This was the first physical meeting since the pandemic started. It gathered 7 north2north coordinators from the north2north institutions in Norway, providing the participants a nice occasion to discuss the latest programme updates and to prepare for the upcoming application round 2022- 2023.
The event started with a guided tour in the Sami University of Applied Sciences, one of the first institutions with indigenous focus to join UArctic and north2north.
Elisabeth Utsi Gaup, the leader of the UArctic Thematic Network Verdde, gave the participants a good illustration of how Arctic collaboration and mobility should take place for indigenous people. Verdde is one of the oldest thematic networks and is lead by the Sami University of Applied Sciences.
Among the topics discussed during the meeting was institutions’ willingness to increase the amount of Norwegian north2north scholarships for incoming students from Russia, USA, and Canada. Norwegian students’ eligibility for north2north grants while taking a practice placement in an Arctic country was another issue that was bought up to the group’s attention.
The experience in the heart of the Sápmi showed the north2north coordinators, especially those representing institutions located in the southern part of Norway, how life is in the Arctic.
