Global problems, such as the pandemic and other sustainability issues, will affect people at every corner of the world. What is clear - is that such challenges cannot be solved by one discipline, or one country alone. At the University of Oslo we believe that connecting people across disciplines and countries is key to creating a more sustainable world.

Chancellor Jiao, President Xu, President Park, distinguished guests and participants of the Shanghai Forum.

My name is Svein Stølen and I am the Rector of the University of Oslo.

I am deeply honoured to be invited to the important Shanghai Forum, and to share some experiences from the University of Oslo on the topic of science and education cooperation - in the making of a sustainable future.

I would like to start by reflecting on the role of the global research system, in light of the pandemic that we have been through.

18 months ago, no one could have guessed that science would soon become an everyday topic of conversation. That reproduction rates and theories of how viruses develop and spread would be discussed at kitchen tables around the globe, in addition to around the tables of national and international decision-makers. The whole world has taken an interest in science and research, thus giving science a more prominent role in society.

Tackling the coronavirus has been a steep learning curve for politicians and government officials. The stream of problems has been overwhelming. The effectiveness of the available solutions have not always been easy to predict. The learning curve has been steep for the global research system as well. The speed and complexity of the crisis has challenged how universities and scientists work, respond and participate in handling an ongoing crisis.

I think an important insight from the pandemic is how crucial long-term basic research is for global crisis management. A large, common pool of knowledge is a key component in global crisis preparedness. The pandemic took us by surprise. The next crisis might as well. Never in modern times was there such a clear demonstration of the importance of having a scientific “knowledge reservoir” that decision-makers can draw from in acute and high-risk situations. That is why it is so important to invest in long-term basic research.

Scientists have responded massively to the pandemic. Disciplinary knowledge is demonstrating the great value of its scientific depth. Yet, faced with the complex problems of the pandemic, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration remains obvious, too. This brings me over to the second insight I would like to highlight here today: How cooperation across disciplines, sectors and countries is key for solving complex societal challenges and problems. Comprehensive universities like Fudan University or the University of Oslo are uniquely positioned to facility this.

The pandemic made it very clear that a virus outbreak has consequences far beyond medical issues. We also need to understand the societal, economic and political consequences of for example lockdowns. We need insight about culture, demographics and communications to secure that for example new regulations are understood and respected. We need more interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and inter-sectorial partnerships.

The sustainability agenda provides a holistic and comprehensive framework for development. Yet, the goals are interconnected, intertwined and sometimes even conflicting. We have to tackle the climate crisis, but at the same time secure stable access to energy for everyone.

Where there is energy shortage there are also often other inter-related problems of conflict, hunger and migration. Nonetheless, we need to find solutions – fast. Listen to what Al Gore said when he visited the University of Oslo and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in December 2018.

At the University of Oslo, we are eager to contribute to a comprehensive knowledge ecosystem and a sustainable future. Our strategy is to do this in a way that connects our local, national, European and global activities and partnerships.

I want to give you a taste of how we work to make this a reality. The creation of Oslo Science City - Norway’s first innovation district, is one example.

In the middle of Norway's most knowledge-intensive area, we are currently developing a vibrant area with room for businesses and strong ecosystems for innovation. Take a look at this.

It is time to tear down a lot of walls. This is what we aim to do at Oslo Science City. The culture and strength for long-term basic research has earned the University of Oslo five Noble prizes, a Turing award and several world leading research environments. Our ambition is to secure that knowledge and research is turned into services, methods and products that benefit society even faster than before.

The pandemic has shown that the distance from basic research to innovation is indeed shorter than often envisaged. We believe that science and innovation will be strengthened through a more continuous collaboration. Oslo Science City is an important tool to achieve this.

Cooperation across disciplines and borders is equally important for higher education. Our goal is that as many as 50 % of our students have an international component in their degree.

