Nordplus Higher Education grants 189 networks

Nordplus Higher Education distributed 4.4 million euros to 189 networks in 2011. The programme received 214 applications for a total of about 11.5 million euros. Competition for funding has been tough in recent years. This year the chances of receiving support increased slightly as the budget was stretched to grant an average of 38% of the total amount applied, compared to 35% last year and 26% in 2009.

The number of applications has declined in recent years but the number of participating institutions has increased to some extent. A total of 1791 faculties, institutes, or Higher Education Institutions participated in the networks in 2010, compared to 1630 institutions in 2003, the last year with statistics on this. This suggests that the programme is well established. One explanation for this could also be the fact that the programme has prioritised to support the extension of old networks, rather than establishing of new ones.

The budget was distributed in accordance with the programme committee’s decision so that about 70% were granted to individual student and teacher mobility (including express mobility) and the rest to other activities (development projects, intensive courses, joint degree programmes and networking activities). This corresponds also the shares in the applied funds. All in all, 93 networks applied for support to intensive courses of which 39 were granted. Each intensive course was thus given the average of 15 300 euros. 24 networks requested funding for joint study programmes and six of them were granted. 19 networks received funding for development projects and 18 for network activities.

Networks within healthcare were still the most active in terms of number of applied and granted network. Teaching and teacher training, however, was the largest subject area measured in the total sum of grants. Networks within art and design were few in number but large in participating institutions and were granted the largest average amount of support per network, almost 50 000 euros each.

A list of all granted networks is available here.