Watch all the lectures here

For two days, historians and other academics from universities in small nations have held a conference at the Department of History and Social Sciences at the University of the Faroe Islands, and you can watch all the lectures via the links below.

Since 2020, the University of the Faroe Islands has been a member of the international university network NUSCT, which stands for Network for University Cooperation in Small Countries and Territories.

This collaboration began in recognition of the fact that universities in small societies often have a special role that is not as prominent in larger countries with multiple higher education institutions. A university in a small country is often founded to help move society forward by developing competencies, generating knowledge, and ensuring that language and culture are preserved. At the same time, it contributes to solving concrete societal challenges and often maintains close ties to political institutions and decision-makers.

This week, academic representatives from the participating countries have attended the conference at the Faculty of History and Social Sciences, where they have addressed relevant topics such as:

• Democracy and knowledge: What can the university do to promote democracy and political development?
• Priorities and research: What do we research and why?
• Migration and gender balance: How does the university influence demographic trends?
• Identity and culture: What kind of culture do we carry forward through education and knowledge?
• Societal change: How can universities contribute to transforming society?

You can watch all the lectures and follow the discussions via the links below – and check the schedule as the programme progresses:

Programme for the NUSCT Conference 2025

NUSCT Conference – 2 June 2025

NUSCT Conference – 3 June 2025

On 4 June, a rectors’ meeting in the NUSCT network will take place. The agenda includes themes such as knowledge sharing, the Magna Charta Universitatum, and rotating teaching exchanges.

Martin Tvede Zachariasen, rector, welcomed the guests to the NUSCT conference, which for the first time was held in the Faroe Islands – at the Faculty of History and Social Sciences in Tórshavn.

13 universities in small countries are part of the collaboration, which you can read more about here.

Sigri M. Gaïni, PhD and lecturer at the Faculty of Education, opened the first day with the lecture “The role of Universities in Small Scale Societies.” Earlier this spring, Sigri gave a speech on the same topic for student organisations in the Nordic and Baltic countries. That speech can be read here.

Runa Preeti Ísfeld, lecturer and programme director at the Department of History and Social Sciences, gave a presentation on demographic challenges entitled “Demographic challenges – societal role of universities in terms of migration and gender.”

Hans Andrias Sølvará, Professor of history, chaired the opening session of the conference on Monday morning. He has published numerous books, including "From Kuwait to Kyiv. Two worldviews and the Russian invasions of Ukraine", "The bombing of the Parliament building in 1945", and "The Rise of Faroese Separatism: Danish-Faroese relations from 1906–1925 and the radicalization of the national and home rule question".

There were many other exciting presentations on the diverse programme. The keynote speaker was Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, historian and former President of Iceland. His lecture was titled “The last bastions of nationalism in academic circles.” The rector presented him with Kongsbókin by lecturer Andras Mortensen as a token of appreciation for his participation.

Katrin Petersen interviewed Guðni for the Faroese national radio, Kringvarp Føroya. Erling Isholm, Associate Professor, also participated in the broadcast and noted, among other things, that the University of the Faroe Islands should be part of the public discourse and help raise the level of debate.

Listen to the radio programme here (NB: the programme is in Faroese).