The government has backed off its requirement for PhD students and postdocs, but learning to speak Norwegian is a ‘key component’ of an enjoyable stay in the country, say some.Credit: Izusek/Getty
Norway’s new research minister has signalled that the government will axe a controversial law that requires PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from other countries to undertake mandatory Norwegian language training. The move follows a backlash from scientists, who argued that the language stipulation — which was introduced in August last year with a year’s implementation delay — would create substantial barriers to recruiting international talent to their labs.
Under the law, PhD students and postdocs who do not speak Norwegian, Danish or Swedish must complete 15 study points of Norwegian language training — around 3 months of study — during the period covered by their contracts. But on 21 March, Sigrun Aasland of Norway’s Labour party, who was appointed minister for research and higher education in February, announced the intention to reverse it, in a white paper setting out the government’s plan to enhance Norway’s research competitiveness and bolster its national security through science.
The proposed U-turn has been sent out for fast-tracked public consultation — a necessary step for such amendments. “Norway is a small country; we must collaborate more,” said Aasland. She also highlighted the need to create more attractive conditions for international researchers, and said the government might review its work-permit rules for scientists to make it easier for them to leave, to arrive and to stay.
“I am grateful that the Norwegian government listened to us so quickly,” says Olga Lehmann, a psychology researcher from Colombia, who has lived in Norway for 11 years and is based at the University of Stavanger. “Norwegian academia needs to strive for balance between local and global needs.” She is optimistic that this is a step in the right direction.
‘Enormous relief’
“It’s an enormous relief,” adds Nobel laureate Edvard Moser, who leads the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. But he warns that the policy could be reversed if the country’s Centre Party rejoins the government in September’s parliamentary elections.
Moser joined more than two dozen Norwegian researchers who backed a complaint made to the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority in December last year. They argued that the language requirement contravened European Economic Area rules on the free movement of workers. That legal challenge will be withdrawn when the minister’s policy change is completed, says Pierre Lison, an artificial-intelligence researcher at the Norwegian Computing Center in Oslo, and one of the instigators of the complaint. “Right now, the ministry has only indicated its intention to drop the requirement, but it’s not yet official,” he adds.
It’s unclear whether the reversal will also apply to another stipulation around Norwegian language competency, which affects permanent academic staff who don’t speak Norwegian, Danish or Swedish. Under the current rules, they must reach a B2 language proficiency level within three years — a higher standard than that required for Norwegian citizenship.
“This is a key point still to be clarified, but hopefully, [it will also be] scrapped to support Norway’s goals to attract top international talent,” says Simon Roussanaly, an energy researcher at SINTEF, an independent research institute in Trondheim. Roussanaly is originally from France, and has lived in Norway since 2011.
Although many universities had similar rules as part of their policies previously, there was some flexibility in those arrangements, which the law has removed, Roussanaly says. “This is a significant burden and work for academics and researchers.”
