Eight other Norwegian institutions are participating in the consortium: the Universities of Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Nordland and Agder as well as the Norwegian Business School and the Norwegian School of Economics.
The parties to the agreement, at the signing event in Oslo in may 2012. Photo: Martin Toft, Uniforum
The agreement between UC Berkeley and the Norwegian partners was signed in Oslo on 25 May. Dr Carla Hesse, Peder Sather Professor of the Department of History and Dean of Social Sciences was among those representing UC Berkeley who participated in the event.
An incubator for cooperation
The PSCAS will be an incubator for research and teaching cooperation between the Norwegian and US partners. The centre will assist academic personnel, Master’s and Ph.D. students and post-doctoral fellows by creating a flexible framework for exchange and collaboration. As an administrative hub the PSCAS will be able to help with issues such as obtaining the necessary residence and work permits.
Monuments attesting to the legacy of Peder Sæther can be found all over UC Berkeley: Sather Tower (above) and Sather Gate are campus landmarks. Photo: Kristen Ulstein
The centre will also have its own academic programme offerings and serve as an important meeting place. All parties agree that participants in PSCAS activities will not pay extra fees to UC Berkeley or to the Norwegian institutions for their activities. Funding will be available for individuals, groups and special activities.
The financial pledges made by the parties to the agreement are substantial enough to ensure that the centre can continue to operate for seven to ten years. In due time, private sponsors will also be sought to help support the activities.
Strong ties
“This agreement is a manifestation of the strong ties existing between UC Berkeley and Norway. The centre bears the name of Peder Sæther (Sather) who donated land which later became part of the UC Berkeley campus. This is truly a slice of Norway in the USA,” says Arvid Hallén, Director General of the Research Council of Norway.
Peder Sæther (Sather)
The director general is very pleased with the agreement now in place with the highly prestigious university, pointing out that UC Berkeley and other top-calibre US universities are highly sought-after partners in knowledge exchange, research collaboration and co-publishing.
An important factor behind the establishment of the new centre has been the longstanding, close cooperation between Professor Trond Petersen at UC Berkeley and a number of Norwegian universities and university colleges. Professor Liv Duesund at the University of Oslo has played a key role on the Norwegian side of things.
Discussions about formalising cooperation by means of a centre on the Berkeley campus began in earnest in 2011. In October of that same year, the PSCAS was formally launched in connection with Transatlantic Science Week.
From the Berkely campus (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)