Québec-Norway: Northern Cultures Collaboration in Higher Education

This project will develop an original research field for the comparison of two northern cultures, Québec and Norway, in an international context of circumpolar studies. It will also reinforce the expertise and the leadership of the University of Bergen in French language and Francophone studies. It will lead to a better knowledge of Norwegian studies in Canada among French-speaking students and scholars. Finally, it will continue and institutionalize a unique tradition of academic relationship in French between Québec and the University of Bergen, initiated in the 1990s.

Our immediate plan involves permanent formation in Québec and Northern studies, through the participation of Norwegian professors and students in the numerous Higher Education seminars, workshops and collaboration sessions in Montréal, and of Québec professors and students in Norway. We will also try, in our domain of expertise, to encourage Master and PhD students to choose a collaborative supervision (UQAM-Bergen) for their master and thesis. We also hope that those activities will lead to the creation of a research project on Comparative Northern Studies at the end of this actual plan. We will also work on the signature of cooperation agreements between UQAM and CREPUQ (the confederation of Québec universities) which would allow University of Bergen students to spend one or two semesters without having to pay tuition fees in Québec universities. Both initiatives (a research project and agreements) will ensure the continuity of this collaboration.

It is finally to mention that UQAM is currently working on the creation of a French-language Master degree at the Faculty of Arts on 'Cultural Studies of the North and Winter' which could be of interest to Norwegian scholars.