Nord University actively contributes to regional and national development within the university's profile, focus areas, and PhD fields through active collaboration with the community and business sector. This collaboration can range from providing research expertise to development projects to developing larger joint initiatives where researchers, businesses, and the public sector collaborate to strengthen specific academic disciplines or industries.
Furthermore, the university engages in international research collaboration through participation in EU projects and researcher mobility.
Feel free to contact us for more information.
Collaboration Opportunities
Are you passionate about shaping the future of education and driving impactful change in the North? We invite you to be a part of our transformative Business Mentor Program, a dynamic PILOT PROECT co-funded by Nordland county and supported by Nord University. This program is a good opportunity to bridge the gap between academia and industry, fostering a vibrant ecosystem of learning and collaboration.
Follow this link to know more and to apply as a business mentor Næringslivsmentor (nord.no)
The European Union's (EU) research program Horizon Europe (HEU) is the world's largest research and innovation program, with a budget of 95.5 billion euros for the period 2021-2027. Even though Norway is not a member of the EU, we participate as a full member in HEU. Norwegian companies and research institutions can therefore compete for research funding on equal terms with colleagues in other European countries. EU projects bring together Europe's researchers and research communities, and together with the business sector, they address a wide range of societal challenges. Nord University is involved both as coordinators and partners in several HEU projects.
EU Horizon applications encourage and promote university-industry links through various funding schemes and initiatives, such as:
Collaborative Research Projects
Research and Innovation actions (RIA). Consortia comprising both academic and industrial partners
Industry Participation
Incentivize active participation from industry partners through financial contributions, in-kind contributions, or dedicated resources and expertise to support the research activities. The involvement of industry partners ensures that research projects are aligned with industrial needs and have a higher potential for exploitation and commercialization.
Knowledge Transfer and Exchange
Through various mechanisms, such as secondments - fostering a two-way flow of knowledge and promoting collaboration.
SECONDMENT: It is a period of research or training that a researcher spends with a host organization other than their primary beneficiary institution. Secondment aim to enhance the researcher's skills, broaden their experience, and facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration between different sectors and countries. It is a part of the researcher training. Participating organizations can be academic institutions, non-academic organizations (e.g., industry, NGOs, public sector), or a combination of both. Secondment help in the researcher's career development, the research project, and the collaboration between the host and home institutions. This activity play a significant role in demonstrating the added value in the industry by engaging a researcher for fostering innovation and to good new employees with state of the art expertise.
Technology Transfer and Commercialization
This includes protecting intellectual property, exploring market opportunities, and establishing collaborations with industry partners for the development and commercialization of research outcomes. Funding schemes may support activities such as proof-of-concept studies, patent filing, or pilot-scale demonstrations to bridge the gap between research and market deployment.
Innovation Ecosystems
Establishment of innovation hubs, technology parks, or clusters where universities and industry collaborate closely, fostering an environment conducive to research commercialization, entrepreneurship, and knowledge exchange.
Open Innovation
The EU Horizon applications embrace the concept of open innovation, which involves seeking external ideas and expertise to solve complex challenges. This can include involving industry partners in the co-creation of research projects, engaging in open innovation platforms, or organizing innovation competitions that encourage collaboration between academia and industry.
Northern Norway's Europe Office
In addition, Nord University is a co-owner of Northern Norway's Europe Office, which works to promote and strengthen Northern Norway's interests in the EU. Nord is also member of Trøndelag's European office, as well as several international networks and organisations. One of these is the University of the Arctic (UArctic), which is a network of universities and research institutions that work with education and research in and for the Arctic.
Nord University consists of five faculties. Follow these links to find the research infrastructure at each of our faculties.
Nord University is a co-owner of selected research companies and has several centers anchored in various faculties.
- CHNL - Centre for High North Logistics
- Engage - Centre for Engaged Education through Entrepreneurship
- ExcITEd - Centre for Excellent IT Education
- National Competence Centre for Culture, Health and Care
- Norwegian Centre for Arts and Culture in Education
- NORDLAB
- Nordland Research Institute
- High North CenterCentre for Industrial Business Development
- Centre for Care Research Norway (in Norwegian)
- Centre for Saami and Indigenous Studies
- Centre for Welfare Innovation
- Centre for Ecological Economics and Ethics
- SPIR Idélab (in Norwegian)
- Demos - Centre for Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship
Due to the increasing need for technology in the north, Nord University has joined forces with Nordland County Council and Mechatronics Innovation Lab (MIL) to establish a technology service center called TechLab AS in the north. TechLab will offer services in sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, virtual reality (VR), computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), modeling and simulations, and other technologies. The aim is to promote technology in the business sector and connect it with our educational programs and research projects.
Nord University contributes to innovation through its role as a knowledge developer and provider of new research-based solutions. Innovation occurs in collaboration with business and community actors who can apply new knowledge.
Nord Innovation AS is the technology transfer organization (TTO) of Nord University responsible for commercializing research results. The company is owned by Nord University and works on technology transfer and commercialization on behalf of the university.
Nord Innovation AS can assist researchers and scientific staff in assessing, developing, and implementing ideas and projects with public or commercial potential. They can, among other things, help with rights protection (e.g., patents), project funding, and further commercial development.
SEA-EU is a European university alliance for collaboration in education and research across borders in Europe. The alliance's motto is "Living sustainably, by, from and with the sea."
The SEA-EU alliance aims to strengthen the university and college sector, collaboration, and cultural integration in Europe. For Nord University, this also means a unique opportunity to further develop the university and make Nord a more visible and internationally recognized institution.
The universities in the alliance will enhance the coastal research and education field and promote key areas of collaboration such as internationalization, sustainability, digital transformation, openness, and democracy.
Together, the alliance comprises more than 150,000 students and 18,000 staff members.
Like the other university partners, Nord University has engaged key stakeholders who will also benefit from the SEA-EU university alliance. This is part of the effort to better anchor the university in the local community and business sector.
Stakeholders can participate in activities within the SEA-EU alliance and can also collaborate with the university partners in seeking financial resources. They can also host students and become research partners.
The Scandinavian Consortium for Organizational Research (SCANCOR) facilitates inquiry in organizational social science among a transnational network of scholars. Its member institutions in Scandinavia and greater Europe support working visits and residencies at Stanford and Harvard Universities. SCANCOR also sponsors conferences, workshops, and mentoring opportunities worldwide.
