3.0 Before the agreement

Last modified by ekoponen@helsinki_fi on 2024/01/24 07:31

Joint programmes are probably the deepest, and therefore the most difficult - and rewarding - form of international education cooperation there is. In the negotiations over a joint programme, several areas of academic life are present: study content, administrative and academic rules and regulations, teaching and learning practices, student and staff mobility, development of new and innovative (intensive) courses, modes of delivery, etc.

The list is impressive - and rightly so. Joint educational programmes involve the matching of several aspects of two or more sets of academic life, depending on the amount of institutions involved. The length - and breadth - of the list also means that negotiations are thorough and require commitment. The first task is to gain information and understanding of the degree structures and contents, and administrative practices of the partners involved. It is only then that discussions can start on how the educational offerings of two or more institutions can successfully be united and thereby a new educational programme established.

It is essential to realise that a joint programme is something new. A joint programme is not equivalent to the delivery of old courses for new purposes. It means the convergence of curricula in order to create a new entity with its own learning goals and professional relevance. The process of creating something new with international partners is challenging but at the same time rewarding. It provides a possibility to benchmark and to take a peer-to-peer look at what is being done in sister institutions internationally.

In order for the above to happen, i.e., the learning about and the comparison of curricula and the convergence that follows, time is needed. It is a widely spread illusion that departments with a long history of research collaboration or student exchanges or any other, more traditional form of cooperation are able to start a joint programme overnight. Wrong. One to two years are needed for negotiations, meetings, correspondence, clarifications, decision-making, and everything else in-between. Already physical distance poses challenges to reaching a consensus, arranging for meetings and the setting of and sticking to deadlines.

Do not expect a speedy process!

Allow for time, 1-2 years, to really get to know your partners, to compare the educational content and academic practices of the institutions involved, to assess their relevance to the educational and professional goals set for the new programme and, finally, to provide a framework for the cooperation in the form of an agreement.

In order to be successful, discussions and negotiations must involve not only academics but also administrative staff of the institutions involved. In the University of Helsinki, the Faculty needs to be part of the process since it is there that many of the important decisions concerning the future programme are made.

Involve academic administration

Academic and administrative staff must work together in order to make negotiations successful. Contact the head of academic affairs (opintoasiainpäällikkö) of your faculty at the start of the planning process.

Finally, do not start discussions with your partners with a draft agreement on the table. The actual agreement is the last stage of the entire process. Don't leave it too late in the process, either, but make sure that there is time for it in the the planning of the cooperation. Remember that getting signatures of busy heads of institutions and units alone may take several weeks if not months. If preparations have been done properly, with time and with the involvement of the right people, the drafting of the final agreement on the details of the cooperation is easy.