Nord University Secures Major Funding for International Arctic Education
The Business School at Nord University's Bodø campus, which has secured 3 million NOK to expand its international master's program with partners in China and India. (Photo: Markus Johnsen ThonhaugenThe High North Center for Business and Governance)
A new 3-million NOK international education initiative will launch in January 2025, connecting three universities across Norway, China, and India. That is reported by the High North Center for Business and Governance in a press release.
The project, "Sustainable Leadership Across Boundaries," brings together three universities in a new partnership.
Nord University Business School will work with East China Normal University and Indian Maritime University. The collaboration strengthens existing ties while welcoming Indian Maritime University as a new partner.
– This project will make our master's degree more international, says study program coordinator, Associate Professor Vivi Marie L. Storsletten.
Students will learn how different cultures approach sustainable development in the Arctic context.
– We believe that bringing together people with different backgrounds and viewpoints helps create better understanding across cultures, Storsletten adds.
Comprehensive Educational Framework
At the heart of the project is a partnership program within the existing Master of Science in Sustainable Leadership and Arctic Perspectives.
– The project will create a solid foundation for further collaboration in education and research on sustainable leadership with Arctic perspectives between our three countries, explains Associate Professor Elena Dybtsyna.
Elena Dybtsyna at High North Center, Nord University Business School is responsible for the partnership program. (Photo: Markus Johnsen Thonhaugen/The High North Center for Business and Governance)
At the more concrete level, the students will learn through hands-on experience and real-world projects. The focus is on sustainable leadership, international governance, and responsible business.
– Through hands-on projects, internships, and collaborative research initiatives, students gain practical skills and industry insights that are directly applicable to their future careers.
International Mobility and Exchange
The project has a clear timeline through December 2028. It will consist of student exchange, faculty workshops and seminars on joint courses and staff mobility.
Students and faculty will regularly travel between the three countries as a key project activity.
– The project promotes sustained student mobility between Norway, China, and India, providing students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in different cultures and environments while pursuing their studies, says Dybtsyna.
The project aims to create a rich international learning environment. Students will work together across borders to solve real-world problems on finding local solutions to global challenges in Arctic region.
– This grant shows that our approach to international collaboration in our master's program is working. We're successfully bringing together different academic fields at our business school, concludes Storsletten.
The project is funded through UTFORSK, a programme administered by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) and funded by the Ministry of Education and Research.
