Twenty Years of History in the Barents Euro- Arctic Region – Lessons Learned and New Opportunities Conference on Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region in the Field of Education and Research as a Resource for Regional Development 26th-30th November, Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Arkhangelsk Astrid Elisabeth Revhaug, Senior Executive Adviser, International Office, Department of Academic Affairs, University of Tromsø

Twenty Years of Experience of Higher Edcuation Cooperation in the Barents region My perspectives A Norwegian perspective University of Tromsø perspective Administrative staff member working since 1998 Former JWGER member ( )

The Past – a quick glance at some milestones Pioneers of internationalisation in the late eighties and nineties The establishment of BEAC in 1993 The establishment of the Norwegian-Pomor University Centre in 1993/bilateral exchange agreement The establishment of the University of the Arctic in

The Past – cont. The adherence to the Bologna Declaration The implementation of the first Bologna goals Bologna issues became an important JWGER concern Mergers by two of the largest institutions in the Barents regi New bilateral agreement between The Russian and the Norwegian ministries of education and research 2010 MoU between the NCM and the Russian Federation

UiT cooperation in the Barents region in the past Cooperation in the Barents region versus Barents cooperation framework An enormous number of cooperative activities- in itself a success story bilateral cooperation predominantly with Russian institutions Research cooperation in the natural sciences and health outnumber by far cooperation in the humanities and social sciences, whereas Exchange cooperation was mostly in the humanities/social sciences

The most frequent funding sources for projects involving UiT  Norwegian Research Council  Barents Secretariat  Central and Eastern Europe Cooperation Programme  European union (Frameworks, Erasmus Mundus, Interreg)  Barents 2020 (Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)  Direct funding for UArctic activities from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research (may incl. Barents institutions)  Cooperation Programme with North America (may include Barents institutions)  Institutional in-kind resources

7 Exchange agreements with partners in Russia  Arctic State University of Culture and Art  Arkhangelsk State Pedagogical University  Northern State Medical University  Murmansk Humanities Institute  Murmansk State Humanities University  Murmansk Technical University  North-Eastern Federal University  Northern (Arctic) Federal University  Karelian State Pedagogical University  Petrozavodsk State University  Saint Petersburg State University  St Petersburg State Conservatory Rimsky-Korsakov  St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts  State Ped. Univ. Herzen, St. Petersburg  Moscow State University  Syktyvkar State University  Surgut State University

Students from Russia at UiT Autumn 1994 Total: 15 Pomor State University : 13 Autumn 2011 Total: 112. Exchange students: 23 Northern Arctic Federal University: 9 North-Eastern Federal University: 5 Murmansk State Technical University: 3 Northern State Medical University: 3 Saint Petersburg State University: 1 Murmansk State Humanities University:1 Syktyvkar State University: 1

UiT students on exchange at Russian universities Autumn 2008: Pomor State University: 5 Autumn 2011: 9 Northern Arctic Federal University: 5 North-Eastern Federal University: 3 Northern State Medical University: 1

Student exchange with Northern (Arctic) Federal University – a sustainable exchange model In the nineties: At PSU: Study programme in Norwegian as 2nd foreign language At UiT: Exchange course package in Norwegian language and culture (30 ECTS) for students from PSU Later: At UiT: Bachelor’s degree programme in Russia Studies At PSU since 2006/NaRFU An exchange semester for Norwegian Bachelor students: course package in Russian history after the revolution/Russian text analysis/bachelor thesis (30 ECTS) 5-10 students every autumn

General trends From pioneers and case by case handling of student mobility towards a more streamlined cooperation Towards a more priority driven cooperation Towards comprehensive cooperation with target institutions

Barents cooperation in the future The present BEAC/BEAR goals and priorities are largely the same as the national ones, NCM, EU, UArctic Even if the BEAC/BEAR framework did not exist, higher education instititutions would still be working towards these goals because they are on the national and global agendas BEAC/BEAR has been a unique cooperation framework, both in structure and in number of areas of society which it includes The concept of the High North as an area of international and national attention will exist hand in hand with the Barents cooperation JWGER as future tool of the Barents cooperation

JWGER experiences at UiT (Chair ) On the negative side Discontinued participation Low participation from the national and regional level Low or no funding for JWGER work as such Administrative JWGER Low interest from academics

Academic and administrative prerequisites (Bologna criteria) Student exchange agreement Standard application form/learning agreement Credit system for exchange courses/modules (ECTS) Standard grading system (A-F) Use of exam transcript (in English) Translation into English of existing courses Development of new English taught courses Study information in English (course description, syllabus, etc) Contact person for the exchanges Student welfare  -pre arrival (information package)  -arrival (introductory programme)  -housing  -integration on campus and extramural activities

On the positive side the JWGER work contributed to: Increased awareness of the Barents region as a natural area for international higher education cooperation Valuable international cooperation experience for the institutions in North Norway Increased administrative cooperation among the International Offices in the Barents region Increased administrative competence by and large, esp. in  Student mobility management)  Foreign education systems

The present mandate and Action plan for JWGER 14 objectives of the present mandate 11 priorities and tasks in the Action Plan 5 priorities within the general tasks 7 action points in the Action Plan

What is expected of Basic prerequisites for the JWGERsuccess of the WG intensify support develop contribute promote increase broaden use provide enhance ensure strenghten expand share implement enforce Fewer periodical goals More cross-disciplinary goals Focus on quality rather than quantity Transparency (Bologna criteria) Stronger commitment from the national and regional level Stronger commitment from institutional level Predictable national/regional and institutional resources The direct involvement of academics

Key factors for success with student exchange and other educational cooperation between Norway and Russia Financing  Scholarships for both students, teachers and administrative staff The compatibility of administrative and academic systems  Competence in internationalisation  Transparency  Close contact between facilitators English taught courses  At least a minimum course package of 30 ECTS Student welfare  To know what to expect Information

New opportunities for JWGER WJGER is «the practical instrument of the BEAR cooperation» How can the WG make a difference? What is the difference between this WG and other WGs? Which are the most successful ones? What can we learn from them? Barents cooperation versus UArctic cooperation/other networks in the north Sources of funding  funding for projects  Funding for the WG

What now? A new mandate A new twin chair is in place A new role for the WG? Priority of task(s) - timeline A new start !