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Norway builds strong partnerships with Eurasian universities

Fridtjof Nansens Institute published the report on the implementation of the Eurasia programme in 2015-2021. This programme is managed by ACA’s member, the Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation and Quality Enhancement in Higher Education (Diku) 

The portfolio of 62 projects, supported with NOK 153 million (EUR 14.7 million) aims at enhancing the cooperation between Norwegian higher education institutions (HEIs) and those in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine. Funded intra-institutional collaborations promote the development of new courses and study programmes as well as student and staff mobility. 

The report concentrates on the assessment of the key programme’s achievements rather than individual projects in light of the overall aim and the anticipated outcomes and management of the programme, including the quality and efficiency of Diku’s role as administrator. It also provides recommendations for possible adjustments after 2021. 

The programme has supported the delivery of 152 courses (mostly at Masters’ level) and the mobility exchange of 551 students going from Norway to Eurasia and of 931 students going from Eurasia to Norway. Overall, 94% of the project consortia expect to continue their collaboration in some form after the end of the project. 

The review concludes that the programme’s project portfolio has contributed significantly to the programmes objectives. The programme provides a way to establish new collaborations fostering internationalisation and the renewal of education in the long term in synergies with other programmes. By establishing the arenas bringing together institutional partners who otherwise would not have get to know each other, the programme serves as a catalyst for the increased regional cooperation between HEIs. The review has also highly evaluated Diku’s administration of the Eurasia Programme including its advisory service, proposal processes and reporting requirements. 

For more details about the programme, please consult the full report. 

Fridtjof Nansens Institute