University of Helsinki (UH) together with its partner universities initiated the Erasmus+ KA171 2022 project in order to implement student exchange and teacher and staff exchange between Finland and countries not associated to Erasmus+. As a research-led university, University of Helsinki seeks partnerships with leading institutions globally, but also pays attention to the diversity of its partnerships. UH selects its partners primarily based on quality and seeks for partnerships where the exchange of expertise brings added value to both counterparts. UH’s strategy for choosing the partners for the Erasmus+ KA171 2022 project was based on a university-wide call for proposals from UH’s academic staff in the autumn of 2021 and a UH internal evaluation of partner agreements with a focus on deepening the cooperation with chosen partner institutions and countries. The cooperation initiatives from the academic staff members were vitally important in building a strong ground for future exchanges. Selected partners for the application had a solid record of previous cooperation that both UH and the partner institutions wished to deepen further.