Education and research – A foundation in Alumni

Speech by Minister of Research and Higher Education Tora Aasland, as she presented the NorAlumni network, a network for helping former students from China to stay connected with Norway and the Norwegian business sector. 

Distinguished guests, dear friends from China and Norway, 

I am pleased to be present at the launching of the NorAlumni network, and to meet such a large and diverse audience of people who are committed to Sino-Norwegian relations. Cooperation with China is a priority to the Norwegian Government and to my Ministry, the Ministry of Education and Research. We want to further develop the Sino-Norwegian cooperation within higher education and research to the mutual benefit of both countries. But stronger cooperation within higher education and research also creates a basis for cooperation within other areas. 

Our countries have strong traditions for cooperation within many fields. China is Norway’s most important trading partner in Asia, and our fifth largest supplier of traditional goods. But our cooperation with China is not only about consumer goods and investments, but also about sharing knowledge and ideas, also within science and technology. Knowledge is the major resource for the future and we need to join forces to solve global challenges. Research and innovation activities should also contribute to the creation of jobs and to prosperity, to solving common challenges and to developing good business relationships. 

 A Chinese proverb, so I have been told, says that “A nation’s treasure is in its scholars”. As minister of research and higher education, I of course agree. But I also think that the treasure which scholars – or more precisely research and higher education – represent, is one of few treasures that grows when it is shared.

In order to be successful in research cooperation, in business and in solving global challenges, we need clever and energetic young people that can straddle cultures, sharing ideas and learning from each other. Sino-Norwegian student exchange started in the early 1960s and has increased dramatically during the last few years. In fact, it has tripled since 1980. These former students possess valuable cross-cultural knowledge which we need in our increasingly global society. 

In my country, Chinese students are known to be ambitious and hardworking. They give universities a more international flavor and broaden the experience of fellow Norwegian students. NorAlumni stretches the benefits of student exchange beyond the student days and into the future. This will be a network to connect the valuable resources that these students represent, not only to other students during their student days, but to the needs of business and society, for many years after they have finished their studies. 

A number of Norwegian companies have set up business in China, not least here in Shanghai. Many of you are present here today. I trust that NorAlumni will facilitate your search for the right people to achieve your future goals. And I strongly encourage the students who are here today to use NorAlumni as a platform to further strengthen their networks at home and abroad. 

NorAlumni offers several products that will facilitate students exchange, maintain old contacts and create new ones among its members. Information meetings about Norway to prepare students for their time there, events in Norway for foreign students and events after students have returned to their home country are some examples. It will all be on a web site. 

NorAlumni China is the first platform in what we hope will be a global platform, giving all foreign students who have studied in Norway, Norwegian students who have studied abroad as well as businesses the same opportunities to maintain old networks and find new partners. 

NorAlumni is developed in cooperation between representatives from public administration, industry, education and research. This has made NorAlumni more than a traditional academic network, in which the academic world stays in contact with its former students. It seeks to connect people and information both at an individual level and at society level.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said that “You don't have to travel around the world to understand that the sky is blue everywhere”. But you do have to travel to see and understand the differences between countries and cultures, and to really get to know the people. NorAlumni is a platform to maintain and even enhance one’s understanding, also after returning home. 

And now I would like to take the opportunity to officially launch NorAlumni.