About Plint – Platform for Internationalisation
Plint is a collaborative platform that uses cooperation and dialogue to facilitate the higher education institutions’ work on internationalisation.
The increased internationalisation of higher education, research, and innovation strengthens Sweden as a knowledge nation and enhances its competitiveness. Against this background, the government assigned five public agencies the task of forming a collaborative platform that will use cooperation and dialogue to facilitate the higher education institutions’ work on internationalisation. This collaboration, the Platform for Internationalisation (Plint), started in the spring of 2022.
The five public agencies represent areas related to higher education, research, and innovation, and are:
- Swedish Council for Higher Education
- Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova)
- Swedish Higher Education Authority
- Swedish Institute
- Swedish Research Council
The Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions is represented through three higher education institutions in the steering group and through representation in the working areas, helping Plint work closely with higher education institutions.
A resource for finding solutions and exchanging knowledge
The agencies’ areas of operation and contact networks allow Plint to rest on a broad knowledge base, so it can serve as a resource for higher education institutions and assist them with:
- identifying obstacles, raising policy issues and solving common problems,
- listening and sharing work methods, knowledge and insights,
- offering a knowledge hub for universities and university colleges that have questions about the internationalisation in higher education, research and innovation.
“The platform’s purpose is to create conditions that are conducive to higher education institutions’ engagement with internationalisation,” says Eino Örnfeldt, director-general of the Council for Higher Education. “There are many shared challenges in higher education, and active international collaboration is important for each institution and for Swedish society as a whole.”
Organisation
Plint consists of a steering group, a secretariat, and three working areas.
Steering group
The steering group includes the directors-general of the five public agencies and Formas. The Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions is currently represented by the president of Jönköping University, the vice-chancellor of Lund University, and the deputy vice-chancellor of Uppsala University. The Swedish National Union of Students is also represented on thesteering group.The chair of the steering group rotates, starting with the Swedish Council for Higher Education. The steering group had its first meeting in May 2022.
Members
- Annika Pontén, Swedish Higher Education Authority
- Coco Norén, Uppsala University
- Darja Isaksson, Vinnova
- Eino Örnfeldt, Swedish Council for Higher Education
- Erik Renström, Lund University
- Johan Kuylenstierna, Formas
- Katarina Bjelke, Swedish Research Council
- Klara Dryselius, Swedish National Union of Students
- Madeleine Sjöstedt, Swedish Institute
- President, Jönköping University
Secretariat
The Swedish Council for Higher Education coordinates the secretariat and is the host agency.
Members
Plint is coordinated by the secretariat, whose members are representatives of the platform’s agencies:
- Ann-Mari Fineman, Vinnova
- Anders Ahlstrand, Swedish Council for Higher Education
- Emma Bäcke, Vinnova
- Lena Renner, Swedish Research Council
- Lisa Truedsson, Swedish Institute
- Magnus Hallbåter, Swedish Council for Higher Education
- Maria Högemark, Swedish Council for Higher Education
- Sebastian Steele, Swedish Higher Education Authority
- Ulf Hedbjörk, Swedish Higher Education Authority
Working areas
The platform’s operations are carried out in three working areas:
Mobility for students, researchers and staff
The work in this area aims to improve conditions for mobility for incoming and outgoing students, researchers and staff. This includes people who travel through exchange agreements and those who travel as free-movers. The area will also work to remove obstacles to mobility.
Responsible internationalisation
This working area provides a national platform for issues related to responsible internationalisation and the inclusive exchange of experiences as a means of supporting higher education institutions and agencies.
This working area is temporarily put on hold as the Swedish Council for Higher Education, the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova has a special government remit to develop national guidelines for responsible internationalisation.
Sweden as a knowledge nation
This working area’s activities mainly aim to improve awareness of Sweden as a knowledge nation outside its borders, increasing the number of contacts between Swedish and foreign knowledge organisations.
For more information
Please contact the platform’s secretariat: plint@uhr.se