The Network of Universities of Small Countries and Territories (NUSCT) welcomed a new member in May, thanks to the addition of Åland University of Applied Sciences, located on the archipelago of the same name between Finland and Sweden. This network, the creation of which was led by the University of Andorra (UdA) in 2018, is now made up of twelve members from eleven different countries or territories.

Åland University is a public university focusing on applied sciences and the only higher education institution on the Åland Islands, a territory with around 30,000 inhabitants. It has around 550 students and offers programmes in business studies, electrical engineering, marine engineering, health and information technology.

The new addition was approved on 10 May during the NUSCT rectors’ annual meeting, which took place in Liechtenstein with representation from all territories, including eight rectors.

Also during the annual meeting, the new president of the network was named. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, rector of the University of Akureyri (Iceland), will lead the organisation for the next three years, replacing Miquel Nicolau, the rector of the UdA, who has presided over the NUSCT since 2018.

The next NUSCT rectors’ meeting will take place in April 2024 in Gibraltar, another of the network’s territories, alongside Andorra, Greenland, Åland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Montenegro, San Marino and Cyprus. The NUSCT’s goal is for universities in small European countries and territories to form a common front in international higher education forums, to collaborate in the academic sphere and in research, to share experiences and to offer new mobility opportunities for their students and staff.

Date: 15 May 2023