About the Olive project

Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki co-ordinates a HEI ICI project called “Olive Teacher Education without Walls – New models for STEM and Teacher Education in the Digital age”.

Partner Institutions are Al Azhar University in Gaza; Birzeit University in West Bank and School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland and its LUMA centre in Joensuu. Associate partner is Finn Church Aid (FCA) and its Teachers without Borders network.

Olive project develops teacher education in Palestinian universities. The far-reaching impact is an improved quality of compulsory basic education in Palestine that is achieved through narrowing down the digital divide gap and by enhancing access to knowledge for all. Educational challenges are tackled by outputs focusing on creating new on-line learning environments, developing pedagogical approaches, renewing bachelor’s programmes and teacher education diploma, supporting educational leadership and acting in dialogue with educational governance in Palestine. The specific outcome of this project is the comprehensive transformation of teacher education that equips teacher students with skills to exploit modern technologies and online learning tools.