UiT The Arctic University of Norway invites students and staff to a challenge-based week of participation and collaboration. The Arctic Research Center for Children and Youth at Risk (Arctic Youth) at UiT will host and lead the workshop. Through collaborative research, education and practice Arctic Youth aims to investigate the empowerment and strengthening of participation for children and young people in need of help or follow-up from various professions, in particular in the arctic. In the workshop, participants, members from Arctic Youth and non-university stakeholders will work together in teams to propose solutions to given challenges. The challenges have their point of departure from research, education and practice within interdisciplinary fields that work with children and young people in different ways, such as social welfare, schooling, indigenous perspectives and public health.

The workshop is open to master students, PhD candidates, early career researchers, postdoctoral fellows, faculty staff and other staff working on issues in co-creation and knowledge exchange.

In the workshop, lectures will highlight central methodological and theoretical aspects of collaborative research: Designing projects, critical perspectives, and reflections and ethics. The lectures are combined with challenge-based sessions in multidisciplinary workgroups, consisting of EUGLOH participants, members of Arctic Youth, user organizations, external stakeholders and Nordic partners.

The themes ofthe challenges are:

1. Supporting youth in their local communities through interdisciplinary approaches and inter-agency collaboration in welfare services and practices. How can it be done?
2. Empowering School Collaboration. Participatory strategies for the educational system to improve student well-being. How to develop good practice?
3. Strengthening Youth wellbeing in Sápmi. Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for indigenous children and youth in public welfare services. What do the services need to make this happen?
4. Incorporating fiction into public health nursing education. Exploring how public health nurses can improve the mental health and well-being of children and young people within school health services. What proposal can be developed?
5. Enhancing youth participation and inclusion in societal development. How can we engage youth as active contributors? How can we include those who typically do not participate? And how can we lay the foundation for sustained youth engagement?
6. Innovative Digital Learning. Co-creating research-informed digital tools that include the perspectives and participation of those involved. Why is digital innovation in interdisciplinary projects important?

(More substantial information on each challenge will be provided January 24)

To be eligible, applicants must clearly state two – and only two – challenges from the above in the motivation letter. The selected challenges should not be ranked or prioritized. The motivation letter should be no longer than one page.

Applicants will be selected, and allocated to one of the challenges, based on, 1) professional motivation and expected benefit, 2) compatibility of expertise and competence with the selected challenge, and 3) balance of gender, seniority, scientific and professional background and home institutions in each work group. The applicants will be evaluated by the organizing committee based on their CV, the motivational letter, and the expected benefit statement from their application.

More information (external link).

Preliminary program (external link).

Plenary sessions and group presentations will be recorded. The basis for data management is Legitimate Interest (GDPR 6-(1)-f, assessed 20.12.2024).

In accordance with the principles of open innovation, all ideas, concepts, and solutions generated during this activity are considered non-proprietary and are freely accessible for use, development, and exploitation by all participants and the wider community. Any materials to be presented as the result of the challenge will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0).

Photo: Tomas Rolland

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Open