Activities and cooperation in these fields have in recent years increased substantially. This agreement includes an educational programme covering a bilateral scholarship programme administered by The Research Council of Norway (NFR) and the Chinese Scholarship Council.
On November 8th 1995 the Nordic Centre at Shanghai's Fudan University was officially opened by former Norwegian Prime Minister, Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland and Professor Yang Fujia, then President of Fudan University. It is a joint project between Fudan University and 17 universities from four Nordic countries, including, from Norway, the University of Oslo, the University of Bergen, the Norwegian School of Management (BI), the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Research collaboration is ongoing in a wide range of fields; environmental studies (environmental economy, pollution studies), human rights, population studies, metereology, climate research and polar studies, linguistics, comparative studies, petroleum chemistry, information technology, administration and business management.
A Memorandum of Understanding for Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and the Research Council of Norway has paved the way for further discussions on priorities for scientific and technological cooperation and sharing of information. Polar and marine research have already been identified as areas of mutual interest.
In July 2001 the Norwegian Minister of Research and Education attended the first bilateral seminar on Polar Research in Shanghai. Chinese scientists and researchers have increased their presence in the polar north, on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, and a temporary Chinese research station is conducting scientific projects.
The Research Council of Norway has designed a Centres of Excellence scheme. The scheme entails that outstanding research groups, operating under co-ordinated management and research plans, will receive long-term funding to engage in world-class basic research. Norway has established 13 centres of Excellence thus far, revolving around subjects ranging from civil war and linguistic development to brain cells and oil reservoirs.