Report to the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council Narvik, Norway November 28-29, 2007 University of the Arctic International Secretariat University of Lapland Report to the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council November 2007 Introduction The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is a cooperative network of universities, colleges, and other organizations committed to higher education and research in the North. UArctic constitutes 110 members from around the Arctic; 87 higher education institutions and 33 other organizations. It is now 10 years since the early idea of a University of the Arctic came from a small group of individuals at an AMAP meeting, leading to a proposal to the Senior Arctic Officials (SAOs). This proposal envisaged a geographically dispersed institution that would combine the strengths of existing establishments by bringing together students and staff. Benefits would include the sharing of Arctic knowledge, costs of expensive and/or underused facilities, and expanded opportunities for access to education among the region's residents, in particular, for the indigenous peoples of the region. The SAO’s mandated a feasibility study on the University of the Arctic, and the process led to the Iqualuit Declaration of 1998 where the Ministers, "welcome, and are pleased to announce the establishment of the University of the Arctic, a university without walls...". The official Launch of the University of the Arctic occurred in Rovaniemi, Finland, on June 12, 2001, in conjunction with the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Rovaniemi process. In the years following the Launch, membership has increased steadily and the administrative structures to support governance and programs have been consolidated. UArctic's programs and activities have steadily progressed from the planning stage to full implementation. UArctic has since reported regularly on its development to its forefathers, the SAO's. The following presentation will give a very brief overview of new achievements, in particular focusing on upcoming events and actions that could be relevant to the work of the SAO's and the Arctic Council working groups and programs. Furthermpre, the presentation will address the need for strengthened cooperation among Arctic states in Science and Higher Education. UArctic established the UArctic Rectors’ Forum in March 2007. The next Rectors Forum will be organized in Rovaniemi, Finland, on February 27-29, 2007 in cooperation with the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region. The SAO’s are invited to send a representative to the meeting. UArctic routinely presents a written status report to the SAO’s; enclosed. In addition, the UArctic Annual Report 2006 is enclosed. Council of the University of the Arctic: Strides in Strategic Development The annual Council of UArctic meeting with The Board of Governors is UArctic’s representatives of UArctic members was held in highest decision making body. The Arkhangelsk, Russia, in June 2007. Several key members of the Board are elected decisions were made at the meeting which will influence by the Council. Board’s highest priority is to organize UArctic’s UArctic’s development in the years to come. Firstly, The fundraising activities. Council welcomed six new members to sit on the Board of Governors: • Steve Jones, Chancellor, University of Alaska Fairbanks, US • Lauri Lantto, Rector, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Finland • Alexander Krylov, Vice-Rector, Pomor State University, Russia • Emőke J.E. Szathmáry, President, University of Manitoba, Canada • Barry Scherr, Provost, Dartmouth College, US • Andy Greenshaw, Associate Vice-President (Research), University of Alberta, Canada The Board will have its next meeting in Alaska, Fairbanks, on October 25-26, 2007, hosted by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The Boad will choose a chair from among its ranks at that point. The Council also elected new Officers to lead its work for the next three-year period: Claudia Fedorova from Sakha The Council of UArctic develops, State Republic as Chair, Margaret Imrie from Aurora adopts, and oversees the College, Canada, as Vice-Chair and Geir Gotaas from academic programs of the Tromso University, Norway as Secretary. University. The Council is composed of representatives of members. The UArctic membership reached 110 when the Council accepted the following new members: • Abisko Scientific Research Station, Sweden • The Barents Institute, Norway • Nordland Research Institute, Norway • Northwest Community College, Canada • The Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (GÁLDU), Norway • Royal Military College of Canada • State Polar Academy, Russia • University of Stockholm, Sweden • University of Winnipeg, Canada List of members by country: CAN DEN/GRN FIN ICE NOR RUS SWE UK USA TOTAL Members 29 3 10 5 17 31 6 1 8 110 Number of Member Institutions by Country for 2007, a full list is available in Annex 1. 2 UArctic membership reached 110 members in 2007; 79 are Higher Education institutions and 31 are Other Organizations. UArctic membership map The Council also took several decisions on UArctic’s strategic development. It established the UArctic Masters Program and in principle adopted the operating guidelines for the Program. Progress has already been made since the Council meeting in ensuring that the program is operational by September, 2008. An open call to all UArctic members for the lead institution for the Masters Program development resulted in five member institutions from five different countries expressing an interest in leading the Graduate area. 3 Based on the Council’s decisions, the Undergraduate Studies Program will also be undergoing administrative changes. In response to an increase in enrolment in distance education of UArctic’s Circumpolar Studies Program, the Council decided to divide its administrative operations between its three respective regions: North America, Russia, and the Nordic-Barents Region. The Council also endorsed the process for a revision of UArctic’s Strategic Plan. The existing Strategic Plan (2003-2007) has remained a relevant record of the goals and aspirations of UArctic. However, since much has changed since its creation, an up-to-date Strategic Plan will outline the direction of the UArctic for the coming years. Finally, the Council agreed that its 2008 meeting would be held in Edmonton, Canada, from the 2nd to the 8th of June. Throughout the year, much of the Council’s work is prepared by Standing Committees. The Chairs of the Standing Committees, Officers and representatives of management together form UArctic’s Executive Committee Toyon. The Committees with chairs are as follows: • Executive Committee/Toyon: Claudia Federova, Sakha State University of Russia, Russia • Indigenous Issues Committee: Bård Berg, Tromsø University, Norway • Nominations and Membership Committee: Jim McDonald, ACUNS, Canada • Academic Quality Committee: Geir Gotaas, Tromsø University, Norway UArctic Rectors’ Forum The inaugural meeting of the UArctic Rectors’ Forum was held during the Arctic Science Summit Week at Dartmouth College, Hanover, US, on March 14, 2007. The leaders from 15 UArctic member institutions who attended discussed the role of universities in the development of northern regions, as well as on the role of the governments, the science community and the International Polar Year in the current higher education and science collaboration. The next Forum will be held in Rovaniemi, Finland, from February 27-29, 2008 and is planned in conjunction with the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR). The thematic focus of the joint parts of the Rovaniemi meeting will be issues related to Adaptation to Climate Change in the Arctic region as well as Borders and Access to the Sea. UArctic members have been asked to develop background documents on both of the themes. In the dialogue between the Working Group of Higher Education and the University of the Arctic on March 18, 2007 the government representatives also hailed the establishment of the Rectors’ Forum and expressed their interest in further opportunities for cooperation on Higher Education policy in the Circumpolar North between Arctic government higher education and research authorities and the UArctic Rectors’ Forum. Progress Report on UArctic Programs: The north2north north2north student exchange program provides The north2north program is mainly working as intended. However, opportunities for there have been some challenges in the management of the program. students to Two of the main difficulties are the waiver allocation process and experience different northern regions funding of the program. It has been discussed that International firsthand, and to Coordination Office for north2north will have to allocate waivers for share experiences outgoing Russian Institutions since they do not have a national agency. face-to-face by allowing students to The Program Team made the decision that waivers shall not be used for study at other practical training or other kinds of activity where tuition fees are not UArctic institutions. 4 required. Despite these difficulties, participation in the program remains high, with the numbers of applicants for 2007/2008 reaching the target hoped for in its strategic plan. The goal to reach 100 yearly exchanges in 2007 was achieved in the academic year 2005/2006, when student participation reached 133. The numbers for 2007/08 again look promising, with participation reaching over the 100 mark. Below