We are doing this by developing structures that will make student exchange easier. The University of Oslo is one of seven strong comprehensive research-intensive universities in the European university alliance, Circle U. In the future, our student will also be students in London, Berlin, Paris, Aarhus, Belgrade and Louvain.

The seven universities share the same commitment to our students by continuously developing innovative and creative ways to teach and learn, focusing on research-based and interdisciplinary knowledge. The alliance will be a testing ground for new concepts in higher education and research cooperation. We will develop new approaches to boost mobility, co-designing courses and learning processes.

33 associated external partners are also part of the adventure. Partners range from cities, NGOs, university hospital and science parks. By doing this we will further empower our 334,000 students and 51,000 staff to mobilize their knowledge into transformative actions for society. Ultimately, our goal is that this will lead to an even stronger and more effective contribution to a sustainable society and biosphere.

We have identified three thematic areas where we can pool our existing strengths. Those are Climate, Global Health and Democracy. The thematic areas are explored through knowledge hubs, an extensive inter-university chair program, and through the development of challenge based learning activities.

Both Circle U, and the Guild, - which is our network of research-intensive universities in Europe, are platforms for global cooperation. Together with our Guild partners and partners of The African Research Universities Alliance – we have argued for a shift in focus from development aid towards capacity building and more equal partnerships. We need a new approach to Strengthening Africa’s Research, Innovation and Higher Education Capacity.

Collaboration between scientists in Africa and their international peers is crucial for the development of research in Africa and to provide a diversity of perspectives and approaches from the developing world.

The race to produce and purchase vaccines have revealed gross global inequalities. Access to vaccinations, as well as to the science that makes that possible, is unevenly distributed. The degree of vaccination at, for example the African continent, is devastatingly low.

Supporting the development of strong research institutions in the Global South should be an absolute priority.

We are happy to see that the EU has responded positively to our suggestion to launch an ambitious initiative for African universities. A new programme, ARISE, focuses on long-term capacity building to enable more African universities to address demographic, social and environmental changes and challenges.

Partnerships on more equal terms is important. I want to share with you a story about how investing in long-term capacity building can really make a difference.

From the start 30-year ago, the HISP programme has grown to be the world’s largest Health Information Management System platform. It benefits more than 2 billion people in 73 countries. The aim is to support local management of health care delivery and information flows in health facilities across developing countries.

This large impact is based on an extensive University collaboration on developing Masters and Phd Programmes in Health Informatics in several countries; South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia – and Sri Lanka to mention some. Over two decades, hundreds of candidates from these programmes have, over two decades, been involved in research and development related to HISP and DHIS2.

Today, many of these candidates have developed professional initiatives, NGOs, Companies, supporting the DHIS2 implementation in these countries. The training material is available on the website, free of charge, and easily adjustable to fit different contexts.

During the pandemic the programme took on a new role. The software supports a digital health data toolkit for COVID-19 to accelerate case detection, inform response measures, and monitor equitable delivery of vaccines.

In 2015, UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, including 17 Sustainable development goals. In the Agenda it is stated that “it will be for all of us to ensure that the journey to sustainable development is successful.”

The University of Oslo will do its part. In fact, science and education has played a key role in the development of society for centuries. When politicians ask me about what the return on investment, or impact from the University of Oslo is, my response is always clear. It is our research based education, it is our strong students. We educate the candidates that throughout history has filled and shall fill the positions in the big and responsible “we”. That they contribute to society with both a skill set and a value set that supports the sustainability agenda is key to ensure that the journey to sustainable development is successful.

Dear Chancellor, dear Presidents.

I would like to thank the Shanghai Forum for highlighting this important topic here today, and for creating an arena for discussing and sharing best practices.

International cooperation is, like you have seen, important to the University of Oslo. This year, we are proud to celebrate the 25 anniversary of the Nordic Centre Fudan.

Throughout these 25 years, the centre has benefitted many students and staff. We are looking forward to our continued collaboration when we now open the Fudan European Centre for China Studies in Oslo.

Dear friends, thank you for your attention!