Nordic Science News Service Opens In Denmark

15 Nov 2011

New English-language news service will cover the best science to come out of the Nordic countries.

Two Nordic science media, one Danish and one Norwegian, have joined forces to launch ScienceNordic – an independent online news service to meet an increasing demand for regional science news in English. The service will publish science news in English covering the entire region.

Large research projects, particularly within the EU, are all international. More students and researchers than ever are crossing borders for work. The language of science is English, but only scientific articles with an extremely narrow audience are published in English when it comes to Nordic research.

- This leaves a huge gap in the market for science news from the region, communicated to a broader audience in English. We intend to fill this gap, says Vibeke Hjortlund, editor-in-chief at Videnskab.dk.

Focus on climate, green technology and biotechnology

The international science press is dominated by news from Anglo-American research institutions and periodicals – simply because they are published in English.

- We will, naturally, focus our efforts on areas where Nordic researchers have their particular strengths. This includes areas such as green technology, climate and the environment, oil and offshore technology, biotechnology, gender equality and the welfare state and its economy, says Nina Kristiansen, editor-in-chief at Forskning.no.  

ScienceNordic will target the academic environment, the business community, international organisations and decision-makers with interests in scientific development, science journalists and members of the general public with a strong interest in science.

ScienceNordic will cover Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland – with an eye on Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland which are also part of the Nordic region. 

Videnskab.dk og Forskning.no have received support for the project from NordForsk, an organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers, which provides funding for Nordic research collaborations and offers advice on Nordic research policy.  ScienceNordic is expected to be run on a commercial basis within 2-3 years.