ARCADE

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 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 organizations in the program encouraging research cooperation in the Arctic countries.

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:

• Demonstrate understanding of the multifaceted local and global challenges facing the Arctic region
• Apply critical insight into how innovative and interdisciplinary approaches can be utilized to address challenges facing the Arctic region
• Analyze where opportunities lie in influencing policy making in the Arctic and how best to approach policy makers in order to have 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.