"Many of our researchers maintain a high international standard, and we are able to compete with the best in Europe in many areas," says Ketil Eiane, Pro-Rector at Nord University. Photo: Roger Grostad
The competition for European research funds is becoming increasingly tough. Recently, Nord University received the great news that four out of five research project applications to the EU have been approved.
In one of the projects, Nord University is the coordinator, while in the others, the university is a partner. In total, the four projects receive €16.5 million, or NOK 187 million, in EU support.
Pro-Rector for Research at Nord University, Ketil Eiane, is pleased to see the university's research community performing well in the fierce competition for European research funds.
"We are fully on par with the rest of the field in Europe in several areas, both as coordinators and partners. We have several excellent research environments, and great work is being done in these areas," says Eiane.
"This shows that we are transforming into a much stronger research university than we were before," says the Pro-Rector.
The projects in question are:
- GuardIAS – Guarding European Waters from IAS. Faculty: Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture. Project leader: Mark Costello. Role of Nord University: partner. Total budget: €7 million.
- INTRACOMP – Intercultural and Transcultural Competence through Collaborative Cultural Expression. Faculty: Faculty of Education and Arts. Project leader: Nickolas Rowe. Role of Nord University: coordinator. Total budget: €3 million.
- METEOR – Methodologies for Teamworking in Eco-Outwards Research. Faculty: Faculty of Education and Arts. Project leader: Anne Marit Valle. Role of Nord University: partner. Total budget: €3 million.
- CONVIVIUM – New European Bauhaus Solutions in Food, Living Heritage, and Conviviality. Faculty: Nord University Business School. Project leader: Ove Daniel Jakobsen. Role of Nord University: partner. Total budget: €3.5 million.
Additionally, the following project was granted €6 million, or NOK 68 million, in EU support earlier this year:
- ArcSolution – Arctic Pollution in a One Health Perspective – From Complex Challenges to Sustainable Solutions. Faculty: Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture. Project leader: Jon Øyvind Odland. Role of Nord University: coordinator.
Securing grants within Horizon Europe is highly prestigious. Horizon Europe is the EU's central funding programme for research and innovation, with a budget of €95.5 billion.
Nord University's Faculty of Education and Arts alone has been involved in applications that over the past twelve months have secured over €90 million of this funding.
"Applications to Horizon Europe are hard work. The process involves a great deal of patience, diplomacy, continuous development work, rewrites, and adjustments," says Dean Rose Martin.
"When we succeed, it gives inspiration and synergies. We have ambitions to succeed with more applications in the coming years, and we expect to receive more partnership invitations in light of this spring's success with two applications," she says.
Ketil Eiane reports a significant increase in EU-funded research at Nord University, both in projects led by Nord University and in those where researchers from Nord University contribute to projects led by strong international research environments.
"Many of our researchers maintain a high international standard, and we can compete with the best in Europe in many areas," says Eiane.
At the same time, he believes that Nord University still has much potential to realize.
"The potential for more externally funded research is substantial," says Eiane.
(This article is translated by Chat GPT and quality assured by the Communications Unit at Nord University.)
