NordIAS: A Nordic Network

NordIAS is a Nordic network of Institutes for Advanced Study (IAS) in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The network connects eight IASs across the region and creates space for curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and exchange.

NordIAS grew out of the Beyond Advanced Studies workshop series (2021–2022), an experimental and exploratory collaboration initiated by the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS), the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), and the Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS). Those conversations sparked a shared ambition to strengthen Nordic cooperation between IAS environments and to imagine what a distinctly Nordic approach to advanced study might look like. The network was formally established in 2023.

Why NordIAS?

Big questions rarely fit neatly into one discipline – and solving them often works better when thinking happens across borders, both academic and geographic. NordIAS exists to make that easier (and more fun).

Rooted in shared Nordic values such as trust, openness, and strong public institutions, NordIAS provides a flexible platform for:

• Bold interdisciplinary conversations across fields and countries
• Mobility and exchange for IAS fellows and staff
• Sharing experiences, experiments, and best practices across institutes
• Joint initiatives, events, and funding ideas with Nordic reach

In short: NordIAS is where Nordic IASs meet to think together, test ideas, and build new collaborations.

Visiting, Exchanging, Connecting

One of the core activities within NordIAS is the NordIAS Visiting Fellowship Programme. The programme allows fellows at any NordIAS member institute to spend one to three weeks at another Nordic IAS.

The idea is simple: step out of your everyday academic environment, plug into another IAS community, and see what new conversations, collaborations, and questions emerge.

Visits are short, focused, and designed to strengthen both individual research and the wider Nordic IAS network.

DIAS and NordIAS

DIAS is an active member of the NordIAS network and contributes to its ongoing development through participation in exchanges, shared initiatives, and collaborative ideas. For DIAS fellows and staff, NordIAS opens the door to a wider Nordic research environment and new ways of engaging with interdisciplinary work beyond Odense.

NordIAS complements DIAS’ international partnerships and reinforces its commitment to openness, experimentation, and rigorous curiosity-driven research across disciplines and borders.

What’s Next?

NordIAS is a living network. Alongside fellow exchanges, future activities include joint workshops and conferences, staff exchanges, shared reflections on IAS practices, and coordinated funding initiatives.

Opportunities evolve as ideas emerge, which is exactly how NordIAS is meant to work.

One of these, is the new NNF-IAS fellowship programme: DIAS and the participating seven Institutes for Advanced Study in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden will launch a structured, interdisciplinary training and retention programme for early-career researchers. The programme, which the Novo Nordisk Foundation has supported with DKK 48.3 million over the next six years, will offer 20 two-year fellowships focused on innovative solutions to challenges within health and sustainability.

Learn more about the NNF-IAS fellowship programme

For current opportunities and practical information, please contact DIAS at Danish-IAS@sdu.dk or explore the NordIAS activities at the member institutes.