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I heard about the MobilityDK funding through my supervisor and quickly applied as I had been accepted to present my PhD project at the PhD Summer School ‘Health, Society and Environment in Relation to Large-Scale Industrial Projects’ in Nuuk, Greenland.

Above is a photo of the group of PhD students and mentoring professors who were in attendance. We were all happy at this point as it was the conclusion to five intense days of lectures and hearing about one another’s projects and participating in constructive feedback. It was interesting to hear about projects in Greenland, Denmark, Canada, Finland, and Russia. There were many opportunities outside of our busy schedule, for example during coffee breaks and lunch, to talk to participants in more detail and to establish networks. This opportunity allows for intitial meetings of researchers that may one day lead to future collaborations between Arctic countries.

Sandra Juutilainen The highlight of this mobility was to travel to Greenland and learn more about the research that is being done there and about the country itself; after all, how many people can say they’ve been to Greenland! I believe that it’s not possible to fully understand a place until you have lived there. My short stay in Greenland provided an introduction to the country, its welcoming people, and networks that are established to foster coordination among research institutions and to create international networks.

I’m thankful for this experience as it gave me a broader perspective of Arctic issues. I trust that such opportunities will continue to be available for students who are planning a career in Arctic research.

Sandra Juutilainen
PhD student, Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Finland

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MobilityDK is a pilot model for providing financial support for teacher, researcher and student exchange. MobilityDK is a part of the UArctic Danish Mobility Project, the goal of which is to support mobility for the Kingdom of Denmark’s Arctic education activities, and mobility from the Kingdom of Denmark to Arctic educational activities in different areas of the Arctic through the UArctic network. The program is supported by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation.