Memorandum of Understanding on Academic Cooperation between University of Lapland and European University at St. Petersburg26.4.2017
A cooperation agreement has been signed between the University of Lapland and the European University at St. Petersburg. The Memorandum of Understanding on Academic Cooperation has reconfirmed the long-standing friendship between two institutions whose cooperation has been developing over the recent years, especially in the field of Arctic social research.
The new agreement creates a framework for diverse joint academic activities, including exchange of students and academic staff, joint research activities, participation in academic meetings, and exchange of publications and academic materials. Liaison offices will be established in both universities to develop and promote cooperation, and the joint activities are expected to begin before the end of the spring term.
Both universities will put most effort into cooperation in Arctic social sciences, a field they have been jointly developing during the recent decade. Both the University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre and the EUSP Centre for Arctic Social Studies are vibrant international research communities sharing common interests and goals which will be developed and enriched under the new Memorandum of Understanding. “I am extremely enthusiastic about this partnership, as research into the social aspects of the developments in the Arctic is more timely than ever”, states rector Ylä-Kotola of the University of Lapland.
The idea of the Memorandum was proposed during the senior UoL–EUSP academic leaders’ meeting in St. Petersburg on March 28, 2017, attended by Rector Mauri Ylä-Kotola, Director of the Centre for Arctic Social Studies Nikolay Vakhtin as well as the President of UArctic Lars Kullerud and Vice-President Outi Snellman.