It is funded by the participating universities and NordForsk's Nordic University Hubs initiative. ReNEW is designed in relation to the strategies of the partner universities that focus on Nordic, European, global and contemporary issues. ReNEW contributes to the advancement of existing strategies among its partners. The consortium member universities all include a Nordic element in their strategies, ranging from long term commitment (Helsinki) to major strategic long-term initiatives (Oslo) and critical research related to key Nordic fields of knowledge among the other partners.
ReNEW has also developed strategic international partnerships with a number of universities.
The University of Helsinki is the largest and only bilingual university in Finland with a strong Nordic profile. The Centre for Nordic Studies (CENS) at the University of Helsinki is a network for multidisciplinary research on the Nordic Region. CENS engages in academic research and teaching, public debates and policy related knowledge. It promotes critical research on different features that make the Nordic Countries Nordic, with special focus on global and comparative perspectives. Strong research fields at CENS include Nordic cooperation, Nordic minorities, conceptual history, intellectual history, mental mapping of north and south. The University of Helsinki also includes several designated Nordic chairs, in Nordic Law, Nordic Literature, Nordic Languages and Nordic Studies. It has a new English-language Master's Programme - European and Nordic Studies and a Swedish-language MA programme Kultur och Kommunikation, both of which have strong cross-disciplinary Nordic profiles. The university’s current Strategic plan (2023–2023) sets global impact as a priority.
The ReNEW Seminar is an interdisciplinary seminar arranged by the Centre for Nordic Studies (CENS). It is open for everyone, students and researchers, who are interested in discussing interdisciplinary research about the Nordic region and Nordic culture. For more information contact the course coordinator Sami Koskelainen (sami.koskelainen@helsinki.fi).
Peter Stadius, professor in Nordic Studies, director of CENS, leader of ReNEW, co-chair of the ReNEW steering group with special responsibility over the ReNEW mobility scheme.
Hasan Akintug, PhD researcher at CENS.
Juhana Aunesluoma, research director of the Network for European Studies at the University of Helsinki and programme director of the MA programme European and Nordic Studies.
Johan Bärlund, professor, Nordic Law, University of Helsinki.
Ilkka Kärrylä, university teacher of Contemporary History at the University of Turku and a visiting researcher at the Centre for Nordic Studies.
Jana Lainto, PhD researcher at CENS, ReNEW project coordinator for University of Helsinki.
Tuire Liimatainen, post-doctoral researcher at Migration Institute of Finland and a visiting researcher at CENS.
Kristina Malmio, professor, Nordic literature, University of Helsinki.
Johan Strang, associate professor at CENS and deputy member of the ReNEW steering group.
Fredrik Forrai Ørskov, former ReNEW PhD researcher at CENS (dissertation "Seaside Encounters: Culture, Politics, and Comradeship at the German-Nordic Writers' House, 1934-1939" defended on 9 September 2023), currently postdoctoral researcher at CENS.
University of Oslo (UiO) is investing considerably in research on Norden. The UiO:Nordic programme is one of UiO’s high profile strategic initiatives. The strategic aim of UiO:Nordic is to reinforce interdisciplinary educational programs, generate new knowledge about the Nordic region in an international context, reinforce collaboration with external social interests and users and increase the scope of international funding. The initiative is based on a broad range of expertise and strong research interests at UiO. All UiO faculties are involved in UiO:Nordic and provide masters and bachelor courses in many Norden-related topics, such as Nordic Media, Nordic Noir, Nordic music, Nordic film, Nordic gender equality and family policy, welfare systems and politics, as well as religion and values. The social sciences, law, humanities education and theology have specific new professorial appointments requiring competence in Nordic-related research themes. There are several PhD and post-doctoral researchers associated with the UiO:Nordic research groups taking part in the ReNEW.
Sunniva Engh, professor, chair of the ReNEW steering group
Haldor Byrkjeflot, professor, with special responsibility over the workshop and seminar programme.
Ruth Hemstad, Dr., University of Oslo, deputy member of the ReNEW steering group.
Malcolm Langford, professor of Public Law at the University of Oslo, co-director of the Centre on Law and Social Transformation, Chr. Michelsen Institute and University of Bergen and deputy member of the ReNEW steering group with special responsibility over the academic publishing.
Mona Charlotte Grydeland, University of Oslo, coordinator for the UiO ReNEW.
Södertörn University (SöU) has a pronounced area studies profile focusing on the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe. A substantial part of this concerns Nordic topics. The Institute of Contemporary History (SHI) has a particular emphasis on Nordic issues. Together with the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES), SHI contributes to the problematization of relations with overlapping and adjacent areas such as the Baltic Sea region and Eastern Europe within ReNEW. SHI also offers a well-established profile in elite oral history and the organisation of ‘witness seminars’, while CBEES adds particular competence in the organisation of PhD courses and summer schools. SU is known as a centre of research on gender issues and its overarching strategic priorities include internationalization, refugee and resettlement issues, and sustainable development.
ReNEW at Södertörn University.
Norbert Götz, professor at the Institute of Contemporary History at Södertörn University and member of the ReNEW steering group with particular responsibility for research training.
Joakim Ekman, professor of political science and director of the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES) at Södertörn University, deputy member of the ReNEW steering group.
Martin Johansson, former ReNEW PhD researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History, Södertörn University (dissertation "De nordiska lekarna: grannländer i pressen under olympiska vinterspel" defended on 12 May 2023), currently postdoctoral researcher at the Södertörn University.
