This increase follows the inclusion of Norway’s “southern“ universities in UArctic's north2north mobility program. The ministry also suggests that academic staff should be eligible for scholarships under the program.
In a comment, UArctic Vice-President Mobility, Pål Markusson, stated that this proposal is an important breakthrough for Arctic mobility as it will give us great momentum in our work. The Arctic is now on the global agenda more than ever before, and the need for developing and sharing knowledge about how to cope with the dramatic changes we see is essential. This funding will give us new opportunities to strengthen cooperation in higher education in the North. This will benefit the younger generation, the students, but also the inclusion of academic staff will make it a powerful tool to stimulate development and sharing of knowledge between our UArctic north2north institutions.
The fact that the Norwegian Ministry of Education chooses to prioritize Arctic mobility this high should give a strong message to the other Arctic countries. The political will to prioritize cooperation and mobility between Arctic institutions of higher education varies a lot, and the Norwegian government has set an important benchmark for others to consider.