ARCADE

About the project

The Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership (ARCADE) aims to answer a call for innovative ways to meet the challenge of the fast-changing Arctic with a leadership program that focuses on creative solutions with an interdisciplinary approach. It aims to give the students the tools to influence policymakers and present their research to the media and the general public.

Climate change is the biggest global challenge in the world today and has more immediate and severe consequences for the Arctic, than any other world region. This can be seen for example in the rise of annual mean surface temperature and the melting of the sea ice in the Arctic. Understanding the multifaceted effects of a fast-changing Arctic, both on the local and global levels calls for robust research. ARCADE aims to connect young scientists and academics to future policymakers and influencers who understand the complex challenges in the Arctic.

The Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership (ARCADE) is a three-year project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union, starting in September 2022. ARCADE is led by the Center for Arctic Studies at the University of Iceland (UI) in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainability Studies at UI, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and Ilisimatusarfik University of Greenland. It includes two 10-month intensive multidisciplinary programs for a competitively selected cohort of 14 young pioneering graduate students.

ARCADE will serve to create the much-needed network of future practitioners within the Arctic. The students will participate in three intensive programs in Norway, Greenland, and Iceland, providing the students with the unique opportunity to explore the dramatic effects of climate change in the region. They will work on individual projects and group projects under the leadership of academic experts. ARCADE partners with the Arctic Initiative at Harvard‘s Kennedy School of Government and the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle will serve as the primary platform to introduce and present the students‘ research and work. Through the annual Arctic Circle Assemblies and Forums, students will be able to participate in sessions among politicians, scientists, activists, and other academics alike.

In addition, recorded material from the intensive courses will serve as a basis for creating a Massive Open Online Course for the highly acclaimed edX platform.

Objectives

The ARCADE project responds to a growing need for new innovative cross-disciplinary learning and rigorous research to address the challenges of climate change in the Arctic Region by:

• Motivate students from different disciplines to seek a deeper understanding of the challenges of climate change in the arctic and their socio-political effects in the Arctic Region from a local perspective.
• Train students in translating their research into policy recommendations, thus contributing to informed public policy-making and local debate.
• Strengthen cooperation between the five organizations in the program encouraging research cooperation in the Arctic countries.

How to apply

Send your motivation letter, CV, and recent transcript no later than November 15 to arcade@hi.is.

Timeline

Application deadline: November 15, 2022.

December 2022

• Cohort selected
• Introduction of program and first online webinar

January-February 2023

• Start of leadership training
• Week-long intensive program in Tromsø in Norway with a focus on defining security challenges in the Arctic

February-May 2023

• Online presentations and discussions with expert speakers from different scientific background on specific topics related to the challenges facing the region

May-June 2023

• Second week-long intensive program in Reykjavík and the South of Iceland with a focus on mitigation and adaption of climate change in the Arctic

August 2023

• Third week-long intensive program in West Greenland with a focus on societal challenges related to climate change in the region

September 2023

• Online workshop on pitch development and op-ed writing conducted by The Arctic Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School

October 2023

• Participants present their projects at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland