Hybrid conference | Beyond the Western Lens: Pathways to Decolonising Higher Education

The conference builds on a decolonial approach, examining how the legacy of colonialism still shapes what is recognised as valid knowledge, whose perspectives are prioritised, and how universities reproduce these patterns.

Rather than simply adding new perspectives to existing structures, a decolonial approach invites deeper reflection on how curricula, teaching practices, and institutional policies are designed, and how they shape who feels included and represented. Yet this perspective remains significantly underrepresented in European Higher Education.

The Una Europa Diversity Council, in collaboration with the Una Europa academic Self-Steering Committee in Europe and the World, invites you to question the dominance of Western knowledge systems while recognising and valuing a wider range of histories, worldviews, and ways of knowing.

By fostering dialogue across disciplines, roles, and regions, the conference encourages participants to challenge their thinking, amplify various ways of knowing, and collectively explore concrete pathways towards decolonial inclusion in higher education institutions.

The conference programme features a variety of sessions, including parallel discussions on decolonising knowledge production, curriculum, and pedagogical practices. Participants can engage in workshops and roundtable discussions that invite diverse perspectives on what decolonisation means in education.

For more comprehensive details, please visit the preliminary programme on the conference website. Please note that this programme is being continuously updated.

• Carolina Guzmán Valenzuela

Carolina Guzmán Valenzuela is a Serra Húnter Fellow in the Faculty of Psychology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) and a Senior Research Fellow at the Universidad de Tarapacá (Chile). Her work examines the intersections of higher education, knowledge production, internationalisation, equity, and decolonisation, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Global South. She has led and contributed to numerous competitive research projects and has held visiting appointments at universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Peru.

Carolina Guzmán Valenzuela is an elected member of the Governing Council of the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. Her research has been widely published in leading international journals, and she is committed to advancing more inclusive, socially just, and globally connected higher education systems.

• Pigga Keskitalo

Professor Pigga Keskitalo is a Professor of Education specialising in Arctic perspectives in education at Lapin yliopisto/the University of Lapland (Finland). She is an Adjunct Professor at Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet and a Visiting Professor II at Sámi allaskuvla/Sámi University of Applied Sciences.

Pigga Keskitalo currently leads and implements several research projects focusing on Indigenous education, Sámi languages, Arctic education, and educational transformation. She is a member of Finland’s Strategic Research Council, leads the University of Lapland research community Arctic Change and Adaptation, and serves as Chair of Arctic Six. She is also a deputy member of the Sámi Parliament of Finland.

The conference is free of charge for participants.

We invite participants to join us in person in Helsinki or connect virtually. Please note that if you choose to attend onsite, you will need to cover your own travel and accommodation expenses. The conference will provide coffee and tea during coffee breaks, and a networking event with some finger food. Lunch will be at own cost.

To reserve your place at the conference, kindly complete the registration form by 18 September. The registration form accommodates both online and in-person attendees. We have a limited number of spots available for in-person attendance, so please ensure you are committed to participating on both days before registering.

For further details about Helsinki and Finland, please visit the conference website.

The conference will follow the guidelines of the Una Europa Code of Conduct.