University of the Arctic

The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.

UArctic was launched in 2001, endorsed by the Arctic Council and in conjunction with the tenth anniversary of the Rovaniemi Process and the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy.

Member institutions

There are 197 members in the University of the Arctic as of April 2025. There are 45 members from Canada, 10 from Denmark, 1 from the Faroe Islands, 17 from Finland, 3 from Greenland, 10 from Iceland, 19 from Norway, 55 (paused) from Russia, 7 from Sweden, 25 from the United States and 59 from non-Arctic countries (Australia (1), Austria (1), Czech Republic (1), China (16), Chile (1), France (3), Germany (1), India (5), Ireland (3), Italy (1), Japan (1), Korea (2), Mongolia (1), the Netherlands (2) and the United Kingdom (21), plus the International Polar Foundation).

Most UArctic members are higher education institutions, but other members include circumpolar Indigenous organizations and research institutions.

In April 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Board of UArctic decided to put the memberships of all institutions of the Russian Federation on pause.

History

thumb|296x296px|UArctic International Secretariat at the [[University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland.]]

The University of the Arctic was initially launched by the Arctic Council on June 12, 2001, in Rovaniemi, Finland. However, the initiative can be traced back to 1997, when the council asked the Circumpolar Universities Association (CUA) for a feasibility study and started implementing the first steps towards the establishment of UArctic. A UArctic Circumpolar Coordination Office was for instance put in place in 1999 in Rovaniemi, which later became the International Secretariat. The academic programs of UArctic were also developed during this period.

The latest institutional development was the appointment of UArctic Chairs in 2022. UArctic chairs are highly qualified academics who implement and drive collaborative actions in research and education among members.

Board

thumb|UArctic Board meeting in [[Tromsø, Norway in April 2019]]

The Assembly elects the UArctic Board. The Board is responsible for setting priorities, institutional accountability, personnel, finances, and budgeting, as well as public and external relations. The Board also has a Board Executive preparing the agenda and text proposals for Board meetings in addition of making interim decisions.

President and Vice-Presidents

thumb|[[Lars Kullerud is the current president of UArctic network]]

The Board appoints the UArctic President for a six-year term. The President is responsible for ensuring that approved projects and activities are initiated and implemented in time. The President oversees the preparation of the budget and the development of an implementation plan, that states clear goals for the administration.

Funding

The member organizations contribute resources to the University of the Arctic. Some of the countries with participating organizations, including Canada, Finland and Norway, provide funds for the university and its different programs, though the Federal Government of Canada decided in 2011 to cut its funding by 75 percent. A membership fee is also collected annually from member organizations that do not receive a waiver, ranging from 750€ to 4.000€; this fee is calculated based on the member institution's operating budget. UArctic is also financed via private donations.

Programs and activities

Circumpolar Studies Program

Within UArctic is the UArctic Circumpolar Studies Consortium, which offers a core series of eight online undergraduate courses on various subjects concerning the Circumpolar North. These courses are open to all students studying at one of UArctic’s higher education member institutions, and completion of the core curriculum leads to the UArctic certificate in Circumpolar Studies. Outside of the core curriculum, certain institutions offer elective courses touching on various Arctic-related topics. The Consortium itself is made up of six UArctic higher education members, of which Trent University is the head institution. A related entity is the UArctic Læra Institute for Circumpolar Education, established in 2020 in order to facilitate the Circumpolar Studies program.

north2north

thumb|242x242px|Official banner of the north2north mobility program

The north2north program (stylized in all lowercase letters) provides opportunities for students, staff, and researchers from UArctic member institutions that participate in the program to go on exchange at other north2north institutions. All institutions participating in north2north are necessarily members of UArctic.

north2north members fall into two categories depending on their location. So-called “full members” are those institutions located in the United States, Canada, Iceland, the Kingdom of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France; “associate members” are located outside of these regions. The participation of associate members in north2north is limited in a few regards, including that they may only send and receive individuals on exchange to and from full members and that they must fund outgoing exchanges. Exchanges through north2north can range between 1 week to a year in duration.]]

Thematic Networks and Institutes, often shortened to Thematic Networks, are independent units within UArctic oriented towards the generation of research and the creation of educational opportunities, also operating to facilitate collaboration between different UArctic members as well as relevant non-UArctic entities. The work and activities of each Thematic Network center around a different theme related to the Arctic region, including for instance Arctic Indigenous Film and Arctic Law. The first Thematic Networks were established in 2005, and as of 2025 there are 63; these can be divided into six categories by content: It gets its name from the organization’s motto “with shared voices”. The content of each issue serves to provide a ‘year-in-review’ of the UArctic network, containing selected articles that are submitted by individuals or groups of individuals affiliated with UArctic activities in some capacity. The magazine also includes updated reports on subjects like member engagement, network membership, and funding.

The magazine has been made available both online and with physical copies, and the earliest issue is from 2006. The 2025 award is 100,000 euros of unrestricted funds. The award is named after Frederik Paulsen Jr., a Swedish billionaire and Chair Emeritus of the Ferring Group. The first award was presented in 2021.

Entrepreneurship Fund

The Entrepreneurship Fund, created in 2023, awards financial support for incubator-stage products and services that are created to benefit the Arctic in some way. Typically, the award is a sum of $2,000-$5,000 USD. The fund was initiated by and is supported in part by Michael Carey.

UArctic x Lloyd’s register Foundation Research Fellowships

This collaborative initiative between UArctic and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation grants funding for research fellowships related to maritime safety in the Arctic region and which incorporate historical perspectives. A combined £200,000 GBP was awarded in 2025 to fund 5 fellowship positions.

Heal Fund

The Heal Fund, also known as the UArctic founders' endowment fund, was established to first financially support students and early-career researchers for cross-border collaboration, though this may shift at the President of the Board of UArctic's discretion. The fund was launched in September of 2021 and named after Bill Heal, credited with being the person who came up with the idea of UArctic.

References

External links

Official University of the Arctic website
Uarctic.org: Governance Structure of UArctic

Category:Rovaniemi