Nordic research funding organisation NordForsk is looking for different ways to strengthen the collaboration of Nordic universities, and Gaia supports its work.
Nordic universities are seeking new ways to promote the Nordic region and its higher education in Europe and around the world. Cooperation could be an important stepping-stone to the rest of the world, and together Nordic universities could have a bigger impact.
Research funding organisation NordForsk is therefore looking into Nordic university cooperation and new funding mechanisms for Nordic research cooperation. NordForsk operates under the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Gaia supports NordForsk’s work and has also been commissioned to analyse the cooperation of Nordic universities, e.g. by providing a report on their current research cooperation.
The report will be published in autumn 2015 but preliminary data shows that many universities utilise the Nordic brand, and that Nordic cooperation is valuable to them. As research funding is becoming scarcer and competition tighter, international cooperation has an important role e.g. in maintaining research infrastructure.
“Nordic collaboration is considered particularly valuable in issues that are deemed important in all Nordic countries, e.g. Arctic research and social welfare research, but also in solving global challenges and in strengthening the countries’ position internationally,” says Senior Consultant Susanna Sepponen from Gaia.
“Our aim is to suggest ways of strengthening research cooperation among Nordic universities also from an international perspective. Together we are stronger. Gaia’s mapping clearly shows that there is a lot of added value to be gained from coordinating our research efforts,” says Chancellor emerita Krista Varantola,who chairs the Special Advisory Group of NordForsk, responsible for the strategic analysis.
In spring 2015 Gaia also facilitated an evaluation of five Nordic research institutes. Their work involves e.g. volcanic research, Sami research and international maritime law. The assessment is a part of NordForsk’s analysis of Nordic university cooperation.
More information:
- NordFork’s website
- Susanna Sepponen, Senior Consultant, Gaia Consulting, tel. +358 40 138 0067, email: firstname.lastname@gaia.fi
- Mari Hjelt, Deputy Managing Director, Gaia Consulting, tel. +358 40 823 6991, email: firstname.lastname@gaia.fi
