Nordplus is one of the most widely known initiatives under the auspicesof the Nordic Council of Ministers. For decades, Nordplus has provided a large number of people in the Nordic countries with opportunities to study or in other ways get culture and knowledge related experiences in another Nordic, and since 2008 Baltic, country. Nordplus has shifted in character and scope over the years, but can indeed be labelled a flagship programme and even a trademark for the Nordic Council of Ministers, andis perhaps its best recognised initiative of all. In this report, Technopolis Group (Technopolis Sweden and Technopolis Baltics) presents the results of an evaluation of the current programme period of Nordplus, 2012–2016.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/nord2021-057/ This evaluation investigates how the Nordplus Programme meets the different target groups’ needs in the Nordic-Baltic region, spurs focus using Nordplus Highlights, strengthens network creation and innovation within education as well as digital competencies and knowledge of the Nordic languages. It also investigates how Nordplus may be influenced going forward in light of changes to other, related programmes (esp. Erasmus+ and the Nordic Master Programme) and in case of budget reductions. Nordplus applicants and project coordinators report high satisfaction with and positive results from the programme, with a few areas identified for improvement. The report identifies perspectives and potential strategies to be considered when planning for the programme’s future, for example by emphasizing aspects unique to Nordplus or relating to the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Vision 2030.

This publication, the outcome of a forum role conference on the recognition of higher education qualifications, aims at securing the fair recognition of academic qualifications as a cultural right for the individual and as an obligation and a responsibility of society.

Cloud computing is widely recognised as a mean for bringing cost savings and better utilisation of resources to the IT departments and their limited budgets. Cloud computing, where IT is delivered as an on-demand pay-per-use service, is rapidly evolving from a hype to a serious alternative to traditional IT procurement. This development is vastly driven by big international players. If the Nordic region is to influence and gain from this development it is essential that the Nordic governments act now. This report sets the scene for a common understanding of the notion of cloud computing across the Nordic region. The report offers a list of recommendations for key action points where cooperation across the Nordic region will be beneficial in order to establish the Nordic region as a driving force for cloud computing in the public sector.

Advancing Music Education in Northern Europe tells the story of a unique organization that has contributed in profound ways to the professional development of music teachers in the Nordic and Baltic nations. At the same time, the book offers reflections on how music education and approaches to the training of music teachers have changed across recent decades, a period of significant innovations. In a time where international partnerships appear to be threatened by a recent resurgence in protectionism and nationalism, this book also more generally demonstrates the value of formalized international cooperation in the sphere of higher education. The setting for the discussion, Northern Europe, is a region arguably of great importance to music education for a number of reasons, seen, for instance, in Norway’s ranking as the “happiest nation on earth”, the well-known success of Finland’s schools in international-comparative measures of student achievement, how Sweden has grappled with its recent experience as “Europe’s top recipient of asylum seekers per capita”, and Estonia’s national identity as a country born from a “Singing Revolution”, to name but a few examples. The contributors chronicle how the Nordic Network for Music Education (NNME) was founded and developed, document its impact, and demonstrate how the eight nations involved in this network – Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – are making unique contributions of global significance to the field of music education.