On June 1, the first academic symposium of the China-Norway Marine University Consortium Alliance (the Alliance) focusing on the “Arctic Ocean” was held online. 

Prof. Nils Christian Stenseth, Chairman of the Norwegian Marine University Consortium (NMU) and fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of NMU. He encouraged the experts to engage in win-win cooperation in Arctic research with this symposium serving as a cornerstone of Sino-Norwegian cooperation in marine science. 

Prof. Wang Min, Secretary General of the Chinese side of the Alliance and Vice Dean of the College of Marine Life Sciences, delivered the closing speech and expressed her heartfelt thanks to the attendees and to all those who have contributed to the building of the Alliance. She hoped that as the world recovers from the pandemic, face-to-face meetings and exchanges could become possible soon.  

The symposium featured experts in polar research from the Chinese and Norwegian member institutions, who had in-depth discussions and exchanges on the next steps of related research and possibilities of working together.

The success of the symposium further strengthened the ties between Chinese marine-related universities and their Norwegian counterparts, promoted the development of the China-Norway Marine University Alliance, and played a positive role in pooling domestic and international resources of Arctic research, and in facilitating multidisciplinary research in marine-related fields. From now on, Ocean University of China will give full play to the role of the Chinese secretariat of the alliance, and work closely with the Norwegian side to promote win-win cooperation between the two countries in marine research and education. 

Translated by Wan Qian

Edited by Xu Derong, Yu Hong