2019-04-29

Academy Director visits Norwegian Partner and Donor

Between 24 to 26 of April Academy Director Dr. Alexander Wolters visited Oslo for official meetings with the representatives of the Academy's long-term partner, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), and of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has been supporting the cooperation between the Academy and NUPI in the past years. Dr. Wolters discussed the Progress Report for the implementation of project activities in 2018 with Dr. Indra Overland, Head of the Centre for Energy Research, Dr. Helge Blakkisrud, Head of the Research group on Russia, Asia and International Trade, and Kristin Fjæstad, Junior Research Fellow at NUPI. He furthermore met with Ms. Merete Wilhelmsen, Senior Adviser of Section for Russia, Eurasia and Regional Cooperation, at the Norwegian MFA, and her colleagues to whom Dr. Wolters provided with an overview over the Academy’s recent developments. Part of all meetings was also the new application for a continuation of the partnership between NUPI and the OSCE Academy for the years 2020-2023, submitted in December 2018, and plans for the realization of new programmes, including joint research projects.

NUPI has been one of the key donors and partners of  the Academy since 2010. The Norwegian government has supported the partnership through a large  grant  to launch a new MA Programme in Economic Governance and Development as well as to support  teaching,  student internships, the Alumni Network, conferences and so on. The staff and researchers of NUPI regularly conduct teaching modules at both graduate programs of the Academy, while about five current students of the Academy and two alumni spend productive research-oriented internships at NUPI in Oslo as well as several other European institutions every year thanks to the Academy's partnership with NUPI.