Regional Cooperation on Education

As stated in the Strategy Document on Higher Education and Research in the County of Finnmark 2007-2010 by the County Authority of Finnmark, The Barents Institute aims at integrating its research as a resource in the educational institutions and initiatives of the Barents Region.
The Barents Institute (BAI) is dedicated to contributing to higher education particularly in the eastern part of the County of Finnmark. It is engaged in on-going discussions and course developements in collaboration with the main institutions of education in norther Norway, but also elsewhere in and outside of the Barents Region. Based on their comprehensive research and teaching experiences Barents Institute staff and fellows are all potential and factual lecturers and instructors of many knowledge areas central to Barents studies. The institute is a member of the University of the Arctic since June 2007.

The central educational effort of the BAI, in which its staff and scholars engage in addition to their regular research projects, is co-supervision and initial advice on choice of topics for MA candidates interested to do research on the Barents Region. The BAI have so far contributed to some fifteen MA projects. For the spring semester of 2008 BAI opens a new collaboration on MA students projects with the Moscow State Institute of International Relations – MGIMO. For additional information on BAI MA Candidate's projects, see the research pages of the BAI web site.

Aileen Espíritu and Urban Wråkberg are engaged as part-time teachers on Campus Kirkenes in the Barents International School (BIS) which is run by Finnmark University College as a subsidiary of its main campus in Alta. The courses of BIS are however partly unique, mainly in English and internationally open; currently there are an even number of Russian and Norwegian students in the programmes.
Victoria Tevlina is engaged in the new Master programme in Comparative Social Work in the Arctic (SWAMP) launched in 2008 by Bodø University College in collaboration with the Pomor State University in Arkhangelsk and Murmansk Humanities Institute.
BAI is partner in the Barents Arctic Network of Graduate Schools (BANG). BANG has successfully competed for Nordforsk funding and brings together Ph.D. students and experienced senior scientists from various disciplines specialised in social issues of the Barents region. BANG will organize workshop excursions in the Barents region, and support mobility of Ph.D. students. All scholars of the BAI are associated to this network.
BAI have also contributed to the programme “Research in the school” a part of the national initiative ”Holbergprisen i skolen”. Wråkberg participated in 2006 at Vadsø vidaregåendeskole, in this programme that introduces junior student to central issues of research and critical judgement by encouraging and advising them in performing research of their own.

The Moscow State University. Photo: Urban Wråkberg