is a youth-led non-governmental organization that aims to develop youth involvement in state development and to promote a positive image of Ukraine in the international arena. With a team of over 10 people and through dozens of events and initiatives, Public Diplomacy Platform managed to engage over 13,000 people from all over Ukraine and European countries.
Moldova State University (MSU)
Moldova State University is the largest higher education institution in the Republic of Moldova, a classical university with a wide range of educational programs in all three cycles.
MSU has valuable potential and visible results in research, being involved annually in several dozen institutional national and international projects. Today, the Moldova State University is a member of the International Association of Universities (IAU), the Francophone University Agency (AUF), the Eurasian Association of Universities (AEU). International cooperation is a catalyst for international review and planning activities, contributes for Europeanization of academic curricula and study process.
Ion Creanga State Pedagogical University Chisinau (UPSC)
ICSPU is a public, higher education, research and social development institution subordinated to the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova. ICSPU aims at training future teachers and specialists in the fields of Education Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts, Humanities, Exact Sciences as well as developing program-products and educational applications, which represent competitive qualifications on the labour market. ICSPU also provides continuous training programs for teachers and managers and trains researchers at national and international levels. ICSPU brings significant contributions to the teaching staff nationwide and to the development of higher education of Moldova.
With an academic tradition in training and re-training teachers started in 1940, “Ion Creanga” State Pedagogical University of Chisinau is the first and only pedagogical university in the Republic of Moldova. With the fusion of the State University of Tiraspol, the Continuing Education Institute and the Institute of Education Sciences, the ICSPU added up three faculties, thus expanding to 8 faculties (Faculty of Philology and History, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Faculty of Psychology and Special Psychopedagogy, Faculty of Education Sciences, Faculty of Geography, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Computer Sciences) and an improved Centre for Continuing Education and Leadership.
Having about 6500 students enrolled at undergraduate, graduate and PhD level, and continuing education/life-long-learning programs within the 8 faculties and the Centre for Continuing Education and Leadership, “Ion Creanga” State Pedagogical University of Chisinau is empirically connected to its fundamental values: quality, cooperation and communication, integrity, excellence, flexibility, creativity, life-long-learning following its academic motto: DISCE UT DOCEAS.
The Agency for Innovation and Development is a non-profit organization created by experts in February 2015 to support innovative ideas and projects in the socio-economic and cultural spheres. The mission of the Agency is identification, promotion and development of innovative ideas and social projects with the aim of growing human capital and sustainable development of the region in the social, economic and cultural spheres through research, implementation of information and educational programs, consulting and advocacy.
The Agency had the following goals: facilitating access to resources; creating new start-ups to create new jobs; training the target group on current topics; provision of consulting services; dissemination of best local and foreign experience; educational international exchanges.
The main target of the Agency are youth, children, women, NGOs, universities, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. It consists of permanent staff of 7 people, volunteers of more than 30 people, more than 20 local and international experts involved.
Peace Education Institute (RKI)
The Peace Education Institute (RKI) is a leading Finnish, politically non-aligned peace education organisation. RKI works with educators in formal and non-formal education settings. In practice, this means teachers, youth workers or activists who are interested in creating safer, more inclusive, and equal spaces in their work and in wider society.
RKI also organizes trainings in various settings in the field of its key themes. The key themes are peace, equality, equity, global responsibility, and antiracism. On yearly basis RKI trains 5000-10000 educators. Development work and projects in national and international contexts is part of our core actions. The Institute also produces materials. In Finnish our organization is Rauhankasvatusinstituutti (RKI).
University of Innsbruck (UIBK)
Founded in 1669, the Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck is the largest university in the western part of Austria. Located at a traditional north-south crossroads connecting Europe, it is oriented internationally while positioned locally.
Learning from the long and sometimes problematic history of the University, its community builds bridges into the future. The strength of the university is managing seemingly conflicting topics in a productive manner: asking globally oriented but regionally motivated research questions; self-confidently breaking with well-established knowledge while consciously respecting traditions; and capitalizing on academic freedom while treating it responsibly. In this environment of balanced diversity everyone at the University acts as a member of society as well as a link to society.
This philosophy is reflected in the current main research areas: Alpine Space, Cultural Encounters – Cultural Conflicts, Economy, Politics & Society (EPoS), Molecular Biosciences, Physics, Scientific Computing and the Digital Science Center (DiSC). All knowledge gained from the research is available to the public to initiate, foster and advance informed discussions and sometimes vigorous debates inside and outside of the academic world.
The University of Innsbruck as a vital social force stands for high-quality independent research and education. All members of the University, students and staff alike, actively take responsibility to sustainably contribute to developments at the University and in society. As a University its community works to create an environment where free, creative and daring thinking can prosper and it offers diverse opportunities through comprehensive education. The leading principles to promote these values are: participation, cooperation, trust and transparency as the democratic tradition demands.