UArctic responds to Canadian funding situation
The recent decision by the Government of Canada to dramatically cut funding to the University of theArctic will have an impact on not only the ability of Canadian students to participate in UArcticPrograms, but also on thousands of other students around the circumpolar world who benefited from them.
- The funding decision from Canada is regrettable, and means that at least two of UArctic’s signature programs – the Circumpolar Studies undergraduate program and the north2north student mobility program – now face significant challenges, says UArctic President Lars Kullerud in a press release.
As BarentsObserver reported, The Canadian government has cut three quarters of the University of the Arctic’s budget - from a total of more than $700,000 down to about $150,000.
UArctic has already taken steps, however, to ensure the continuity of service of programs like Circumpolar Studies. This undergraduate program has a unique history, in which Canadians and Canadian institutions have played a key role. The curriculum was developed through the collective efforts of scientists, indigenous experts, and academics from across the circumpolar region who shared a vision that northerners should have a common understanding of the region that derives from their own perspectives, rather than from southern capitals.
The value of the work done in Canada can be seen clearly across the pole in places like Bodø, Norway, Fairbanks, Alaska, Prince George, Thunder Bay and Nunavut in Canada, Rovaniemi, Finland and Yakutsk, Russia, where students who live and study in the North are taught the same Circumpolar Studies Program.
At the Northeastern Federal University in Yakutsk, Russia, for example, every first year student takes BCS100 – Introduction to the Circumpolar World – which resulted in over 3000 students there learning from the same material as their colleagues in Canada, Alaska, and the Nordic countries.
The main impact of Canada’s cut in funding is that the University of Saskatchewan, which has provided tremendous support to UArctic by hosting the Undergraduate, is no longer financially able to continue in that role. The Northeastern Federal University in Yakutsk will take over the hosting of the Undergraduate Office.
However, UArctic is a circumpolar community of institutions committed to cooperation in northern higher education, and will do all it can to support education opportunities in the North. Our Canadian members remain committed with their own resources to continue to be strong partners in this work while we wait for a resolution of the funding impasse in Canada.”
UArctic President Lars Kullerud states that “Canada should pursue a physical university north of 60° – as exists in every other circumpolar country. The experience in other Arctic countries has shown that the best way for northern universities to demonstrate their value and deliver quality and relevant education is through cooperation in the University of the Arctic network. The vast majority of UArctic activities are led by institutions north of 60°. That some in Canada see these options as mutually exclusive has had the unfortunate effect of disrupting agreement between the territorial and federal governments that was the key to ongoing financial support for UArctic in Canada.”
