Doing research in Norway

Higher education and research are top priorities in Norwegian policy. We welcome innovation, and cooperate closely with the business sector in many areas.

We are keen to attract outstanding international students and researchers and can offer them the opportunity to take part in top-notch research activities in Norway. A wide range of nationalities are already represented in Norwegian research centres, and in 2015, just under 40 % of all Norwegian doctorates were awarded to international candidates.

Norway spends around 1.7 % of GDP on research and development. Arctic research, climate change and renewable energy are among the areas where Norwegian research enjoys international acclaim. Norway is taking part in Horizon 2020, the world’s largest research and innovation programme, on an equal footing with the EU member states. There are good grant schemes for researchers in Norway, which you may qualify for if you take up a research position here.

There is a high level of education, social trust and gender equality in Norway. Technology use is widespread, and there is close cooperation between the business sector, the authorities and research institutions.

For more information about research in Norway, contact the Research Council of Norway.

Norway and Singapore

Sharing the economic dependency on maritime and marine sectors, Norway is a natural partner for Singapore within the so called Ocean Space research and technology development. Based on our natural resources from the ocean, Norway has developed world class R&D within offshore oil and gas exploitation; oceanic aquaculture; deep sea resource exploitation; ocean energy and marine architecture. These areas resonate well with Singaporean R&D and Singapore’s commercial focus on the maritime and port development areas.

The Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute (MARINTEK) is the leading R&D center within maritime sector, hosting one of the world’s most advanced ocean basin model tanks. MARINTEK performs R&D in ocean technology for a global market, primarily in the maritime and oil and gassectors and ocean energy.

Opportunities for Singaporean researchers

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Research Council of Norway (RCN) executed a Memorandum of Understanding on 6th March 2000 (MOU) relating to joint co-operation in maritime research, development, education and training. The MOU will be extended for its sixth successive three-year term in from 2015. To further enhance this co-operation, and to facilitate the creation of collaborative projects between the research communities in Singapore and Norway, RCN, MPA and Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) have launched a joint call for bilateral funding of research projects within mutually agreed
fields. A total of NOK 15 million is available from RCN for Norwegian partners and up to S$3 million is available from SMI for the Singaporean partners.

Several initiatives under the Strategic Research Programmes at the National Research Foundation of Singapore overlap with Research Council initiatives and programmes, including the Innovation Programme for Maritime Activities and Offshore Operations (MAROFF), the Largescale Programme for Petroleum Research (PETROMAKS 2) and the Large-Scale Programme for Energy Research (ENERGIX).

MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions) encompasses different programs such as:
• The Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Fellowships scheme (EF):
The EF provides funding to top class foreign researchers to work on research projects in Europe for duration of 12 to 24 months. Researchers moving from third countries, such as Singapore, to Norway are eligible for an EF. To apply, you must have either a doctoral degree or at least 4 years’ full-time research experience, after obtaining a degree permitting you to embark on a doctorate.
• The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN):
The ITNs are networks that offer fundingfor PhD-students of any nationality, for stays at network partners in MS or associated countries. The PhD-training can last up to 36 months. Relevant positions can be found on the Euraxess website.