NEWS The agreement reinforces the strong ties that already exist between the two universities, both in research and education.
"The University of Tromsö has several strong research areas that fit our profile," says Göran Sandberg, Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University. "In addition to pharmaceutical drug research, there are great opportunities for collaboration in Sami research, climate and environmental research and other research related to the Northern region and its special conditions. They are leaders in telemedicine, an area that will have an increasing role in health care," he continues.
One example of such successful collaboration is in bioprospecting, especially within research on finding new antibiotics based on organisms from the Arctic Ocean. On the educational front, the newest collaboration is planned around pharmacy education at Umeå University.
The agreement was signed on 12 May by Umeå University Vice-Chancellor Göran Sandberg and Jarle Aarbakke, Rector of the University of Tromsö. Its purposeis to enhance quality in research, education and collaboration at the two universities.
"Umeå University has a structure similar to the University of Tromsö and is therefore a very important partner. Both universities also started with the clear objective to raise the educational level in the northern region, but have since evolved into research universities with being in the international top in several areas," says Jarle Aarbakke.
Furthermore, the agreement makes it possible to seek joint funding for various projects which may lead to increased resources for both universities.
The collaboration agreement has its beginnings at the Norwegian-Swedish summit held in Tromsö three years ago with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stør, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, and prominent representatives from industry and academia. The meeting concluded with a united decision that the Northern region is a future area of research and development in many areas, in the long run, business and industry. The collaboration agreement mainly focuses on: • Exchange of academic staff • Joint research projects, research applications and applications for funding • Participation in seminars and conferences • The exchange of publications, textbooks and other relevant information • Student exchange and collaboration around a common teaching approach • Exchange of technical/administrative staff
The agreement is valid for five years and can be extended thereafter.
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Contact person: Göran Sandberg, Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University
E-mail: rektor@adm.umu.se
Mobile: +46 (0)70-318 12 75
Editor: David Meyers