Government announces freeze on research and education cooperation with Russia

“The responsibility for the grave situation in Europe lies with the Russian government, and the attack on Ukraine must also have consequences for research and education cooperation. Therefore, we suspend all dialogue with Russian officials, and all institutional agreements between Norwegian and Russian research and education institutions will be put on hold as a general rule”, says Minister of Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe (Center Party) in a press release from the Ministry of Education and Research (Norwegian only).

How the knowledge cooperation with Russia is affected:

• The Ministry of Education and Research and the subordinate agencies suspend all dialogue with Russian authorities.
• The Norwegian Research Council's joint announcement with Russia is stopped.
• The Norwegian-Russian education agreement is suspended.
• The research agreement negotiated with Russia is put on hold.
• As a general rule, all agreements between Norwegian and Russian institutions must be put on hold. The institutions may choose to maintain agreements; however, a thorough assessment should be made in each individual case. Agreements and cooperation in the areas of nuclear preparedness and fisheries and resource management will continue as before for the time being.
• At the same time it is desirable that researchers continue to have contact with each other across national borders (so-called researcher to researcher collaboration).

Aim to help Ukrainian and Russian students in Norway

The government is also working to help Ukrainian and Russian students who are in Norway. The Ministry of Education has asked the universities and university colleges to report specific challenges that these students may encounter or that they envisage will arise in the future.

“We will look after the students from Ukraine and Russia in the best possible way. They bear no responsibility for what the government in Russia has started. The Ukrainian students obviously cannot return home now, and the Russians may lose access to bank accounts in their home country and be left completely without financial means due to the sanctions. Which means they need help, and they will get that help. We just have to determine how this should be done in practice, but that work is underway”, says Minister Borten Moe in the press release.

The Ministry of Justice has already confirmed that Ukrainian students in Norway will be exempt for the time being from the obligation to return if their residence permit is about to expire. They can therefore stay in Norway until further notice.