UNL is among 12 institutions in the United States to participate in a new academic partnership program with the Norwegian Centre for International Collaboration in Education and the Institute of International Education.

The inaugural Norway initiative of IIE’s International Academic Partnership Program aims to expand U.S.-Norwegian engagement and foster strategic university partnerships.

IIE and SIU have selected twelve U.S. higher education institutions to participate in the eight-month International Academic Partnership Program. IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education will guide the institutions through a strategic planning process and training activities designed to assist each institution in implementing and sustaining partnerships with counterparts in Norway.

In addition to UNL, participating U.S. campuses are Chatham University; Coastal Carolina University; Cornell University; New York Institute of Technology; Oregon State University; Sacred Heart University; University of Alaska-Fairbanks; University of Cincinnati; University of Delaware; University of Tennessee-Knoxville; and Washington and Jefferson College.

“Globalization has changed the way the world works, and higher education is an area where the U.S. and Norway can build strong institutional relations and promote collaboration among our universities that will foster deeper ties between our two countries,” IIE president Allan Goodman said.

These partnership programs offer timely resources for campuses in both countries to explore areas of academic cooperation, including exchanging students and scholars and collaborating on research projects and degree programs.

While focused on supporting comprehensive institutional partnerships in general, the International Academic Partnership Program with Norway will have a special emphasis on the fields of energy and the environment. U.S. institutions are particularly interested in cooperating with Norway because of Norway’s leading role in innovative approaches to energy production and environmental sustainability. Acknowledging that the Nordic region is often overlooked by U.S. higher education and study abroad, the participating U.S. institutions clearly recognize that Norway’s strengths in renewable energy, climate change, responsible natural resource management, arctic studies, atmospheric sciences and sustainability practices have a lot to offer U.S. students and researchers alike, and that Norway is a strategic country of importance with respect to institutional linkages.

Norway is also a commitment partner of IIE’s Generation Study Abroad initiative, which is a five year campaign to double the number of U.S. college students studying abroad. As part of the Norwegian government’s commitment to Generation Study Abroad, Norway will help to pay for the costs of a week-long study tour to Norway to explore mutual areas of interest and meet with potential partner campuses. Allan Goodman will lead the delegation of senior leaders of the U.S. higher education institutions participating in the program in April 2015.

“The U.S. is one of Norway’s most important partners in research and higher education”, said Alf Rasmussen, director general of SIU. “We are excited to be part of the Generation Study Abroad initiative and collaborate with IIE on the IAPP Norway, and we look forward to welcoming the delegation in April. This is a great opportunity for our institutions to meet and develop their relationships further.”

IIE launched the International Academic Partnership Program in 2009 to help colleges develop the partnership component of their strategic plans for internationalization. IIE has led delegations to Brazil, China, India, Vietnam, and Myanmar in the past few years. Recent research and reports issued by IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education have highlighted the increasing importance of strategic international partnerships to building the capacity of the institutions and providing a global environment for students and faculty.