Opening Address, Transatlantic Science Week 2012, Houston, Tx.

Minister of Education and Research Kristin Halvorsen

Dear friends of the Transatlantic Science Week,

 

It is an honor to welcome you to this year’s conference.

 

The Transatlantic Science Week is a key venue in the academic relations between Norway and our important partners in North America – the U.S. and Canada.

 

The Science Week event attracts a large number of stakeholders, covering researchers, institution leaders, administrators, politicians and bureaucrats, and I believe we have reached a new record of participation this year.

 

Our goal is to highlight areas of mutual interest, in order to promote and inspire cooperation in research, innovation and higher education.

 

 

This year our science circus takes place in Houston, and the setting is reflected in the program, with its focus on energy and health.

 

The excellent Norwegian Consulate General here in Houston has developed an impressive program, in cooperation with the American co-hosts and key actors in Norway.

 

I would like to use this opportunity to thank the Consulate, as well as Rice University and MD Anderson Cancer Center for facilitating and organizing the conference. We highly appreciate your efforts and your hospitality.

 

Research plays a key role in our efforts to understand and solve the global challenges we are meeting at present – and which we will meet in the future. Thus, the thematic approach of this conference, with its focus on energy and health, is highly relevant. 

 

Innovation and higher education secure the link between new knowledge developed by the research communities, and the practical use of this knowledge, for instance in politics or in new technologies. And we secure the further understanding and development by involving the next generation of researchers and innovators – our students.

 

I see research, innovation and higher education as interdependent, and they all work together in this year’s Science Week program. I am especially pleased that we have a student program this year. This is a new and highly appreciated element, which emphasizes the role of the student and the importance of recruiting research talents for the future.

 

Collaboration is a key word and key process in how we deal with the grand challenges: New knowledge, new understanding and new technology are developed by sharing and comparing results – and maybe also competing in reaching the results first – often in an international context.

 

Let me say a few words about this year’s thematic areas. Norway’s contribution to the global knowledge production is just below one per cent. Still, in the field of energy Norway is a significant contributor.

 

For quite a while Norway has been a large exporter of oil and gas. And as you know, oil is good for the economy but not for the climate. We have therefore set high political goals to reduce the negative footprints from our oil and gas activities.

 

To meet these goals we need new environment friendly technological solutions, like CO2 capture and storage and cleaner offshore drilling systems.  We also need to invest heavily in developing renewable energy solutions for the future.

 

Our public universities and research institutes play an essential role in order to make this happen. They are global leaders in many of these topics. And the candidates they educate are also of top international quality.

 

The combination of good research and top candidates is the fundament and the main reason why we see innovations and startups popping up.  This must continue. Close cooperation with both industry and higher education institutions in the energy hub of Houston is of central importance in order to realize our high political goals.  

 

The second topic of this year’s Science Week, is health. Our ability to manage the world’s health challenges will be of significant importance in the future. Health research and education on both preventing and treating illness and disease are key factors.

 

Science Week will have a special focus on cancer research. A recent report from OECD ranks Norway as the country with the highest overall cancer survival rates for some cancer types. The reason for this is complex. But our cancer researchers clearly play an important part in bringing the most effective therapies to our patients.

 

The hospitals and research institutions here in Houston are at the very forefront of global cancer research. Most probably the next generation of cancer therapy will have origins from Texas.

 

I hope that we can use this year’s Science Week to build even stronger ties in this field, for the benefit of all cancer patients.

 

Finally, I hope that this conference will result both in stronger ties and new collaborations between Norway and the U.S. and Canada, not only in energy and health, but in all sectors where mutual interests are identified.

 

Thank you for your attention.