The Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research (NVP), in cooperation with the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) announces an interdisciplinary PhD and Post-Doc summer school 2015.

Venue: The Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research (NVP), Isdammen 1 and UNIS, Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

Time: 2nd – 9th August 2015

A circumpolar system of governance is in the making for the Arctic Ocean, both when it comes to regime and structure. Among the eight Arctic states there is broad agreement that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 (UNCLOS) and other global ocean conventions are to be applied as the basic regulatory foundation of the Arctic Ocean. The existing governance system of the Arctic Ocean is still an object of change and improvement, both when it comes to regime and structure. Concerns for the polar environment and the need for more adequate regulation have been voiced and there are still voids of open spaces in the existing regimes before a fully developed governance system for the Arctic Ocean can be established. To make the existing regime fit for operational needs under polar conditions, supplementary regulatory measures may/will be developed to fill in on those applicable from UNCLOS and other global conventions.

The NVP international summer school 2015 will have a multi- and cross-disciplinary thematic approach to meet challenges and opportunities related to Arctic ocean governance. The summer school has invited societal stakeholders from research institutions, shipping, oil and gas, fisheries, environment etc., as well as politicians to identify what supplementary Arctic-specific amendments are necessary to make the governance system of the region suitable to handle respective interests in a sustainable and effective way. Scientists and experts from Norway and abroad will contribute to the summer school 2015 with lectures and with interactive student and teacher sessions. (See the programme for the summer school.) The participating students will be challenged to draft one or more publication during the course of the summer school for international journals.

The organizers will provide air travel from Oslo, Norway (OSL-Gardermoen) on Sunday 2nd August 2015 to Longyearbyen (LYR) and return to Oslo on Monday 10th August. The participants must cover their own transport to/ from and eventual accommodation in Oslo. Non-Norwegian participants must bring their passports for travel to Svalbard.

The organizers will cover accommodation (shared double rooms), meals during the scheduled duration and a Svalbard excursion trip on Saturday. A participation fee may be charged to each participant, pending on the amount of sponsor funding becoming available.

Participation is based on individual applications from Ph.D. students and Post-docs. The relevance of current studies, including personal motivation and relevant experiences are important selection criteria. A tentative title of a poster to present current studies should be included in the application.