The Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership (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 aims to give the students the tools to influence policymakers and present their research to the media and the general public.
ARCADE, The Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership, is a unique 10-month, intensive multidisciplinary program for a competitively selected cohort of 14 young 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 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:
We will open applications for our next cohort in the fall of 2023, if you have any questions please direct them to arcade@hi.is
Please keep in mind that the course will be in English, meaning that you should be a proficient user of the language.
Three candidates will be selected to participate in the course from each partner university (UI, UiT & Ilisimatusarfik). There will be three additional open spots for other candidates. The selection of candidates will be based on a competitive selection process.
The timeline for the course of 2022-2023
November 15, 2022
Application deadline
December 2022
Cohort selected
Introduction of program and first online webinar
January 29 - February 5, 2023
Week-long intensive program in Tromsø in Norway with a focus on defining security challenges in the Arctic
Start of leadership training
February-May 2023
Online presentations and discussions with expert speakers from different scientific background on specific topics related to the challenges facing the region.
May 28 - June 4, 2023
Second week-long intensive program in Reykjavík and the South of Iceland with a focus on mitigation and adaption of climate change in the Arctic.
August 20 - 27, 2023
Third week-long intensive program in West Greenland with a focus on societal challenges related to climate change in the region.
September 2023
Online workshop on pitch development and op-ed writing conducted by The Arctic Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School.
October 19 - 22, 2023
Participants present their projects at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland.
On completion of the course, students enrolled should be able to:
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.