Research in Norway

Norway is greeting the new millennium with research and development as a national priority. The parliamentary report entitled "Research at the beginning of a new era" forms the basis for one of the most ambitious investments in the history of Norwegian research policy.

In the years ahead, the strengthening of long-term fundamental research will be a main objective. In addition, priority will be given to research into four areas where society is facing great challenges:

• Marine research
• Information and communication technology (ICT)
• Medicine and health care
• Environmental and energy research

An Ocean of Opportunities

Marine Research

Norway is among the world’s leading exporters of seafood. With its long coastline and surrounding seas and ocean, Norway has excellent conditions for exploiting renewable marine resources. Fish has been among the country’s most important export products for more than a thousand years. During the last decades, Norway has put a systematic emphasis on research and development in the marine sector. This has made fishing and aquaculture a knowledge-based industry.

Recent estimates show that value creation in the Norwegian marine sector can be increased six times from its current level by the year 2030. Increased research is a precondition for the realization of this potential. The research is directed toward the whole chain of processes, from the development of new breeding technology to the marketing of finished products.

Norway has an international responsibility for a sustainable management of marine resources. Without rational resource management, ecological diversity and the basis for the creation of value are destroyed. Consumers demand pure, high-quality products. Therefore, marine research will also focus upon such fields as ocean pollution, the development of stocks, and fish health.

The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research is a central institution in these fields, both nationally and internationally. It is one of four Norwegian institutions that have been awarded the status of "Large Scale Facility" within the EU Framework programme for Research.

What makes a good Salmon?

During the past ten years, Norwegian researchers have developed better and more efficient vaccines to combat various types of fish disease. Early in the 1980s the use of antibiotics was widespread in the Norwegian fish farming industry. The sick fish, however, were unable to absorb the medicine through the feed. Instead, a large portion of antibiotics dispersed outside the fish farms inflicting serious damage on the marine environment.

The fish farming industry also suffered several financial losses due to fish disease. Thanks to long term and systematic research, the use of antibiotics in the fish farming industry has been dramatically reduced, from 50 tons in 1988 to less than 600 kilos in 1999. During the same period, the production of salmon increased from 50 000 tons to 400 000 tons, while the quality of the product was considerably improved.

Technology for the Future

Research provides the foundation for the Norwegian ICT industry to develop new products and services of high quality. It is important that research environments participate actively in the development of knowledge and technology. Recruitment is to be increased partly by encouraging more women to seek education in ICT.

Information and Communication Technology should contribute to social progress by bridging distances and connecting people. Environmental health is an example of sectors in which Norway has stressed the use of solutions based on ICT.

Research will also promote knowledge about the social and cultural aspects of the use of ICT. The social sciences and humanities are crucial to this research.

Healthy Citizens

Medicine and Health. Never before have so many patients received medical care in Norway, and their treatment is mainly covered by public funding. Through knowledge, experience and new technology, medical science has revolutionized the treatment of patients. At the same time, an increased demand for health and social services has led to considerable problems of capacity in the health sector. Norway will meet these challenges with a broad commitment to research in the medical and health care fields.

Today, Norway has strong research environments capable of participating at the cutting edge of international research in fields such as brain research, molecular biology, tele-medicine, nutrition and psychological treatment. The aim is to have more Norwegian research groups participating in international collaboration.

Moreover, Norway is one of the few countries in the world with a complete, nationwide health registry. Such registries are important for research into the spread of diseases and studies of preventive medicine. An extensive public health service also makes it profitable to engage in large clinical studies in Norway.

Health without Boundaries

Tele-medicine means that the health service makes use of tele- and data communications to treat patients, determine diagnoses, and instruct personnel in other institutions. The regional hospital in Tromsø is ranked among the world leaders in relation to tele-medical qualifications. From this hospital alone in 1997 there were 9.000 diagnoses made by means of tele-medicine. The use of picture telephones, e-mail and other services enable doctors in the districts to consult with experts in the central hospitals. Today, Norway offers tele-medical services from all the country’s central hospitals. The interpretation of x-rays, tele-surgery and assistance in the determination of diagnoses are among the services offered.

