University of the Arctic
Vision:
In the North
Mission:
Empower the North…
For the North
Improve Access to
Education…
By the North
Serve Our Community…
Create Shared
Knowledge…
Build Regional Identity…
Strengthen the Voice of
the Arctic…
About U Arctic
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. Our members share resources,
facilities, and expertise to build post-secondary education programs
that are relevant and accessible to northern students. Our overall
goal is to create a strong, sustainable circumpolar region by
empowering northerners and northern communities through
education and shared knowledge.
We promote education that is circumpolar, interdisciplinary, and diverse
in nature, and draw on our combined strengths to address the
unique challenges of the region. The University of the Arctic
recognizes the integral role of indigenous peoples in northern
education, and seeks to engage their perspectives in all of its
activities.
Historical markers
• Mar. 1997: Presentation made to the Senior Arctic Officials (SAO) of
the Arctic Council on the concept of a circumpolar university.
• Jan. 1999: UArctic Circumpolar Coordination Office (CCO) is
founded in Rovaniemi, Finland, with financial support from the
Government of Finland
• Oct. 2000: Release of UArctic Integrated Plan: implementation of
Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies
• June 2001: University of the Arctic is officially launched; 1st UArctic
Council Meeting: Rovaniemi, Finland ; 1st UArctic Board of
Governors Meeting: Rovaniemi, Finland
Historical markers (cont’d)
• Feb.2002: Kick-off meeting for north2north undergraduate exchange
program, Helsinki, Finland; Arctic Learning Environment (ALE) online
learning materials are piloted; BCS 100: An introduction to the
Circumpolar North introductory bachelor-level course curriculum
begins
• October 2004: University of Manitoba joins U Arctic north2north
program; select first students for north2north program in Feb 2005
• Apr. 2005: UArctic’s proposal to the International Polar Year is
identified as the leading proposal in the Education, Outreach and
Communication cluster
• May 2005: 8th UArctic Council Meeting: Oulu, Finland. The new
Thematic Coordination Office at Oulu University, Finland and the
UArctic Press Editorial Office at the University of Alberta, Canada are
announced, GoNorth is accepted as a program under the Mobility
Strategic Area
Our Location : Offices
U N I V E R S I T Y
Governing Bodies:
O F
Board of Governors
Council of UArctic
Decentralised Administration:
1 President
2 International Secretariat
3 International Academic Office
4 UArctic Press Editorial Office
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Program Offices:
5 north2north Student Mobility
6 Undergraduate Studies
7 UArctic Field School
8 Northern Research Forum
9 UArctic Thematic Networks
Coordination Office
10 IPY Coordination Office
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T H E
A R C T I C
Our Programs : Strategic Areas
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
Undergraduate Studies
Circumpolar Studies Program (BCS)
Open Learning
Graduate Studies
Field School
PhD Networks
Mobility
north2north
northTREX
GoNorth
Access
Arctic Learning Environment (ALE)
Knowledge and Dialogue
Northern Research Forum
Thematic Networks
Circumpolar Universities Association
Mimir – Research Outreach Program
Our Programs : Circumpolar Studies
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
The Circumpolar Studies Program is an
interdisciplinary program specifically
developed to meet the needs of northern
communities. Students can take courses
online or on-campus at UArctic member
institutions.
Churchill Northern Studies Centre:
Arctic & Boreal Entomology Course
Arctic & Boreal Entomology
Course
July 7 - 18, 2008
Are you interested in:
. the ecology of insects across
one of the world's most
important ecotones?
. the diversity, taxonomy and
evolution of the insect
fauna across the northern
limit of trees from boreal
forests to the arctic tundra?
Open Learning
The Open Learning program offers shorter courses than
the BCS program, and has more emphasis on practical
courses and skills training. The programs subjects are
contemporary issues relevant to the North, such as
adaptation to global change, integrated ecosystem
management, traditional subsistence, eco-tourism, etc.
This program is still under development, but has already
shown success: the first Open Learning course, a
specialized course in environmental impact assessment
(EIA) for indigenous peoples, was offered by Saami
University College in . Funding was received from the
Finnish Ministry of Education, the Danish Government,
and UNEP.
Field Schools
The UArctic Field School catalogue is an online database of field
excursion courses in which students from UArctic member
institutions can participate. Please find the latest course descriptions,
dates, and application and contact information in our catalogue.
The Field School Catalogue includes courses from around the Arctic,
which are…
•
•
•
•
externally open to students from UArctic member institutions
predominantly "field-based" (ie, not in the classroom)
of a limited duration (most courses are around 2-3 weeks)
consistent with UArctic goals and values
If you are interested in having your course listed in the UArctic Field
School Catalogue, please contact the International Secretariat at
secretariat@uarctic.org. You may also contact the Field School
coordinators, Rasmus O. Rasmussen and Eystein Markusson.
PhD Networks
The University of the Arctic's
graduate education programs
feature three PhD Networks,
which also play a lead role in the
UArctic Field School.
• Circumpolar Arctic Social
Sciences PhD Network (CASS)
• Circumpolar PhD Network in
Environmental Studies (CAES)
• International Ph.D. School for
Studies of Arctic Societies
(IPSSAS)
north2north
The north2north student
exchange program
provides opportunities for
students to experience
different northern regions
firsthand, and to share
experiences face-to-face
by allowing students to
study at other UArctic
institutions.
Northern Teaching Resources
Exchange program
NorthTREX (Northern Teaching
Resources Exchange) is designed
to bring recognised northern
experts to centres of higher
education for short term teaching
residencies.
