More information
Description
The successful cooperation between Charles University and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology continues in the project that focuses on the transferral of the latest findings from research into teaching and preparation of students for their future practice. The team of Czech and Norwegian academicians will innovate the existing courses on Scandinavian history and society. Moreover, they will incorporate new findings from research on the forced labour of the Czechs in Norway into study materials. They will also create a new practical course including field experience. All the outputs will bring opportunities for early-stage scholars to deepen their knowledge and improve the chances of their future employability.
The project works with the themes of democratisation and active citizenship in the teaching of history. It also develops bilateral cooperation in exploring common historical milestones.
Summary of project results
The project significantly expanded the institutional and academic cooperation between the Department of Scandinavian Studies of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University and the Department of Contemporary History of the Faculty of Humanities of NTNU and the Department of History of the Faculty of Education of NTNU, in the field of the so-called grey zones in the research of Czech-Nordic forced mobility during the Second World War. It also sought to improve the training of researchers and the employability of graduates in the labour market.
The project expanded cooperation between the universities, innovated two curricula, and created four new ones. It used new research findings to create study materials for innovative courses. The project team organized exhibitions in the Czech Republic and Norway, held four bilateral meetings focusing on training, and collected historical documents.
The project achieved its objectives of innovating the curriculum, deepening research on Czech-Scandinavian wartime relations, and providing training for the younger generation. The beneficiaries were the students and postdocs at Charles University and NTNU, as well as the general public in the Czech Republic who gained access to the exhibitions and the educational web portal, Traces of the North. The project also contributed significantly to the popularisation of Czech-Nordic relations.
Summary of bilateral results
The Norwegian partner assisted in familiarizing the Czech team with the archive materials of wartime Norway, and the Czech team introduced the Norwegian partners to the extensive collection of archives from the forced labour of Czechs on the Czech side. Furthermore, the partner provided expert advice in the development of the project''s publications and exhibitions. Beyond the project outputs, the team members produced a joint study after intensive cooperation and also a book chapter in an international scientific book (published in Sommer 2024).