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Norwegian Ambassador to the UK visits Durham

15 November 2024
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His Excellency, Tore Hattrem, Norwegian Ambassador to the United Kingdom visited Durham earlier this week.

A green agenda and enhanced research collaboration

Ambassador Hattrem met with our Vice-Chancellor and Warden, Professor Karen O’Brien, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), Professor Claire O’Malley. The visit focused on energy and the green transition in light of the refreshed Green Industrial Partnership between the UK and Norway. 

Plans for strengthening research and education connections were also discussed. This follows a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) cooperation agreement with Research Council Norway (RCN) to open agreed national research funding opportunities to collaborative applications involving researchers from the UK and Norway as co-investigators.

Sharing diplomatic insights

As part of the visit, the Ambassador gave a thought-provoking talk to students and staff from our School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA). Entitled ‘Reflections on efforts for conflict resolution in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan’, he shared insights from previous diplomatic postings and his role as Deputy Foreign Minister at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Professor Clive Jones, Professor of Regional Security at SGIA, who holds a visiting research chair at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU Trondheim), hosted the talk.

Energetic Future conference

While in North East England, Ambassador Hattrem also attended the recent Team Norway’s Energetic Future conference at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Seeking to enhance the existing Norway-UK partnership, the conference provided opportunities to hear about progress in the energy sector, and discuss ongoing challenges.

It also involved members of our academic staff, who participated as panellists during the event. Professor Simone Abram (Department of Anthropology), and Professor Simon Hogg (Department of Engineering), who are both members of our Durham Energy Institute, spoke on the theme of the Talent and Skills Pipeline, emphasising the growing need for expertise in the energy transition.

Building on strong foundations

Ambassador Hattrem's visit builds on recent Norwegian engagement, including a visit from the Norwegian Deputy Ambassador in October 2023, a delegation visit to the University of Oslo and NTNU Trondheim led by our Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global) in June 2024, and a visit from the Bergen University Rectorate in June 2024. 

We have a strong history of working with Norway, with existing partnerships crossing research and educational fields. Current research projects with Norwegian institutions address a range of global challenges, encompassing climate change, energy, and sustainability.

One such collaboration is the 'INCLUDE' project from the Research Centre for Socially Inclusive Energy Transitions. This partnership produces knowledge on how to achieve socially inclusive and just energy, climate and environmental transformation. The centre is funded by the Norwegian Research Council as a Centre for Environmentally Friendly Energy Research. Durham is a research partner alongside five others in Norway. Professor Simone Abram leads a cross-discipline UK team, which includes Professor Gavin Bridge, Dr Andres Luque Ayala, Dr Kirsten Jenkins (University of Edinburgh), and post-doctoral researchers Dr Mayanka Mukherji and Dr Connor Watt. INCLUDE works with nearly 60 partners, encompassing local authorities in Norway, and involving over 40 researchers and 14 PhD fellows.

Our students benefit from a network of educational links, including exchange agreements with the University of Bergen, University of Oslo (for music) and MF Norwegian School of Theology. Under these partnerships, students can take advantage of exchange opportunities across our faculties of Social Sciences and Health, and Arts and Humanities. We're also participating in a three-year pilot exchange programme with NTNU Trondheim, Norway’s largest university.

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