Future Nordic co-operation on education and summit on research
At the meeting, MR-U discussed future Nordic co-operation within the area of education against the background of a report drafted in 2017 by a High Level Group consisting of: Aida Hadzialic, former minister for upper secondary schools and adult education and training (Sweden); Thomas Wilhelmsson, Chancellor of the University of Helsinki (Finland); and Petter Skarheim, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Education and Research (Norway).
The High Level Group presented its recommendations at the meeting under six headings: Ministerial meetings and co-operation processes; An education and labour market in the Nordic Region; A common knowledge base; Nordic digital platforms for providing education; University co-operation; Innovation and researcher training; and Nordic identity and formation.
MR-U initially discussed the recommendations. In January 2018, MR-U will conduct a full follow up during the Swedish presidency.
By way of extension to MR-U’s meeting, the Norwegian presidency invited the heads of the Nordic research funding bodies (NordHorcs) of the Nordic countries and the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland, Nordic University Co-operation (NUS), and NordForsk to a summit on the future of Nordic co-operation on research. Discussions between MR-U, NordHorcs, and NUS stressed the importance of Nordic co-operation on research in the region, as well as the importance of the even closer regional co-operation on e.g. digitalisation, eScience, Open Science, and Open Access.
Discussions from the summit will also be followed up by the Swedish presidency in 2018.
- Read the High Level Group report here