The Research and Development seminar was held on the 25th November. The event was hosted at Tampere Polytechnic University of Applied Sciences.This international’s seminar theme was global operations

The four speakers who participated in the seminar were from Morocco, Finland, Estonia and Slovenia:

1  Dr. Anasse  Bouhlal, director of MEDA Institute

2  Professor M’hammed Sabour , University of Joensuu

3  Professor Igor Jakomin, University of Ljubljana

4  PhD Ivar Raig, Dean of Audentes University in Estonia

The variety of countries represented gave an insight into activities at the international level while the presence of participants from different countries provided a more global view on activity. Each presentation was followed by plenary session allowed participants and speakers to engage in discussions on the issues raised during the presentation

The seminar commenced with a few words from Perttu Heino, the director of Research and Development department at Tampere Polytechnic University of Applied Sciences

MEDA Institute

Dr. Anasse Bouhlal introduced  MEDA institute which is an independent, non-political organization that Promotes concrete business, educational and research activities by providing Finnish institutions, organizations and NGOs with up-to-date information through its portal, which has been created with the help of experts from the Mediterranean region. The portal provides information on business activities mainly in the southern Mediterranean region. In addition, the MEDA-Institute collects and disseminates information, and participates in forecasting analyses of business activities in the southern part of the Mediterranean, by organizing visits, seminars, and training activities. The core purpose of the MEDA-Institute is to contribute to cooperation with the Mediterranean countries within the framework of the Barcelona process.

The sectors in which the MEDA-Institute is involved are Transport and Logistics Environmental development Small and medium-sized enterprises, ICT, Health and social services and textile industry.

The Seminar moved on where Professor M’hammed Sabour from University of Joensuu examined the Sociological and the cultural dimensions of the MEDA programme in Morocco. He illustrated with an educational cooperation between Finland and Morocco. The professor pointed out the advantages and the problem involved in this kind of programme.

Sabour noted that the cooperation in the framework of Meda programme is linked to various problems; Cultural differences and problem-solving, communication barrier due to lack of common language and the tasking process of translation, expectations, disagreement on the coordination policy and management of financing.

Sabour concluded that The Meda Programme symbolizes a concrete effort in cooperation between the North and the south. The experience gathered so far has proved very enriching and beneficial for all partners involved.

Possibilities of Slovenia

Professor Igor Jakomin from the University of Ljubljana, in Slovenia discussed the possibilities of Slovenia to the Euro- Mediterranean cooperation. Professor Igor

Jakomin presented the opportunities that Slovenia as a nation can offer to the Meda cooperation. Also the logistical opportunities that the University of Ljubljana can contribute to the Meda cooperation.

Possibilities of Estonia

Ivar Raig the Dean of Audentes University in Estonia, presented the possibilities of Estonia to the Euro- Mediterranean cooperation

Feedback

Overall, the comments made by the participants were very positive and favorable. The participants found the seminar to be very informative and effective.

In particular, the participants found the information delivered at the seminar to be of top expertise and perceived the presentation to be customer oriented.

Conclusion

 It can be concluded from the overall results of the feedback that the seminar was effective.