A formal UK-Norway Memorandum of Understanding has been signed at the UK’s Department for Education in London, signalling a shared commitment to enhanced bilateral collaboration in research and higher education.
North Sea University Partnership (NSUP) leaders, including Professor Claire O’Malley, our Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global) and Professor Margareth Hagen, Rector of the University of Bergen, took part in discussions and presentations on the NSUP, alongside a programme marking the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. Participants included the Norwegian Minister for Research and Higher Education, Sigrun Aasland; HE Ambassador of Norway to the UK, Tore Hattrem; and UK Minister for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith.
The NSUP was spotlighted as an emerging flagship model of strategic collaboration between UK and Norwegian universities, demonstrating how sustained international partnerships can support national, bilateral, European, and broader strategic priorities, while supporting wider UK–Norway relations.
Left image (left to right): Sigrun Aasland, Minister of Research and Higher Education, Norway; Margareth Hagen (Rector, University of Bergen); Claire O’Malley (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Global, Durham University); The Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith, Minister for Skills.Right image (left to right): The Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith, Minister for Skills; and Sigrun Aasland, Minister of Research and Higher Education, Norway.
The NSUP has played an increasingly pivotal role in the bilateral UK-Norway collaboration in research and higher education through the course of recent activities.
As well as convening with senior representatives from government, NSUP leaders met with research funding organisations, partners including the British Academy, the Wellcome Trust, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and the British Antarctic Survey, industry representatives, and members of the diplomatic community. Discussions focused on research and innovation collaboration, Arctic issues, security and defence, the energy transition, cultural identity as coastal, North Sea-facing northern European nations, as well as resilience and health.
Together, these developments mark a significant step in the NSUP’s evolution, from its formation in 2024, to delivering tangible impact today, while simultaneously laying the foundations for deeper UK-Norway collaboration in the future.
The NSUP is a strategic collaboration which brings together four Norwegian and four UK universities to strengthen research, innovation, and education links between the UK and Norway, and progress towards a more sustainable future for the North Sea. It was formally launched in 2024. The partnership is led by Durham and the University of Bergen, and includes the Universities of Leeds, York, Newcastle, Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology (NTNU), University of Oslo, and UiT The Arctic University of Norway.
This year has seen a series of reciprocal engagements take place on both sides of the North Sea marking the growing influence of the NSUP, as academic leaders, diplomats, policymakers, industry and research stakeholders from the UK and Norway come together to advance collaboration across higher education and research.
NSUP leaders also participated in a series of engagements in June across London and Durham. Group leaders discussed the next phase of the partnership’s development and governance. The programme also focused on mobility opportunities; interdisciplinary research collaboration; and engagement with policymakers, industry and funders.
In parallel, our research on Arctic issues, a key area of focus for the NSUP, was the subject of a recent Chancellor-in-Conversation event in Durham. Our Chancellor, Dr Fiona Hill, welcomed Professors Simone Abram (Anthropology/Durham Energy Institute), Chris Stokes (Geography), Philip Steinberg (Geography/Durham Arctic Director), and Olivia Woolley (Durham Law School). Together they explored the environmental, social, political and legal impacts of climate change and its impact on the lives of the four million people who call the Arctic home.
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Main image (left to right): Julie Park (Adviser, Ministry of Education and Research, Norway); Claire O’Malley (Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Global, Durham University); Ragnhild Tungesvik (Executive Director, Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills); Øystein Lund (Counsellor for Education and Research, Royal Norwegian Embassy London); Margareth Hagen (Rector, University of Bergen); Eileen Fugelsnes (State Secretary for the Minister for Research and Higher Education, Norway); Sigrun Aasland (Minister of Research and Higher Education, Norway); HE Tore Hattrem (Norwegian Ambassador to the UK); Tone Flood Strøm (Deputy Director General for International Cooperation, Ministry of Education and Research).
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