About Nordic Council of Ministers for Education and Research (MR-U)
Inter-governmental co-operation on research and education is headed up by the education and research ministers, in the form of the Nordic Council of Ministers for Education and Research (MR-U).
MR-U concentrates on promoting Nordic synergies in the following key areas:
- Schools and adult education
- Higher education and research
- Language co-operation throughout the Region
- Information and communications technology.
Forums for co-operation
The ministers meet once or twice a year to discuss and adopt initiatives to improve work in areas where joint action and policies have a greater impact than the individual countries working on their own – this is known as Nordic synergy.
The Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Education and Research (EK-U) supports the work of the Council of Ministers. EK-U consists of civil servants from the ministries and agencies for education and research in the Nordic nations and the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. It meets four–five times a year. EK-U takes care of the practical work and preparations for meetings of the Council of Ministers.
The Nordic Council of Ministers' Secretariat in Copenhagen is responsible for the day-to-day inter-governmental collaboration.
The Department of Knowledge and Welfare prepares the issues to be discussed by MR-U and EK-U. It is also responsible for implementing decisions taken by both bodies.
Nordic institutions and partners
MR-U wholly or partly funds a number of institutions and organisations, which help achieve its political objectives in their policy areas.