Short term residencies would last from one to twelve
weeks and meet both the needs of host institutions and
the schedules of individual faculty members.
GoNorth!
GoNorth! Members:
The initial program task force submitted a
proposal to the EU Erasmus Mundus program
in 2005 and was granted financial support for
two years (ending in December 2007) to
develop the program through a GoNorth!
project with 12 UArctic partner institutions.
Finnmark University
College
Luleå University of
Technology
Murmansk Humanities
Institute
Roskilde University
Scandinavian Seminar
Group
Syktyvkar State
University
University of Alaska
Fairbanks
University of Lapland
University of Northern
British Columbia
University of Oulu
University Center in
Svalbard
University of Tromso
Northern Research Forum
The Northern Research Forum
provides a platform for effective,
policy-relevant discussion and
the sharing of research on
northern issues.
Meetings are held biennially with the participation
of a wide variety of scientists, policy makers and
representatives of other stakeholders.
Thematic Networks
Thematic Networks
•
THE VERDDE PROGRAM
•
COMMUNITY BASED NATURAL
RESOURCE CO-MANAGEMENT
•
ARCTIC MEDICINE
•
ARCTIC AGRICULTURE AND
NATURE USE
•
UARCTIC THEMATIC NETWORK
IN GLOBAL CHANGE
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SOCIAL WORK
•
WORLD IMAGES OF
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE
NORTH
•
LOCAL AND REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT IN THE NORTH
•
NORTHERN GOVERNANCE
•
ARCTIC LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT
•
INDIGENOUS ARTS AND CRAFTS
Thematic Networks encourage faculty and
institutional cooperation on subjects of
shared interest among UArctic members.
UArctic Thematic Networks aim at
stimulating cooperation, sharing of
resources, and are important tools for
developing the stable relations among
member institutions that form the backbone
of UArctic activities. This includes student
and faculty exchange, and joint curriculum
and degree development as well as
research. Currently operating networks and
their web sites can be found on the left
column of this page.
Circumpolar Universities
Association
The Circumpolar Universities Association is an organ for cooperation
between universities and other institutes of higher learning and
research in the northern circumpolar region. The aim of the CUA is
to encourage cooperation and promote higher learning and research
in northern areas. The CUA hosts a biannual Circumpolar
Universities Cooperation Conference. The last conference was held
in November 2003, in Whitehorse, Yukon.
CUA’s role is to represent the interests of higher education in the
circumpolar North to governments and non-governmental
organisations.
CUA is governed by its Steering Committee, and operates according to
the CUA Charter.
Mimir - Research Outreach
Program
Mimir is a research outreach program that was created to
ensure that there are strong ties between the planning
process for Arctic research and Arctic communities.
UArctic is involved in two major international Arctic
research events which are occurring now or in the next
few years:
– Second International Conference on Arctic Research Planning
(ICARPII)
– International Polar Year (IPY).
Mimir's primary responsibility is to plan and coordinate the
outreach portion of UArctic's participation in both
ICARPII and IPY.
The University of the Arctic and IPY
The UArctic will play a key role in
education and outreach during the
International Polar Year (IPY).
Endorsed by the IPY Joint
Committee, UArctic will be the
official provider and coordinator of
IPY higher education and outreach
activities.
The International Polar Year IPY begins in March 2007
and ends in March 2009. IPY is an internationallycoordinated program to explore new frontiers in polar
science, improve our understanding of the critical role of
the polar regions in global processes, and educate the
public about the polar regions.
Our History : Record of Success
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
UArctic: A Success Story!
•Over 4000 student enrolments since 2002
•More than 200 exchange students 2005-06
•Nearly 70 students graduated since June 2006
•80% of curriculum by Northern authors
•20% of curriculum by Aboriginal authors
Our Future : Creating Northern Opportunities
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
UArctic: By 2010, more than . . .
•5,000 student course enrolments
•24 universities and colleges offering UArctic
courses in all 8 Circumpolar countries
•100 Canadian exchange students
•100 new Northern university grads . . .
UArctic : What is UArctic?
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
Why Canada needs UArctic
Why Canada Needs UArctic : Access
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
Access to Education
•Canada is the only Circumpolar state without
a university in its Arctic region
•Participation in university education in the
North is the lowest in Canada
•Building three new universities in the
Canadian Arctic is extremely costly
•UArctic is a cost-effective means to provide
relevant university access to Northerners
Why Canada Needs UArctic : Governance
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
Governance
•pressing need for a highly skilled Northern
civil service
•increasing need for well-educated Northern
leadership
•need to build effective and accountable
territorial and Aboriginal governments
Why Canada Needs UArctic : Economic Dev
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
Economic Development
• need to meet opportunities of new global
economy
•strengthen traditional industries—lumber,
mining, oil and gas, fishing—vital for Canada
•create new jobs and businesses in the
territorial and provincial Norths
Why Canada Needs UArctic : Arctic Sovereignty
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T H E
A R C T I C
Arctic Sovereignty
needs to strengthened by . . .
•Effective territorial governments, built on skilled
and well-educated civil service
•Increased economic and resource development
through education and skills development
•Northerners trained in natural resource
management
•Northerners educated with skills in land and
environment surveillance
University of the Arctic
Web site: http://www.uarctic.org
Contacts at the University of Manitoba:
Office of International Relations
Jim Dean, Executive Director (U Arctic Council Representative)
Rhonda Friesen, International Cooperation (Communications Rep)
Associate Vice-President (External)
John Alho (President’s Representative on BoG)