Environment and Energy

The world is facing serious environmental problems, while the need for energy continues to increase. As an energy-producing and environmentally conscious country, it is only natural that Norway is building expertise that may contribute to the solution of the global and environmental challenges we face.

Through international agreements like the Kyoto Agreement, Norway as assumed a great number of international responsibilities. One of the priorities in Norwegian research policy is research in the area of intersection between energy and the environment.

This research will contribute to the development of more effective and environmentally safe energy production, and to a reduction in environmental pollution.

In order to be effective, environmentally oriented energy research must be interdisciplinary, involving technical, scientific and sociological research. Norway already has several such research and educational programmes. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), as an example, offers an interdisciplinary course in both energy and environmental aspects. The Research Council of Norway has also established various research programmes combining research on environmental and energy issues.

Nothing to Waste

Each year the population in Western European produces a total of 200 million tons of combustible waste. Most of this ends up as an exploited resource. The Norwegian company, ENERGOS, has introduced a new method of recovering energy from residual waste.

Using advanced technology developed at the SINTEF Foundation in Trondheim, the company’s plants are able to grade and incinerate all types of industrial and household waste. Between 75 and 100% of the waste is used to produce energy, and the emissions resulting from this process are reduced to a minimum. ENERGOS has already delivered seven energy recovery plants to Germany. The technology is being further developed to exploit more of the world’s potential for recovering energy from waste.

The World as an Arena for Research

In the area of research, international cooperation is fundamental. As a small nation, Norway is dependent upon research collaboration with other countries. Yet, in many areas of research, the country is competitive on an international level.

International research cooperation takes place through informal contacts between researchers and through organized programmes and networks. Traditionally, Norwegian researchers have collaborated extensively with researchers in the United States, which is still very much the case.. The Nordic countries have always been natural partners for Norwegian researchers. This, especially, holds true for Norwegian industrial research.

European Research

Since the mid-1980s, great changes have occurred in the pattern of international research collaboration. Cooperative research efforts have become more extensive and formalized. Norway is a member of several international "joint ventures" based mainly in Europe.

First and foremost, we take part in research collaboration within the European Union. In addition, we participate in research laboratories and organizations such as ESA, CERN, EMBC/EMBL, ESRF and other important European research networks such as EUREKA and COST-collaborations.

The EU Framework Programme for research is presently the largest international research programme Norway is involved in. Norway has participated in EU framework programmes since 1987. Through the EEA (European Economic Area) Agreement, Norway has participated as a full-fledged member since 1994.

The Norwegian contribution to the EU Framework Programme constitutes approximately half of our country’s total expenditures on international research collaborations. The cooperation promotes research quality, exchange of knowledge and develops networks between researchers. Norwegian researchers participate in all areas, particularly in the areas of ICT, transportation, energy and environment, marine research and socio-economic research.

Norway as an Arena for Research

In several different areas of research, Norway offers facilities and research environments that are quite unique by international standards.

Polar research is but one example of an area where Norway has long research traditions and obvious advantages. Fridtjof Nansens "Fram"-expedition across the Arctic Ocean during 1893-1896 was more than just a test of human endurance. This was a scientific expedition that fathered the beginning of Norwegian Polar research. Today, Norwegian universities and research institutes can provide expertise in this area that is quite unique. The Norwegian island group of Svalbard offers the easiest accessible Arctic area in the world, while having a well-developed infrastructure.

A Window to Outer Space

The international research organization, EISCAT, has positioned one of its radar installations outside Longyearbyen on Svalbard. It is among the most technologically advanced radars of its kind, representing great advances in international space research. The radar has already been used by a large number of researchers from the seven EISCAT member nations and their collaborating partners world wide.

This collaboration has already resulted in break-throughs on sun-winds, Aurora Borealis and polar winds. These are phenomena that greatly influence the Earths atmosphere. The EISCAT organization is also engaged in an extensive exchange of information with equivalent radar installations around the world.

(Source: The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs)