Strategic partnerships drive the University’s research and talent development agenda. At the heart of the concept is the belief that carefully selecting partner universities with similar or corresponding interests creates strong and novel research as well as new opportunities for collaboration in other areas.
Currently the University of Helsinki has designated five strategic partners;
With the partner universities a limited number of priority areas have been designated jointly.
The two universities want to strengthen world class research collaboration and now run two key projects: Coast Clim and Arctic Avenue.
CoastClim is based on an earlier strategic cooperation project in Baltic Sea research between the University of Helsinki and Stockholm University, entitled the
The two universities boost collaboration in the aforementioned fields through an exploratory seed funding instrument. The first funding call took place in Spring 2025, and 4 multidisciplinary projects were selected to receive funding. All funded projects involve researchers from both institutions.
The two universities collaborate on a number of other activities, for instance in the
Priority areas:
The University of Helsinki and the University of Nairobi forged a strategic partnership on March 24, 2021.
In their collaboration, they focus on three spearheads:
The Universities also run the
The University of Helsinki,
The latest funding call took place in 2024, and 14 multidisciplinary projects with researchers involved from all three institutions were selected to receive the funding.
Una Europa is one of 65 networks funded under the
The eleven Una Europa partners are leading European research universities. Together we are committed to developing in-depth cooperation and long-term integration between our institutions. By focusing on excellent and innovative research and teaching, we want to ensure that our graduates and researchers are equipped to shape the future.
The League of European Research Universities, better known as LERU, is a network of 24 leading research-intensive universities based in 12 countries around Europe.
University of Helsinki is one of the founding members.
LERU universities share the values of high-quality teaching within an environment of internationally competitive research.
LERU:
Universitas 21 (U21) is a diverse, global network that brings together world-leading, research-intensive universities across six continents, who share a common belief in the value of collaboration and internationalisation. The network's member-led initiatives and programmes are designed to benefit staff, students and member institutions, through sharing resources, learning together and co-designing solutions to our common challenges.
The University of Helsinki joined Universitas 21 in September 2025.
The EIT supports the development of dynamic, long-term European partnerships among leading companies, research labs and higher education. These partnerships are called Innovation Communities and each is dedicated to finding solutions to a specific global challenge.
The University of Helsinki is part of four EIT Innovation Communities:
UArctic builds and strengthens collective resources and collaborative infrastructure that enables member institutions to better serve their constituents and their regions.
Through cooperation in education, research and outreach the network enhances human capacity in the North, promotes viable communities and sustainable economies, and forges global partnerships.
University of Helsinki participates in Arctic research collaboration through UArctic thematic networks. The University of Helsinki is an active player in the north2north student mobility scheme operating within the UArctic consortium.
The University of Helsinki is the bridgehead organization of Euraxess Finland.
The project is aiming to development multidisciplinary digital learning in sustainability challenges with flexible study paths to the working life. So far many activities have been tested such as online courses in different elements of sustainability and climate change and conferences and events for universities.
UniPID has a range of activities that are aimed both at students at all degree levels, researchers in the field, and other stakeholders looking for expertise.
The work includes virtual courses on sustainable development and development studies, supporting researchers in the field with research calls and funding opportunities, striving to impact research policies and supporting Finnish universities in fostering their social impact and response to global challenges.
The University of Helsinki currently hosts the UniPID co-ordination unit, and provides services for the network members, and other stakeholders
The University of Helsinki is a responsible social force. In addition to serving the Finnish society, the University sees itself very much an advocate of sustainable global development. A major aspect of this advocacy is seeking to promote academic freedom and integrity around the world.
The University is a member of the
The network consists of more than
Since 2017, all Finnish SAR member universities, including the University of Helsinki, have formed the Finnish section for Scholars at Risk within the confines of