Eligible participants in the higher education programme are all Nordic higher education institutions that are defined as such in their respective countries. For Russian institutions fully accredited higher educational institutions with federal funding are eligible as partner institutions.
Eligible activities
Support may be given to joint activities aimed at the development of long-term relations and cooperation between higher education institutions in Russia and the Nordic countries. The joint activities may include:
- Development of joint courses, study programmes and degrees between partner institutions in Russia and the Nordic countries. This may include distant learning/virtual courses.
- Mobility of students, academic and administrative/technical staff between partner institutions in Russia and the Nordic countries
- Networking – including funding for organizing workshops, seminars and/or study visits.
- Joint Nordic-Russian teaching and supervision
- Preparatory activities aimed at developing project applications for long-term cooperation. In particular, the programme welcomes joint Nordic-Russian project initiatives aimed at participation in European education programmes.
The joint activities should be completed within two years upon acceptance of the grant, and no later than June 30, 2015.
The joint project activities should be related to some of the following thematic priority areas in the field of higher education:
- Shared Nordic-Russian challenges regarding environment and climate and common or shared resources, such as for example the Baltic Sea or the Arctic region
- Social inclusion and exclusion – including special needs education, social integration of minority and migrant children, youth employment, and transition from education to labor market.
- Area studies – including the languages, literature and culture of Russia and the Nordic countries.
- Higher education aimed at strengthening long-term cooperation in the field of industries and innovation.
- Reform of higher education structures with regard to the aims of the Bologna Process, such as developing the degree programme structure, increasing compatibility of degree structures between the Nordic countries and Russia, institutional management, funding of higher education, quality assurance, and the system of international collaboration.
Application categories
In this call, applications for Nordic-Russian network projects will be considered for support. The cooperation networks should consist of at least one institution from two different Nordic countries and at least one institution from Russia.
A total of EUR 1 200 000 is available for Nordic activities in the Nordic-Russian projects, matched by equal funding in the Russian Federation. On the Nordic side, the total sum applied for should not exceed EUR 70 000 for the entire project period (2013-2015). Funding for Russian participants will be realized as own contributions (in kind or cash) of the participating institutions.
Please consult the “Programme Document, Higher Education 2012-2015”, for details regarding application procedures and other relevant information. The Programme Document is available at http://siu.no/eng/Front-Page/Programme-information/Eurasia-Russia-and-China/Nordic-Russian-cooperation.
How to apply?
Interested cooperation networks should prepare and submit applications through SIUs online application database, Espresso. To register, please follow the instructions on the login page.
A Signature page must be signed and submitted to SIU by e-mail or regular mail. This page is automatically created in Espresso when applications are submitted, and must be signed by the Nordic and Russian project coordinators as well as the Rector of the Nordic and Russian coordinating institution, or a person authorized to act on his/her behalf.
In addition, Russian institutions should submit a letter containing Expression of Interest to take part in the cooperation. Expression of Interest should be signed by the institution’s Rector or a person authorized to act on his/her behalf, and submitted to SIU by e-mail or regular mail, with copy to the International Department of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
Final deadline for submitting applications and Expression of Interest is March 1, 2013 at 12:00 hours CET (UTC+1).
The Signature page should be submitted within two weeks after the application has been submitted, and no later than March 15, 2013.
For further information, please contact:
SIU
Adviser Herdis Kolle
E-mail: herdis.kolle@siu.no
Phone: +47 55 30 38 99
The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Adviser Alexander Pozdnyakov
E-mail: Pozdnyakov-av@mon.gov.ru
Phone: +7 495 629 74 41