The research council of Norway and SIU (Senter for internasjonalisering av Utdanning) received 47 proposals in relation to the new program INTPART (International partnership for excellence education and research) that funds three-year long projects. Among the nineteen projects that received funding, four are connected with research groups at UiB.
Thomas Spengler at geophysical institute is the project manager for the project “Partnership between Norway and Japan for excellent Education and Research in Weather and Climate Dynamics”. Their main partner is the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (AORI), and the other is Hisashi Nakamura’s laboratory, both affiliated with University of Tokyo.
In April, Spengler and Annick Terpstra visited the partners in Tokyo and discussed the proposal for INTPART. In addition, the Bjerknes Centre and AORI has signed a ”Memorandum of understanding”. The agreement is a result of a long collaboration between particular researchers, and confirms the countries’ strong relations.
- The agreement shows that we are strategically moving in a more concrete direction for collaboration with our colleagues. This has most likely influenced our proposal in a positive way, Spengler explains.
The project and University of Tokyo will also contribute significantly to next year’s Japan-Norway Arctic Science Week held in Tokyo. This summer, environmental friendly energy was the main focus, while next year’s science week will focus on the Arctic.
