The Centre for the North

The first major international event, which put Aberdeen on the map, was the meeting of the Sixth Circumpolar Universities Association Conference, which was held in Aberdeen from 24-27 June 1999. The CUA was the forerunner    to the University of the Arctic. The then Principal Prof C Duncan Rice was the Chair of the CUA and helped guide the formation of the University of the Arctic under the Arctic Council

This event was followed by the Inuit Studies Conference held on 23-26 August 2000. Over 150 delegates from Iceland, Alaska, Greenland, Canada, Scandinavia, France, Germany and the UK attended.

To integrate the growing interest in the Arctic within Aberdeen, the Northern Studies Centre was founded in 2001. It integrated researchers across many different Faculties of the University as well as scholars based at the McCaulay Institute and the Centre for the Environment and Hydrology. Dr Sarah Woodin served as the NSC coordinator from 2001 to 2011 and a group of 41 research associates. Over that ten-year period the NSC coordinated major research funding from UK funding councils, led a major ESRC/NERC transdisciplinary seminar series, and spearheaded a NSC postdoctoral fellow programme.

In June 2011, the NSC was transformed into a University research theme entitled the North. The theme was led by Prof Tim Ingold and managed by 17 Project Board members, drawn from three of the then Colleges of the University representing a full range of northern interests. A major element of this initiative were the four funded research programmes which created a community of researchers focussing on several interdisciplinary themes.

From 2012-2018 the University hosted an ERC Advanced Grant examining the techniques of Arctic Domestication across the circumpolar North. This legacy project involved over 35 researchers and continues to shape research.

In 2017 the University hosted the University of the Arctic Rector's Forum - the first time that this event was hosted by a non-Arctic institution. The conference was followed by an international interdisciplinary conference and a special student declaration on research in the Arctic.

From 2018 Dr Ed Schofield to 2024 lead the theme together with 10 new members of The New North theme working group, to build on the University's current northern research ranging from music, language and archaeology to geology, hydrology and climate change.

In March 2024 Drs Robert Wishart and Nancy Wachowich were appointed as co-leaders of the The North Theme with the goal of transforming the network into a Centre for the North with strong links to other Scottish universities and the Scottish Executive's Arctic Connections Programme.

From 2002-2011 Prof. Kevin Edwards led two major Leverhulme research projects on the human and ecological consequences of Viking settlement in the North Atlantic

From 2011 to 2016 we ran four wide-ranging interdisciplinary programmes:

• Fragility, Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change in the North (FAR)
• The Northern Temperament: Investigating the Communication of Emotions in Northern Cultures (NT)
• Northern Colonialism: Historical Connections, Contemporary Lives (NC)
• Pathways to Power: The Rise of Early Medieval Kingdoms in the North (PP)

The programme teams were comprised of established staff, five postdoctoral research fellows and 11 doctoral students. Many of our publications can be seen in the publications list at the bottom of the page.

From 2012-2018 Prof David G. Anderson hosted an ERC Advanced Grant examining the techniques of Arctic Domestication across the circumpolar North. This legacy project involved over 35 researchers and continues to shape research across the University.

As we enter a new era for the Centre for the North, transforming from an active network into a Centre, we are continuously updating and adapting what we do at the University of Aberdeen and with our international partners.