Ministers to ensure better teaching and increase number of female researchers in the Nordic Region
A new Nordic forum will bolster Nordic cooperation on developing, communicating and using knowledge of teaching and pedagogy across the Nordic Region.
The forum is one of the initiatives in a joint programme for teaching, education and research that the Minister for Higher Education and Science Sofie Carsten Nielsen and the Minister for Education Christine Antorini are implementing during the Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2015.
Denmark has outlined a number of initiatives for each of the four overall themes for the presidency: growth, welfare, values and the Blue Arctic.
During the presidency, the relevant Nordic ministers will also meet to debate how to encourage more women to pursue a career in research, and how the Nordic Region can better use and develop the talent pool of young people in the education system.
- We have achieved a lot of equality in Denmark and the rest of the Nordic Region, but this is not reflected in the research area, where 80 per cent of professors in the Nordic countries are men. This is despite the fact that more women than men pursue higher education. Both facts show an imbalance and are a sign that we must nurture our talent pool. This is an area of focus for Denmark, but the work will have a greater impact when there is a joint Nordic focus on the issue, says Minister for Higher Education and Science Sofie Carsten Nielsen.
New knowledge of good teaching and pedagogic practice in the Nordic Region will also support better results in schools, reduce the impact of negative social inheritance and improve the well-being of Nordic children and young people.
- The Nordic Region has common strengths such as our education systems generally promoting creativity and critical thinking. We are also able to create a cohesive childhood from birth to the age of 18. However, we also face challenges of negative social inheritance and less than optimal professional results. During the Danish Presidency, we will therefore implement a Nordic knowledge exchange to gather knowledge on how best to tackle our challenges. We achieve much more when we work together in the Nordic Region, says Minister for Education Christine Antorini.
The Danish Presidency will also focus on how the planned large research microscope, the European Spallation Source (ESS), can be used to solve great societal challenges and how research environments and businesses can benefit from it.
Futhermore, Denmark as the host country for the presidency, will hold a conference on how the high quality Nordic education systems can be better used for the export of education.
Nordic Council of Ministers 2015
- The themes for the presidency include growth, welfare, values and the Blue Arctic.
- The Minister for Higher Education and Science and the Minister for Education have compiled a joint sector programme for the areas of education and research. The programme contains a number of initiatives and activities that the ministers will implement during the presidency.
Read more about the sector-specific activities (pdf)
- Read more about the Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2015
- Read more about the Danish Presidency on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website
These pages will be updated regularly.
For further information please contact:
Ministry of Higher Education and Science:
Head of Division Søren Nedergaard, tel: +45 7231 8032, mail:
sne@ufm.dk
Head of Press Ingeborg Nielsen, tel: +45 2211 0200, mail: imen@ufm.dk
Ministry of Education:
Head of Division Christina Barfoed-Høj, tel:+45 3392 5379, mail:
christina.barfoed-hoj@uvm.dk
Press Officer Sabrina Drevsfeldt, tel: +45 3392 7867, mail: sabrina.drevsfeldt@uvm.dk