As much of future oil and gas development will happen in the Arctic, the links between the circumpolar North and the rest of our planet will further increase as well as the public impact of industrial development, not least on companies as well as states' reputations and most significantly on the populations which live in the Arctic.
It is known that economic activity and business development play a crucial role in ensuring welfare and employment in the North. Petroleum and other extractive industries can contribute to increasing capital, and employment opportunities in the Arctic; however, successful establishment of these industries requires further focus on the social, cultural, environmental and economic impacts from the local to the global level, and building competence and skill-sets needed for industry support.
North Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, Russia, (NEFU named after M.K. Ammosov) held a PhD course within the Uarctic Thematic Network Arctic Extractive Industries last week. The workshop took place from November 9 to November 15, 2014.
Follow the events that took place at the workshop and course on PhD students live blog here.
The main activity of the Thematic Network is a Pan-Arctic Extractive Industries PhD programme in the Social Sciences related to extractive industries. The format is that a limited number of PhD students from partner universities (usually not more than 15) meet intensively for a week with world-class specialist professors to discuss extractive industries social sciences in the Arctic.
Courses usually consist of a lecture series, and discussion sessions where the PhD students works are analysed together among all course participants. The TN offers two such courses per year, organised by partner institutions within the TN (past courses see below). PhD students attending three of these courses and completing the required assignments, including the participation in three relevant conferences or forums of the students' choice, can get a certificate issued by Uarctic that certifies their expertise in Arctic Extractive Industries research and that they can use as an addendum to their PhD degree.