The Baltic University Programme (BUP) is one of the largest university cooperatives in the world with 93 member universities (as of April 2023) and other institutes of higher education in the

Baltic Sea Region The terms Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, mainly in Northern Europe. T ...

. It has its coordinating secretariat at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance durin ...

, in Sweden. The programme strives since its foundation in 1991 to find novel ways of interaction among universities by promoting openness, internationalization and mobility. The main aim is to support building strong regional educational and research communities. The main focus of the programme is Sustainable development,

Environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair da ...

and

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

. The member universities are located in countries that fully or partly lays within the

Drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

area of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

, and includes the countries of

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, Lithuania,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

, Sweden and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. In each country, a national centre provides the local contacts within the Programme, the national centres are also responsible for content and arrangement of the BUP events in a half-year rotation presidency within the Programme. Some of the annual activities that are arranged are: student conferences, PhD students trainings, university teacher's training, summer schools, research conferences and different online activities. Much of the programme's work is centralized around the 10 themes. # Circular economy #

Climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

# Education for sustainable development # Energy Systems (previously Renewable energy) #

Sustainable food system A sustainable food system is a type of food system that provides healthy food to people and creates sustainable environmental, economic and social systems that surround food. Sustainable food systems start with the development of sustainable agri ...

Sustainable mobility Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...

# Sustainable societies # Sustainable tourism # Sustainable Water resources # Urban-Rural development

BUP Logotype and BUP history

During 2018 an update to the BUP logotype was made. This was done to better explain the BUP history and future aim. The logotype shows a satellite in the middle, reflecting on the innovative way of teaching and networking. In the 1990s the BUP set up satellite TV arrangements, which was very novel at the time. The use of satellite TV allowed for a much broader participation and student involvement. The first satellite TV broadcast was staged in October 1991. It had documentaries from many of the countries in the Baltic Sea Region and with several researcher present in the broadcast. In the following year, several such broadcasts were performed enabling discussions between universities in the network. After a few years, the broadcast were made not only from Sweden and Uppsala but from all countries around the Baltic Sea, from Visby, Åbo/Turku, and St Petersburg, to Gdansk and Berlin, and there were as well space bridges. By the late 1990s, the internet had been developed and started to replace Satellite TV. Discussion between student groups were made using this new channel for interaction instead. The history of involving people that were far apart from each other, is something the BUP have chosen to honour in the logotype. The satellite in the middle is a reflection of connecting and enlightening the people in the Baltic Sea Region.

Organizational structure

The programme is governed by an international board and coordinated by the coordinating secretariat at

, Sweden. The programme also has three associate secretariats located at

Åbo Akademi University Åbo Akademi University ( sv, Åbo Akademi , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activit ...

in Finland, Lodz University of Technology in Poland and

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (German: Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg) is a higher education and applied research institution located in Hamburg, Germany. Formerly known as ''Fachhochschule Hamburg,'' the ''Hamburg U ...

in Germany

Footnotes

References

Official website
{{europe-edu-stub Baltic states Education in Europe