History

Florence Network

The Florence Nursing and Midwifery Network is a communication network that offers a valuable opportunity to connect with future colleagues at the international level. The network aims to enhance and strengthen international collaboration between nurses and midwives working in academia and clinical practice.

Through workshops and conferences held across Europe, the Florence Network fosters the exchange of knowledge, experience, and best practices, aiming to improve the current state of nursing and midwifery. The network currently operates in 18 European countries and includes approximately 40 universities, making it one of the largest organizations of its kind in the world. No similar organization involves such a large number of students, and the network facilitates the largest international student mobility program in its field.

The Florence Network was established to promote the exchange of good practices in teaching, clinical practice, and research. Annual meetings provide a platform for project collaboration as well as staff and student exchanges. These meetings bring together nurses working in clinical settings, academics, and students to discuss research topics, global challenges, and the internationalization of nursing and midwifery.

The network actively encourages the participation of students, administrators, and educators to strengthen the link between strategy and practice. Through its Student Board, it supports the development of student working groups that promote internationalization and student engagement.

The Florence Nursing and Midwifery Network values the advancement and promotion of nursing and midwifery education and practice and supports interaction and communication among stakeholders in nursing and midwifery education. Membership in the network is open and free of charge; each institution funds its own participation.

Main Goals

The primary aim of the Florence Network is to increase the visibility of nursing and midwifery in Europe. In line with this, its main objectives include:

• Promoting student and teacher exchanges

• Comparing educational programs and improving the quality of nursing and midwifery education

• Encouraging research collaboration in nursing and midwifery fields

• Developing European projects and intensive programs

• Contributing to the implementation of the Bologna Declaration across Europe

• Seeking accreditation for nursing and midwifery education in Europe

• Promoting the use of the Erasmus program

• Supporting long-term exchanges for students and educators

• Helping to fund and disseminate nursing and midwifery projects

Annual Meetings

The annual meetings of the Florence Network are hosted each year by one of the member institutions.
Previous hosts include:

• 2006 – Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

• 2007 – Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden

• 2008 – Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

• 2009 – Hague University, The Hague, Netherlands

• 2010 – Ege University, İzmir, Türkiye

• 2011 – Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa (ESEL), Lisbon, Portugal

• 2012 – Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

• 2013 – Hanze University, Groningen, Netherlands

• 2014 – Turgut Özal University, Ankara, Türkiye

• 2015 – Metropolitan University College, Copenhagen, Denmark

• 2017 – Bern University, Switzerland

Ege University Faculty of Nursing became a member of the Florence Nursing and Midwifery Network in 2006.
Since then, the faculty has actively participated in the annual meetings, which feature separate sessions for Erasmus Coordinators (ECO Meeting), Deans (Dean Meeting), and students (Student Board).

To maintain membership, each university must participate in the annual meeting. Typically, each Erasmus Coordinator can bring one undergraduate student from their institution without a registration fee.

Notably, Ege University Faculty of Nursing hosted the 18th Annual Meeting of the Florence Nursing and Midwifery Network in 2010.