Welcome to the Sino-Finnish Joint Learning Innovation Institute (JoLII) Conference – Global Challenges in Education, in Helsinki, Finland on August 28, 2017!

In recent years, China and Finland have been building up an extensive co-operation scheme in education, called Sino-Finnish Learning Garden, signed by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Finland in 2015. Sino-Finnish Joint Learning Innovation Institute (JoLII) was established by the University of Helsinki and Beijing Normal University as an elementary part of the Learning Garden co-operation scheme in November 2015. The institute is a network of nine Finnish universities and several Chinese universities who want to work in cooperation for future schools and high quality education.

The important mission of JoLII is to get Chinese and Finnish researchers, teachers and companies to work together for high quality learning and education to all people. Each year JoLII organises conferences in China and Finland. This summer we welcome all researchers, teachers and companies to participate the August 28, 2017 conference in Helsinki. Come and share your work and interest for the future education.

The conference will focus on global challenges of education and how China and Finland can work together for finding solutions for burning issues in education in both countries and also globally. Many problems are related to unequal opportunities to provide high quality learning to all people. Globally there are also many gaps how new technology is available for learning and how students and different learners in society have advantage of digital learning environments. The future orientation also requires schools to provide generic transversal competences to learners. How these are implemented in schools are open questions in many countries. China and Finland have many strengths in education. The conference invites all participants to be contributors for solving global challenges in education.

We will have parallel research collaborative sessions on 28th of August afternoon. The main themes of these sessions will be:
* Finnish education and reforms
* Chinese education and reforms
* ICT in future schools and teacher education
* Teacher education in transformations for the future
* Learning analytics for future learning
* Future Learning and teaching
* Education eco-system
* Teacher’s education and training
* Children’s well-being
* China and Finland learning from each other in education and reforms

REGISTRATION AND ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
Please fill in the registration and abstract submission form here https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/80536/lomake.html  NOTE that the form is both for the conference registration and for the abstract and open forum submission.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Abstracts – Submission (paper presentations)
The JoLII academic conference committee will send a notification of the abstract acceptance to the corresponding author by the end of July 2017. Abstracts should consist of approximately 250 words including keywords and title, and with your name, your title, your university or institute or company, your contact information (email and mobile phone number). The paper presentations are 15 minutes/ a presentation. The deadline for abstract submission is June 30 2017. 
The best papers will be invited and selected as potential articles for the international journals (quest editorials of the JoLII University networks) and chapters in the international books (editors in the JoLII University networks). The deadline for full papers is September 30. The possible journals and books will be informed after having abstracts.

Open Forum – New initiatives for joint research and development projects
This option offers an opportunity to propose new or ongoing initiatives for joint co-operative projects of Chinese and Finnish researchers and companies. Companies can also be visible through posters that are open to audience since lunch time. The JoLII conference committee will send a notification of the proposal acceptance to the corresponding presenter by the end of July 2017.The aim is to find new joint ideas for the future. Proposal should consist of approximately 250 words including keywords and title, and with your name, your title, your university or institute or company, your contact information (e-mail and mobile phone number). The proposal presentations are 15 minutes/a presentation. The deadline for a new initiative submission is June 30 2017.

For abstract and open forum submission, please use the registration and submission form found above under Registration and Abstract Submission.

PROGRAMME
08:30 – 09:00 Registration
09:00 – 09:10 Conference opening – Professor Hannele Niemi, Chair of JoLii in Finland
09:10 – 09:20 Welcome speech – Vice Rector of University of Helsinki
09:20 – 09:30 Welcome speech – Vice Rector of Beijing Normal University
09:30 – 09:40 Representative of Ministry of education in Finland
09:40 – 09:50 Representative of Ministry of Education in China
09:50 – 10:20 Photo and Morning coffee break
10:20 – 10:35 Key note speech 1 from Finland: Learning to read – Global challenge and opportunity, Heikki Lyytinen, Professor, UNESCO Chair on Inclusive Literacy Learning for All University of Jyväskylä, GraphoLearn Initiative
10:35 – 10:50 Key note speech 2 from China: TBA
10:50 – 11:05 What is Finnish school in the future?, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, Director General of Finnish National Agency for Education
11:05 – 11:15 Heads of the JoLii Centres on stage
11:15 – 12:30 Round Table discussion of JoLii Centres (6 centres)
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch and Posters of Companies
13:30 – 15:15 Parallel Research Collaboration Sessions (4-6 workshops), Research papers and Open Forum
15:15 – 15:45 Afternoon coffee break and Posters of Companies
15:45 – 16:00 Key note speech 3 from China: TBA
16:00 – 16:15 Key note speech 4 from Finland: Equity and Quality of Learning – Global Challenges in Education Ecosystems, Hannele Niemi, Professor, University of Helsinki
16:15 – 17:15 Working together for Global Education Eco-system: Panel discussion – Researchers, participants and companies
18:00 – 20:00 Social event and networking

FURTHER INFORMATION:
Jenny Niu, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki
Mobile: +358503179590, E-mail: shuanghongjenny.niu@helsinki.fi
Hannele Niemi, PhD, Professor, University of Helsinki, Director of the JoLII in Finland
Mobile +358405558975, hannele.niemi@helsinki.fi