Grete K. Hovelsrud, President
Nordland Research Institute and Nord University (Norway)
I have been an active Arctic social scientist, working mostly in Greenland and Northern Norway, and have with great joy been engaged in research on the societal perspectives of marine mammal management, a critical look at adaptation and vulnerability to changing climatic and societal conditions and adaptive capacity, and transformation to a low emission society. All from the perspective of local and Indigenous communities, but in relation to national and international processes and within an interdisciplinary frame. Co-production of knowledge has always been at the heart of my work, long before it was labelled as such. I continue the quest of finding ways to ensure that the voices of those who live in the Arctic are heard, and to include different knowledge traditions and experiences in both the design and operationalization of projects.
I am a Professor at Nordland Research Institute and Nord University and I spend my exciting days at work with research projects funded by the European Union, Research Council of Norway, local and regional funding sources and occasionally the Arctic Council. I have always carried the torch for Arctic social sciences reflected in extracurricular contributions such as International Joint Committee Member of the International Polar 2007-2008, and as Lead Author of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which gave me an opportunity to further develop a focus on Arctic peoples and social sciences. In addition, as the first female President of the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research, a male and natural science bastion, I have expanded the social science membership. I delight in my role as a mentor and supervisor for PhD and Master students as well as young Arctic scholars. I will bring my long- term expertise from my Arctic scientific work, my travels in the region and as an observer of Arctic policy processes to IASSA and will to the fullest make use of my network in the Arctic and beyond.