Ulla Manns, professor of gender studies and deputy vice-chancellor of Södertörn University.
Anna Bark Persson, former ReNEW PhD researcher in gender studies at Södertörn University (dissertation "Steel as the Answer? Viking Bodies, Power, and Masculinity in Anglophone Fantasy Literature 2006–2016” defended on 2 June 2023).
Aarhus University (AU) invests in research and teaching on Nordic topics, carried out by staff in different departments of the School of Culture and Society (IKS) and the School of Communication and Culture (IKK). Nordic perspectives also inform inter-departmental initiatives, such as the new inter-disciplinary research program on Lutheran Mentality and the Nordic (LUMEN). The ambition to strengthen researcher mobility, establishment of international research networks, consortia and projects forms a key part of the most recent strategies of both Schools and the Faculty of Arts.
Mary Hilson, professor at the Department of History and Classical Studies at Aarhus University and member of the ReNEW steering group with special responsibility over the digital resources and public dissemination.
Mette Frisk Jensen, researcher and leader of the Danish history website danmarkshistorien.dk at the Department of Culture and Society at Aarhus University, deputy member of the ReNEW steering group.
Helle Strandgaard Jensen, associate professor at Department of History and Classical Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Thorsten Borring Olesen, professor at the Department of History and Classical Studies at Aarhus University.
Anne Sørensen, researcher and editor at www.danmarkshistorien.dk, a digital history project aiming at disseminating research in Danish history.
Bodil Marie Stavning Thomsen, professor of Culture and Media Studies at Scandinavian Studies, School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University in Denmark.
Nicola Witcombe, editor at nordics.info.
Copenhagen Business School (CBS) is by national and international standards a strong institution with a distinctive ‘business university’ profile, and one of the few business schools world-wide with ‘triple crown’ accreditation (AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB). Research on Nordic responses to global challenges at CBS fits within its ‘business in society’ approach that emphasizes collaboration with the business community and stakeholders in devising solutions to challenges. Research on Nordic studies takes place across the university, including especially the Department of International Economics, Government and Business (EGB), the Department of Management, Society, and Communication (MSC), the Department of Management, Politics, and Philosophy (MPP), the Department of Economics (ECON), the Department of Law (LAW) and the Department of Organization (IOA). Within this group are researchers known for their work on Nordic systems, typically focusing on comparisons of welfare systems, business organization, branding the Nordic nations, the changing nature of law and public-private partnerships, public sector reform, and education and innovation systems.
Caroline de la Porte, professor MSO at the Department of Business and Politics, Copenhagen Business School and member of the ReNEW steering group with special responsibility over the public and policy outreach.
Mads Mordhorst, associate professor at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, Copenhagen Business School and deputy member of the ReNEW steering group.
Mitchell Dean, professor at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, MPP.
Michael Bennedsen Hansen, PhD student at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy, MPP.
Zhen Im, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of International Economics, Government and Business.
Janine Leschke, professor with special responsibilities at the Department of International Economics, Government and Business, EGB.
Ida Lunde Jørgensen, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy.
Carolin Schütze, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of International Economics, Government and Business.
Anders Weis Christiansen, research supporter at the Department of International Economics, Government and Business, Copehagen Business school and coordinator for the ReNEW project.
University of Iceland (UI) is a research-led university and the primary institution of higher learning in Iceland. Having developed close institutional relationships with other Nordic Universities, the university has put much emphasis on Nordic themes and collaborative projects in its research strategy, with several scientific programs and institutions solely devoted to them. EDDA – Center of Excellence is an independent interdisciplinary research institution – hosted by the School of Humanities at the UI – in critical contemporary research. Its research themes deal with (in)equality and difference; the welfare state; societal transitions and transnational politics; and security and development. Through its academic activities, EDDA’s goal is also to influence public policy and societal debates, especially in the fields of gender equality; social policies; participatory democracy; and foreign, security and development policies. EDDA has participated in several Nordic collaboration schemes in the fields of crisis politics, the welfare state, security, and democratic theory and practice. The center also has a close partnership with the United Nations University Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme (UNU GEST) at the UI.
Irma Erlingsdottir, professor, University of Iceland, head of the Center for Gender Research (RIKK), director of EDDA – Center of Excellence and member of the ReNEW steering group with special responsibility over the mobility scheme.
Jón Ólafsson, professor of comparative cultural studies, University of Iceland and deputy member of the ReNEW steering group.
Hildur Fjóla Antonsdóttir, postdoctoral researcher at the Edda Center of Excellence,
Pontus Erik Gunnar Järvstad, doctoral student in history at the University of Iceland.
Egill Þór Níelsson, doctoral student in political science and history at the University of Lapland and the University of Iceland.
Boston University, MA., USA
ReNEW contact person: Haldor Byrkjeflot, haldor.byrkjeflot@sosgeo.uio.no
European University Institute, Firenze, Italy
ReNEW contact person: Caroline de la Porte, cdlp.egb@cbs.dk
SCANCOR Weatherhead at the Harvard University, Cambridge MA., USA
ReNEW contact person: Haldor Byrkjeflot, haldor.byrkjeflot@sosgeo.uio.no
Sciences-Po, Paris, France
ReNEW contact person: Caroline de la Porte, cdlp.egb@cbs.dk and Haldor Byrkjeflot haldor.byrkjeflot@sosgeo.uio.no
University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
ReNEW contact person: Norbert Götz, norbert.gotz@sh.se