Nordic Cooperation with Russia in Education and Research Eeva Korteniemi TemaNord 2011:545 Nordic Cooperation with Russia in Education and Research TemaNord 2011:545 ISBN 978-92-893-2250-8 © Nordic Council of Ministers, Copenhagen 2011 Print: Kailow Express ApS Copies: 100 Coverphoto: Image Select Printed in Denmark This publication has been published with financial support by the Nordic Council of Ministers. But the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views, policies or recommen- dations of the Nordic Council of Ministers. www.norden.org/publications . Nordic co-operation Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involv- ing Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, the economy, and culture. It plays an im- portant role in European and international collaboration, and aims at creating a strong Nordic community in a strong Europe. Nordic co-operation seeks to safeguard Nordic and regional interests and principles in the global community. Common Nordic values help the region solidify its position as one of the world’s most innovative and competitive. Nordic Council of Ministers Ved Stranden 18 DK-1061 København K Phone (+45) 3396 0200 www.norden.org Content Preface........................................................................................................................................................ 7 Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 9 Abstract................................................................................................................................................... 13 1. Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... 15 2. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 17 2.1 Background and research questions ....................................................................... 17 2.2 The Russian education and research sector as a research object ................. 20 3. Nordic countries’ bilateral cooperation in education and research with Russia ............................................................................................................................................... 27 3.1 Denmark ............................................................................................................................ 27 3.2 Finland ................................................................................................................................ 34 3.3 Iceland ................................................................................................................................ 44 3.4 Norway ............................................................................................................................... 47 3.5 Sweden ............................................................................................................................... 57 4. Intergovernmental organisations in the region: cooperation in education and research .................................................................................................................................. 67 4.1 Nordic Council of Ministers......................................................................................... 67 4.2 Council of the Baltic Sea States .................................................................................. 71 4.3 Barents-Euro Arctic Council ....................................................................................... 72 4.4 Arctic Council and cooperation in the Arctic region .......................................... 73 4.5 Examples of other regional forms of cooperation .............................................. 75 5. Brief overview of EU-Russia cooperation in the field ..................................................... 77 5.1 General framework for cooperation ........................................................................ 77 5.2 Research cooperation ................................................................................................... 78 5.3 Education cooperation.................................................................................................. 79 5.4 Regional EU-Russia cooperation – Northern Dimension and European Neighbourhood and Partnerships Instrument Cross- Border Cooperation ....................................................................................................... 81 6. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 83 7. References ...................................................................................................................................... 87 8. Sammanfattning ........................................................................................................................... 97 9. Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 101 9.1 A list of organisations that have provided additional information for the study ................................................................................................................... 101 9.2 Nordic countries’ bilateral education and research cooperation with Russia. ..................................................................................................................... 103 9.3 Selection of the Nordic countries' programmes for cooperation with Russia in education and research ................................................................. 104 Preface This study of Nordic Cooperation with Russia in Education and Research maps highly relevant themes of the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM). The Nordic countries have their own bilateral agendas with Russia, but the advancement of cooperation is traditionally of considerable im- portance on the intergovernmental level as well. Wide-scale cooperation with Russia is necessary due to geographical realities: Norway and Fin- land both share borders with Russia, and the Baltic and the Barents Seas bind the rest of the Nordic Region to Russia. Good neighbourhood rela- tions, growth and stability are important to the NCM’s aim to facilitate Russia’s participation as an active partner in regional cooperation. The Nordic Council of Ministers has established the programme “Knowledge Building and Networking Programme for cooperation with North-West Russia” in 2006–2007. Cooperation in education and re- search plays an important role in this programme. The NCM wishes to strengthen Russia’s participation in education and research cooperation by developing a well-functioning cooperation programme based on the jointly defined Nordic-Russian priorities and on joint funding. Naturally, it is vital that the programme be carefully planned, and that it supple- ment already existing programmes. The interplay between different programmes, including national, Russian, Nordic and EU programmes, is essential to create synergies. Plenty of different programmes and actors work in the fields of educa- tion and research cooperation with Russia. The NCM has sought to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the activities and actors on the Nordic level, as previously only smaller-scale studies on this subject have been carried out. This study has served the needs of the NCM, but I trust that readers in the Nordic countries, Russia and the world over who are inter- ested in Nordic-Russian cooperation will find this study valuable, and will build on its findings when future cooperation is developed. Halldór Ásgrímsson Secretary General Nordic Council of Ministers Summary This study, commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers, maps cur- rent and planned education and research cooperation that the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) have with Russia. The study explores bilateral, Nordic, regional, intergovernmental and EU levels as well as all fields of research and all educational levels: primary, upper-secondary and vocational schools, as well as higher and adult education. The study focuses on state-level programmes, but pro- vides a brief overview of the cooperation carried out by education and research institutions operating in the Nordic countries. This study falls into at least two frameworks: the internationalisation of research and education, which is a global process, and the framework of the post- Soviet space; after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia began ex- pressing interest in international cooperation in the fields of research and education, while the Nordic countries began deepening their coop- eration with Russia in many fields, including education and research. Section 1.2 provides a brief overview of recent developments in the Rus- sian education and research sector. This study focuses on the bilateral level, and Section 2 maps the edu- cation and research cooperation the Nordic countries have with Russia. The process of internationalising education and research enjoys strong support in Denmark, but current strategies do not emphasise coopera- tion with Russia geographically. Denmark and Russia have an agreement in the fields of culture, education