ARCADE

ARCADE, The Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership, is a unique 10-month, intensive multidisciplinary program for a competitively selected cohort of 12 pioneering graduate students.

Climate change is the biggest global challenge in the world today and has more immediate and severe consequences for the Arctic, than any other world region. ARCADE aims to answer a call for innovative ways to meet the challenge of the fast-changing Arctic with a leadership program that focuses on creative solutions with an interdisciplinary approach. It will give the students tools to influence policymakers and present their research to the media and the general public.

ARCADE will also create a much-needed network of future practitioners within the Arctic. The students will participate in three intensive programs in Norway, Greenland, and Iceland, providing the students with the unique opportunity to explore the dramatic effects of climate change in the region. They will work on individual and group projects under the leadership of academic experts.

• The course is open to Master’s & PhD students from all disciplines
• Travel and accommodation cost is covered by the grant from Erasmus+
• The course counts as 10 ECTS credits 

The ARCADE programme responds to a growing need for new innovative cross-disciplinary learning and rigorous research to address the challenges of climate change in the Arctic Region by:

• Motivating students from different disciplines to seek a deeper understanding of the challenges of climate change in the Arctic and their socio-political effects in the Arctic Region from a local perspective
• Training students in translating their research into policy recommendations, thus contributing to informed public policy-making and local debate
• Strengthening cooperation between the five organisations in the program, encouraging research cooperation in the Arctic countries

The timeline for the course of 2023 - 2024

December 2023
The cohort was selected.
The program was introduced, and the first online webinar took place.

January 24 - 30, 2024
A week-long intensive program was held in Tromsø, Norway, with a focus on Arctic Governance and Security.
Leadership Training began.

February-May 2024
Online presentations and discussions took place with expert speakers from various scientific backgrounds on specific topics related to the challenges facing the Arctic region.

May 26 - June 1, 2024
The second week-long intensive program took place in Reykjavík and the South of Iceland, focusing on the mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the Arctic.

August 18 - 24, 2024
The third week-long intensive program was held in Nuuk, Greenland, focusing on the effects of climate change on local communities and social sustainability in Greenland.

September 2024
An online workshop on pitch development and op-ed writing was conducted by The Arctic Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School.

October 17 - 19, 2024
Participants presented their projects at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland.

On completion of the course, students enrolled should be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of the multifaceted local and global challenges facing the Arctic region
• Apply critical insight into how innovative and interdisciplinary approaches can be utilised to address challenges facing the Arctic region
• Analyze where opportunities lie in influencing policy-making in the Arctic and how best to approach policymakers in order to have a direct influence
• Evaluate where opportunities lie for young researchers to take on leadership roles in the Arctic

ARCADE is led by the Center for Arctic Studies in collaboration with the Sustainability Institute of the University of Iceland, UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Ilisimatusarfik - University of Greenland. ARCADE partners with the Arctic Initiative at Harvard‘s Kennedy School of Government and the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle Assembly will serve as the primary platform to introduce and present the students‘ findings.