The Bergen Knowledge Hub aims to:
- Be a catalyst for collaboration, for knowledge exchange, and for exchange of ideas.
- Engage research and scholarship with policymaking in Europe and in the Nordic and Baltic Regions, on behalf of Academia Europaea and in close collaboration with national academies of the region.
- Promote excellent research from and about the Nordic and Baltic Region, its surrounding seas and the Arctic with emphasis on marine and maritime research, sustainability and the Nordic social model, through scholarly workshops and public events.
- Demonstrate the importance of scientific scholarship and maximise engagement with our members, policymakers, private and public entities and the wider public.
- Stimulate scientists to accomplish stringent and unequivocal communication with decision makers, media, and the public.
The Academia Europaea is the pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as the functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry.
The work of the Academia Europaea Task Force on Environment, Climate and Sustainability over the last year, was presented during a plenary session during the Building Bridges Annual Conference. Among the suggestions of the Task Force is for AE to set up a Permanent Working Group on Environment, Sustainability and Climate (PWGESC). The Task Force sees the need for a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach.
The Academic Director of The Academia Europaea Bergen Knowledge Hub, Prof. Eystein Jansen is elected Vice President of the European Research Council (ERC). He will be responsible for the ERC activities in the Physical Sciences and Engineering domain from January 1th 2023, replacing Prof. Andrzej Jajszczyk.
NORCE scientist and working group member and co-author on the SAPEA report “Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment”, Gunhild Bødtker, started her presentation at the recent Avfallsforsk webinar “Marine Littering in Norwegian Fjords” by saying that “biodegradable plastics have some uses that can be a part of the solution, but it shouldn’t be seen as an excuse for littering, and it is not a quick fix”.
The AE-Bergen Knowledge Hub had the pleasure of hosting the former president of Academia Europaea, Sierd Cloetingh, on his visit to the University of Bergen, September 4th- 6th. On this occasion, he gave an interview about his long relationship with Norway and the scientific community in Norway, his work in Earth Science, the importance of science advice for policy, and the work of Academia Europaea.
The Academia Europaea Bergen Knowledge Hub has agreed to supply the Young Academy of Europe (YAE) with administrative support. This cooperation was last week formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Eystein Jansen for AE-Bergen Hub and Gemma Modinos for YAE. In view of the important work done by YAE, as well as the partnership between YAE and AE established in 2012, the AE-Bergen Hub will contribute to web updates and newsletters, as well as help with sending out fee reminders.
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen of Uni Copenhagen and Johannes Oerlemans of Utrecht University have won the 2022 Balzan Prize in the category “Glaciation and Ice-Sheet Dynamics”. – We are particularly happy to see the prize awarded to a scholar from the Nordic and Baltic region, covered by our Hub, says Eystein Jansen, Academic Director of AE-Bergen Hub.
The Academic Director of the AE-Bergen Knowledge Hub, Eystein Jansen, had the task of distilling 3000 pages of the latest IPCC Climate reports into a 15-minute talk. Jansen spoke of the key findings in the latest 3 IPCC climate reports during the 2022 Rosendal Week, a regional conference in Western Norway focusing on climate change, energy transitions, green initiatives, and sustainability.
-
We look forward to receiving suggestions and ideas that our members may have on events and themes that our Hub should engage in, Academic Director Eystein Jansen says in his summer greetings. Furthermore, he welcomes close to 50 new AE members from the Nordic and Baltic regions from this year´s nomination round, expressing hope that all will become active members.
The AE-Bergen Knowledge Hub held meetings with both the Advisory Board and Steering Group in June 2022. Both events provided an overview of recent and upcoming projects for the hub. For the Steering Group, which is based in Bergen, it was finally possible to have a physical meeting, after virtual meetings during the pandemic. For the Advisory Board, with members from the Nordic and Baltic region, there was a virtual meeting.
The AE-Bergen Knowledge Hub was honored to host László Lovász, the academic director of our sister hub in Budapest, for two days during his Norway visit this spring. Possible cooperation was discussed. László Lovász was awarded the Abel Prize for 2021. Because of Covid restrictions last year, he visited the Norwegian Acadamy of Science and Letters this year instead. His week in Norway included 2 days in Rosendal in western Norway, as well at 3 days in Bergen.