Imagine yourself as a Master’s student. You have decided to study tourism in the Arctic, an area you may not be familiar with; you may be moving to the Arctic for the first time. You may be the only student in the entire department studying the topic.
By Patrick T. Maher, Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Tourism, Professor, Nipissing University
Kaarina Tervo-Kankare, University Researcher, University of Lapland
Minna Nousiainen, University Teacher, University of Lapland
Gunnar Þór Jóhannesson, Vice-lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Tourism, Professor, University of Iceland
Outi Rantala, Professor, University of Lapland
This is the scenario the UArctic Thematic Network for Northern Tourism foresaw in 2015, when we decided to develop a curriculum and design a “value added” set of three courses, two online and one in the field, across seven universities in five countries. We saw students looking to build relationships with peers, virtually and in person, and discuss their unique regional perspectives with like-minded individuals and the authors they were reading, many of them UArctic researchers.
Fast forward ten years. We now have more than 300 individual course graduates and over 60 students who have completed the entire three-course certificate endorsed by UArctic. Our approach to training and mentorship has always been relational: put people together in a room, whether that is at a National Park Visitor Centre or on Zoom, and good things will happen.
In 2016 and 2017 our work was supported by the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education. Once that funding ended, we were able to sustainably manage the continued training and mentorship within the network through in-kind contributions to teaching and hosting. From 2018 to 2020, the field courses were aligned to research meetings of various Nordregio funding cycles for the Arctic Tourism in Times of Change project, allowing movement from Finland to Sweden to Iceland. Courses are hosted by three institutions, so no one university or instructor shoulders the entire load; however, instructors from all seven institutions teach into each course. Nordplus has always helped with the mobility of Nordic students.
Although we had online courses from the outset, the need to adjust to this reality in 2020 due to COVID-19 allowed us to collaborate on a virtual field course to Iceland in 2021. From 2022 onwards we have built back better. With assistance from an Arctic 5 Chair in Tourism and the Climate Emergency, we have been able to develop strong community and industry relationships in Pyhä, Finland and grow a Master’s field course to include a PhD cohort for a writing retreat.
But what do our students think?
Following discussion at our most recent field course in October 2024, the Master’s students are inspired: “Being surrounded by people with different backgrounds, with so many interesting experiences and knowledge... It is very enlightening to be immersed in the destination and sharing all these new experiences together.“ Another said, “it was good to understand how my studies can be related to other areas. I was inspired by the tourism scholarship perspective (multidisciplinarity), the opportunity to share knowledge with several generations…”
They perceive PhD students and UArctic researchers as an under-utilized resource: “[I hoped for] more time, more collaboration with PhD students and senior researchers, perhaps in a sense that we would do research together”, and “that [experience] inspired me to think [of] academia as a very natural, but somehow publicly unseen/too little respected stakeholder in tourism.”
Perhaps more changes are afoot. We cannot rest on our laurels of ten great years. How might we adapt and change? Even the newly added PhD students see this in a positive light: “It is inspiring to spend time with the Master’s students, to see that people still believe. Great to see their enthusiasm.” One remarked, “it made me more conscious about the progress and process I’ve been through”, while another said, “it reminded me of why I went into a PhD. Why I chose this path.” There was consensus that the ability to meet with senior researchers and spend time with them was important. All the students also found it valuable to get comments from “the outside”, e.g. community members and industry.
With recent funding success, we are primed for even more forward momentum. We are keen to see continued international cooperation, now with dedicated funding from Canada (Global Arctic Leadership Initiative, 2024-2026) in addition to a three-year cycle of aligned research in Iceland, Sweden and Finland (Nordic Arctic Co-operation Programme, 2025-2027).
Just as our innovative educational programming has seen a bright past, we believe the Thematic Network and our programming has an even brighter future as we continue to achieve additional knowledge exchange and a widening of the conversation – not just between our institutions, but also with communities and industry.
Photo: Piotr Damski
