Research council launches 100m kroner fund as Norwegian government calls for the protection of academic freedom
Norway has launched a new scheme to lure top international researchers amid growing pressure on academic freedom in the US under the Trump administration.
Following in the footsteps of multiple institutions across Europe, the Research Council of Norway on Wednesday launched a 100m kroner (£7.2m) fund to make it easier to recruit researchers from other countries.
The initiative is open to researchers from around the world, but it was expanded and accelerated after the Trump administration announced substantial cuts last month.
Norway’s announcement comes before a visit to the White House by the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and his finance minister, the former Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. Subjects on the agenda are expected to include security, defence, Ukraine, tariffs and trade.
The Nordic country’s minister for research and higher education, Sigrun Aasland, said: “It is important for Norway to be proactive in a demanding situation for academic freedom. We can make a difference for outstanding researchers and important knowledge, and we want to do that as quickly as possible.”
Aasland added: “Academic freedom is under pressure in the US, and it is an unpredictable position for many researchers in what has been the world’s leading knowledge nation for many decades.”
The research council said it would put out a call for proposals next month including in the areas of climate, health, energy and artificial intelligence.
The scheme is planned to take place over several years, with 100m kroner set aside for 2026.
Mari Sundli Tveit, the chief executive of the research council, told broadcaster NRK: “This is particularly relevant to the situation in the US. Academic freedom is under pressure and funding is being cut.”
Other countries to take similar action include France, where nearly 300 academics have applied to Aix-Marseille University after it offered to take US-based researchers, and the former French president François Hollande called for the creation of a “scientific refugee” status for compromised academics.
The Belgian university Vrije Universiteit Brussel has also opened up new postdoctoral positions targeted at Americans, and the Netherlands has said it plans to launch a fund to attract researchers there.
Source: The Guardian
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