Send students on exchange

An Inuk student in Greenland wishes to connect with fellow Inuit in Alaska to learn from their educational practices and help develop similar models for Greenland. An aspiring young scientist from Alaska wants to study permafrost in Siberia to collect samples and compare the findings with those from home to predict the consequences of climate change.

The challenges around the Arctic are similar, but how they are responded to often differs between regions. In addition, northern institutions typically have programs that are created with northern needs and realities in mind.

Whether a full exchange semester or ten days on a field course, northern mobility exposes students to new approaches to familiar issues, and results in expertise and skills that they wouldn’t have access to at home. Being challenged by different perspectives is also inspiring, and not only for the students – it also benefits their home communities who can use the new insights in their own development.

Access to mobility, however, is highly unequal in the North. From near-zero resources to entire international departments, institutions have different levels of funding and dedicated staff to make student exchanges possible. Living and traveling in remote locations like the North also tends to be very expensive. All this affects especially Indigenous students who often study at smaller institutions and are systematically missing out on the important opportunities offered around the Arctic.

The UArctic advantage

We believe northern mobility and learning from each other to be the most efficient ways to strengthen the skills and competencies of future generations and communities in the North. Our mobility program north2north enables exchanges between members of our network, both big and small. We emphasize supporting marginalized or underrepresented students, and students who are motivated to contribute and make a difference in the North.

north2north has grown from a small-scale pilot to supporting dozens of students annually. The demand is still growing: each year we receive more applications than we can support, and more institutions join the program. This means stretching the already limited resources, which are now reaching the limit of our capacity.

How you can help

With your support, more students will benefit from the exchange opportunities available around the Arctic and develop skills that are critical for their future and the future of their home regions. Your donation can help compensate costs of travel and living through mobility scholarships. With the help of your contribution, we can also support shorter exchanges – field courses, summer and winter schools – which have just as many benefits and are often more easily accessible for students.

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