More than thirty participants attended the workshops that brought experts from industry and scholars from India, Japan, and the USA together who presented their research expertise and share their knowledge in the field of energy, materials, wastewater engineering, and buildings. The goal was to identify challenges to the development and possible solutions to help put in place the essential technologies to tackle global issues of climate change and resource depletion. The workshop has activities to encourage the active participation of students to enhance their learning from the experts.
Researchers presenting research papers & sharing research ideas.
Opening of the workshop on 5th June also marked the International Environment Day. Dr Harpal Singh facilitated the visit of Indian ambassador in Norway, Dr B Bala Bhaskar, to Narvik campus to inaugurate the workshop. Professor Bjørn Reidar Sørensen, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, welcomed Dr Bhaskar, who has a PhD in economics and is also a civil engineer.
In his introduction, Dr Bhaskar said that he considered India and the Arctic as neighbors when it came to climate issues, and pointed out that climate change occurring in the Arctic has its immediate impact on the climate in India. For that reason, he also emphasized the importance of India establishing stronger relations with the climate research taking place in the north. India has a research station and observatory in Svalbard and has keen interest to the happenings, climate change in the arctic region. The ambassador also touched on India's sharp increase in future energy needs, and pointed out how important it is to put in place sustainable energy solutions that are also economically viable. Thus, the transition to new technology that is affordable is attractive for countries like India. Dean Bjørn Reidar Sørensen expressed to the ambassador his desire to further strengthen the collaboration between the IVT faculty and Indian educational institutions.
The local business community, where representatives from TECO2030, Nordkraft, Aker Horizons, LKAB and Narvik municipality participated in the meeting with the Ambassador and meet with the professors at the workshop. During the meeting, strategic partnership and the development of industry-specific skills were discussed.
The workshop was part of the activities of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Urban Planning and Design.