New cooperation with other courses

European course first part of the project

Europe in the World is the name of the course selected to be the University of Gothenburg’s first “learning unit” within the EUTOPIA network. The Course Coordinator is Lisbeth Aggestam, Associate Professor of Political Science. – I think the course is a good choice, because it is multidisciplinary and it already has a strong international focus.

THE EUTOPIA NETWORK’S first three years involve several pilot activities, including a total of thirty “learning units”, five at each participating university. These are courses that already exist at the universities, which in various ways will collaborate with similar educational programmes at the other universities. Six learning units have already begun collaborating, and in November a decision will be made on another twelve. – Each university submits proposals for courses that may be appropriate, and then the participating universities make a joint decision regarding who should be accepted, says Deputy Vice-Chancellor Mette Sandoff, who is responsible for EUTOPIA’s work package for education.

– THE AIM IS TO choose diverse courses so that we get a broad presentation of the collaborating universities. The partnership might involve developing subject content and pedagogy, but it can also function as a bridge to other forms of collaboration, for example with businesses and organisations in the various regions. Physical or virtual mobility, among students and staff, can also be incorporated. All in all, the intention is that these learning units will develop into larger “learning communities”.

Europe in the World is a masters course in European studies with lecturers from a number of different disciplines. The students come from all over the world, not just Europe, says Lisbeth Aggestam. – I think that the EUTOPIA partnership

Lisbeth Aggestam

Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG

Each university submits proposals for courses that may be appropriate ...

LISBETH AGGESTAM

has been extremely rewarding for them. Among other things, we have had two guest lecturers from the network, one of whom is an expert on EU asylum policy. Our contribution included a lecture by the former EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. It would be incredibly interesting if the partnership could be further developed, for example to enable our students to present their papers to students at the other universities as well, and vice versa, in order to open up perspectives and initiate different discussions. Through EUTOPIA, students also make new contacts, which will be important for them in their professional lives.

THE LONG-TERM goal is to create a partnership where students, lecturers, researchers and other staff can move freely between the universities in the network. There are also hopes of eventually being able to create joint educational programmes. However, that is going to be a long journey, which is why the EUTOPIA partnership is planned until 2050, explains Jan Lif, coordinator of the work package for education. – A survey is currently underway, led by Senior Lecturer Anna-Maria Fjellman, of the opportunities and obstacles for in-depth collaboration. It might involve practical things, such as different semester start dates, how we calculate credits or which teaching platforms we use. But we also need to discuss cultural differences between universities, such as the view of who should have access to higher education or different perceptions of academic freedom. Achieving this level of collaboration is difficult but not impossible, hence the name “EUTOPIA”, and precisely because it is difficult, it is also interesting.

THE ONGOING PANDEMIC has given the partnership a boost, says Lisbeth Aggestam. – It’s not fun to be forced to lecture online. But the fact that so many people have managed to become good at Zoom has been positive in this particular context. Normally, we usually invite lecturers here and try to fit in as much as possible while the person is actually here. This time, it was obvious that the lecturers would have to participate digitally, which made both planning and implementation easier.

The University of Gothenburg has joint responsibility for EUTOPIA’s educational package, together with Vrije Universiteit Brussels, which has the principal responsibility. – It does not mean more influence but that we have a greater organisational responsibility, says Mette Sandoff. Since the University of Gothenburg has the principal responsibility for EUTOPIA’s research package, we have been given a rather substantial role in the partnership, which of course is very exciting.