UArctic Chair Jeffrey Welker at the University of Oulu’s 2018-2019 Opening Ceremony
Universities around the Arctic celebrate the beginning of each academic year as a time of joy, anticipation, reflection and inspiration. This year, the University of Oulu had a series of speakers and presentations as part of the ceremony, the full program can be found here. The event started with a welcoming by Rector Niinimäki and then a perspective on education and it’s role in the social fabric of Finland by Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Finland’s Minister of Education.
According to Prof. Jeff Welker, "As UArctic’s Research Chair and Professor of Arctic Ecology and Biogeochemistry at the University of Oulu and the University of Alaska Anchorage, I was the keynote Professor speaker. This was a great honor to speak to the leadership of the University of Oulu, that faculty and to the community of Oulu, about “Science with Arctic Attitude”. There were three major points in my talk:
- The University of Oulu is becoming a world class Arctic Science Campus with great faculty, postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate student involvement
- The strategic investment by the University and the Academy of Finland are changing the capacity and the impact of UOulu’s Arctic program
- Collaborations across the ecological, earth and social/cultural sciences are the essences of UOulu’s program in Arctic Interactions (ArcL)"
In closing he left the audience with his slogan: "Ask not what the Arctic can do for you, but what you can do for the Arctic"
Prof. Welker talk can be found at: https://vimeo.com/290259949/d6b81fe126