Fishbowl session
The first step in making internationalisation more inclusive is to ask honest, uncomfortable questions about why our activities are not more accessible to marginalised groups. In this session a funding organisation from Germany (DAAD), Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Finland, and ISEP, will present policies, practices and cultures of inclusive internationalisation, exploring how diversity-sensitive communication and selection processes can help to increase the participation of underrepresented groups.
Sofia Lähdeniemi is the Head of International Relations at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Finland. Metropolia UAS is Finland’s largest university of applied sciences, educating future professionals in the fields of business, culture, health care and social services, and technology.
A major part of Sofia’s professional career has concentrated on working with different themes and tasks related to internationalisation of higher education. Before her current position Sofia has worked over 20 years for the Finnish national agency for education, EDUFI, which is also the national agency for Erasmus+ Programme. She has been developing higher education mobility-, and cooperation programmes especially for Europe and Asia and has also worked with national level strategy implementation for internationalization for higher education. Over the years, Sofia has been part of European Commissions working groups i.e. for inclusion and ECHE and has also served as a member & co-chair for Academic Cooperation Association’s thematic Peer Group for inclusion.
Sofia holds a master’s degree in social sciences from the University of Tampere, a specialist vocational qualification in product development from the Management Institute Finland and is currently pursuing an MBA in LUT University.
Marina Casals is the Director of Member Relations for Europe and the UK at ISEP Study Abroad, a non-profit organization with the mission to break down financial and academic barriers to make study abroad accessible for all.
Marina holds an undergraduate degree from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, a master’s degree from Universidad Antonio de Nebrija in Madrid, and is currently pursuing her PhD at the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI) of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milano (Italy).
Marina has more than 22 years of experience in higher education internationalization spanning roles in Spain, Finland, and Morocco.
She has served as a member of the EAIE Leadership and as a Board member of CHEI. In her most recent position, she managed international strategy and operations as the Director of International Relations at Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona-Spain. Marina also created the SUCTI (Systemic University Change Towards Internationalisation) Project, an award-winning training course designed to empower university administrative staff on internationalization. She trains and presents at conferences internationally and has been recognized with the EAIE Rising Star Award and the SGroup IMPACT Award.
