Against the backdrop of Covid-19 and the climate crisis, international cooperation within research, innovation and education is more important than ever. The renewed Norwegian Panorama Strategy, therefore, comes timely.

"Panorama" is the government's strategy for cooperation on research and higher education with key partners outside the EU: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, and USA, for 2021–2027. The Panorama countries together contribute to a high share of global knowledge production. This edition expands on the previous selection of partner countries, adding Canada, USA and South Korea. 

The strategy's purpose is to increase quality and relevance in higher education, research, and innovation in Norway, through internationalisation and cooperation with the business sector.  It also underpins the government’s long-term ambition that half of the higher education graduates in Norway will have had a study or training period abroad.

Norway's R&I and education sectors are heavily intertwined with the EU's. Panorama countries can participate in both Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ as third parties.  To mutually strengthen national and European cooperation, academic communities within the Panorama cooperation are asked to exploit opportunities for synergies and to consider how national and European funding mechanisms can correlate.

The measures are organised under three overarching goals: 

1. A long-term strengthening of academic interactions between institutions in Norway and the strategy countries 
2. More systematic contact and coordination on the Norwegian side, across the various ministries areas of responsibility 
3. Increased knowledge of and more accessible information about matters that could influence the possibilities of achieving good interaction between higher education, research, and business communities.

The government will continue the two programmes UTFORSK and INTPART, intentionally underpinning said strengthening of academic interactions. Towards the latter, the government wants to pursue a more strategic and deliberate policy for the recruitment of full-time students to Norway, with a view to existing Norwegian competence needs. A working group will be established by the  Ministry of Education and Research to investigate this.  

Read the strategy here.