Northern regions of European Union and Barents area are receiving international attention for their growing mining industry and new energy solutions based on natural resources. According to estimates, the impact of the mining industry on the regional economy in the North could surpass that of tourism. Sustainable use of natural resources, preventing climate and  environmental changes and protecting the livelihood and culture of indigenous peoples require new technological, social and political innovations. Together we will develop expertise on the environmental and energy issues ans sustainable use of natural resources for the benefit of the whole of Europe, and thus meet the European need by combining the environmental and social dimensions into technological expertise. 

Northern Research and Innovation Platform is a two year (2009-2011) project, aiming to support research and development activities in the field of environment, energy, and sustainable use of natural resources, and it promotes innovations especially for the mining and forest industry. The project brings together universities, research institutes, companies and technology tranfer organisations in the North, providing a new opportunity for informal collaboration, with the aim of achieving a common vision, strategic research agenda and action plan for the Northern Research Platform.

NorthChallenge future forum

NorthChallenge future forum brings together experts from different science, organisations and regions in the North, aiming to identify and prioritise areas for increased innovation and new and existing research and development (R&D) tasks in the field on environment, energy and sustainable use of natural resources. Seven workshops will be held throughout the project. These workshops will be aimed at developing a common vision, strategic research agenda and action plan for the Northern Research Platform from the national starting points and link it with international strategies to identify and prioritise areas for increasing innovation, and new and exisiting R&D tasks. The results of the future forum will be disseminated in three NorthChallenge seminars.

Northern Research Platform

The Northern Research Platform has potential to contribute to the development of the European Research Area (ERA) and support the Northern Dimension (ND) policy. As such, the platform is providing to be an active actor in the development of European research policy, in particular in orienting it to better meet the needs of industry in the North. The platform will develop coherent recommendations, detailing specific tasks, approaches, participants and the necessary infrastructure for the national and EU programmes, such as FP 7 and the forthcoming FP 8.

The Northern Research and Innovation Platform project os financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the City of oulu. The project is coordinated by the University of Oulu, Thule Institute. 

 - Water is fun - Rain is hope - Nature is fresh - North is future -