Founded in 1950, the Nordic Summer University is an independent, non-profit and non-hierarchical academic organisation that supports the development of cross-national networks and inter-disciplinary research initiatives in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
NSU’s core activities revolve around its study circles, which meet twice a year in person – once in the winter and once in the summer – to discuss, study, develop and critically examine a wide range of topics, spanning the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. While the winter sessions are hosted separately by each circle in different regions of the Nordic and Baltic region, the week-long summer session gathers all circles in a shared location. The summer session is also the culmination of the NSU’s yearly activities and the program consists of presentations, keynotes, workshops, performances, and a general assembly, where every participant can take part in the democratic functioning of the organisation. There is also swimming, walking and enjoying each other and participants can bring their families (there is a children’s circle for children ages 3-13).
NSU’s study circles have been conducted yearly since NSU’s funding and have hosted debates and discussions between several leading intellectuals, politicians, and scholars of the Nordic and Baltic countries, like Niels Bohr, Johan Fjord Jensen, Mauno Koivisto, Johan Galtung, Jostein Gripsrud, and Horace Engdahl. NSU is committed to introducing new ideas and frameworks of thought that not yet gained a foothold in the region’s universities.
