From October 25 to 26, the 2024 Academic Conference of the China-Norway Marine University Consortium Alliance hosted by the China-Norway Marine University Consortium Alliance (hereinafter referred to as “the Alliance”) was held. Nils Christian Stenseth, Chair of the Board of the Norwegian Marine University Consortium, Academician of the Royal Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, and Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Wang Houjie, Vice President of OUC, attended the conference and delivered speeches.

Wang Houjie reviewed the achievements made since the establishment of the Alliance. He noted that the universities in the Alliance have carried out in-depth and productive cooperation through holding academic workshops and jointly applying for research projects. Hosting the Chinese secretariat, OUC will continue to uphold pragmatism, and promote the building and development of the Alliance. Meanwhile, he looked forward to the future development of the Alliance. He expected that the universities in the alliance would leverage complementary strengths, and promote resource sharing in multiple dimensions, including scientific and technological innovation, talent cultivation, and industrial collaboration, and inject new vitality into the comprehensive cooperation between China and Norway in the marine field.

In his speech, Nils Christian Stenseth expressed his high expectations for China-Norway cooperation. He emphasized that the Norwegian Marine University Consortium has always attached great importance to the cooperation with the Chinese side. He also expressed the hope for both sides to maintain close communication and cooperation in the field of marine science and education, endeavoring to jointly address the challenges brought by global ocean changes.

Professor Li Jianping, Dean of OUC’s Academy of Future Ocean, presided over the opening ceremony. Wang Min, Head of the Chinese secretariat of the Alliance and Dean of OUC’s Haide College, and Øyvind Fiksen, Vice Chair of the Norwegian Marine University Consortium and Director of the Marine Department of the University of Bergen, jointly presided over the keynote report session. A total of 51 academic reports were given by experts and scholars at this conference, attracting nearly 200 representatives from member universities and partner universities from home and abroad.