Researchers strengthen Arctic collaborations at Arctic Five Symposium
Earlier this year, The Arctic Five appointed 16 established researchers as Arctic Five Chairs for the period 2024–2026. The Arctic Five Chairs is the primary format for research collaboration within the Arctic Five, built from scholars with the will and capacity to build alliances within research and education between the Arctic Five universities, forming new collaborations or strengthening existing ones.
The symposium started by lunchtime on Wednesday 2 October with the Arctic Five Director Dag Avango welcoming everybody.
“This symposium is a re-confirmation that the Arctic Five Chairs is a very successful way of building research collaboration between the Arctic Five universities and produce knowledge of great value for a responsible development in our region and beyond. I am looking forward to follow and support the development of the new Arctic Five chairs projects over the coming years”, Avango says.
All in all, 14 new Arctic Five Chairs presented their research projects, divided into seven different research categories: Green Transition, Technology, Sustainable Food, Health, Security, Education, and Climate impacts. The common goal all researchers expressed was to widen their networks, engage in collaborations and create solutions together.
The first day ended with a joint dinner where everyone could continue to tie connections.
During the second day, the research project presentations continued in areas of Security, Education and Climate impact. After the presentations, the symposium broke up into parallel sessions where Arctic Five Executive Committee met to plan future efforts within the organization, and the Arctic Five Chairs continued to connect and find possible collaboration opportunities for the joint goal of a sustainable future in the Arctic.
About the Arctic Five
The Arctic Five is a partnership between five Arctic universities in Sweden, Norway and Finland with the aim to lead the way in Arctic issues. The universities are Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, University of Oulu, and University of Lapland. Through the alliance they advance and share knowledge, develop education, undertake research and create innovations for the development of a sustainable Arctic.
The Arctic Five Chairs 2024 – 2026
14 new Arctic Five Chairs presented their research projects within seven different categories to build collaborations in research and education in the Scandinavian Arctic.
Green Transition
Charlotta Söderberg, Luleå University of Technology
Johan Sandström, Luleå University of Technology
Arctic Technology
Osmo Kauppila, University of Oulu
Jonna Häikkilä, University of Lapland
Arctic Sustainable food
Armando Perez Cueto, Umeå University
Danielle Wilde, Umeå University
Wei Deng Solvang, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway
Health in the Arctic
Sebastian Gabrielsson, Luleå University of Technology
Tiina Maria Ikäheimo, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway
Arctic Security
Niklas Eklund, Umeå University
Ana Luisa Sanchez Laws, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway
Education in the Arctic
Björn Norlin, Umeå University
Pigga Keskitalo, University of Lapland
Arctic Climate Impacts
Daniel Metcalfe, Umeå University
The chairs, Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Anna Krzywoszynska at University of Oulu, were unable to attend the symposium.
Picture: Staffan Westerlund.