Facts on the Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2010
The Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2010 focused on Nordic research cooperation as a model for closer European cooperation in the area of research.
The Nordic countries must be better at profiling themselves as a common research and education region. In this way, Nordic values and strengths will have a stronger position and be more visible to the surrounding world. This should be accomplished via more coordination and increased cooperation across national borders.
Establishment of the new ESS research facility at Lund, Sweden, is a good example of how the Nordic countries can strengthen their visibility and create a common research excellence area.
Facts on the Danish Presidency
During its Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2010, Denmark focused on the Nordic Region as an education and research region, with a particular focus on language, talent and creativity.
The goal is for the Nordic countries' education and research environments to measure up to the best in the world, attracting, educating and retaining talented international students and researchers.
The Sector Programme for Education and Research, launched by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, builds on the Danish Presidency's programme for 2010, "The Nordic Region pointing the way forward".
Six new joint Nordic Masters programmes
In December 2010, the Nordic Council of Ministers selected six new programmes of study under the joint Nordic study programme – Nordic Master Program (NMP).
A Nordic Master Program combines studies from at least three universities in three Nordic countries and makes it possible to establish elite education within a number of fields. The six Nordic Masters programmes involve almost 40 institutes at more than 20 leading universities from all five Nordic countries.
Nordic Council of Ministers' meeting on education and research
The education and research ministers from the Nordic countries met in Copenhagen on November 8th, 2010 for their second meeting during the Danish presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Items on the agenda included:
- Youth unemployment in the Nordic countries.
- Final approval of a new MR-U strategy for 2011-2013 with the title: Kunnskap for grønn vekst og velferd (Knowledge for green growth and welfare). The strategy encompasses the common foundation and direction for Nordic cooperation within education and research for the coming three years.
- Joint Nordic initiative for education research and funding.
The Nordic ministers for education and research later met with their counterparts from the three Baltic countries.
Conference: Promotion of Nordic Higher Education and Research – Classification and Ranking on the Nordic Agenda
How can Nordic strengths within higher education and research be made visible and communicated on a global scale?
This was a question that Denmark wanted to bring into focus while holding the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2010. The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation hosted in cooperation with the Ministry of Education a conference Thursday the 15th of April 2010 in Copenhagen.
