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INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research

Partnership on Sustainable Hydropower in Canada and Norway

Alternative title: Norsk-kanadisk partnerskap for miljøvennlig vannkraft

Awarded: NOK 1.6 mill.

HYCANOR is a partnership between three Norwegian and three Canadian scientific institutions, aiming at educating excellent scientists within the topic of sustainable hydropower. Through this partnership, MSc and PhD students from Norway and Canada got access to supervision from and collaborations with world-leading experts, access to unique laboratory facilities at the partner institutions, and the possibility to learn top-notch methods. Two main thematic areas is the core of HYCANOR; (1) fish migrations and fish passages in regulated rivers and (2) effects of artificial water level fluctuations in hydropower reservoirs. During the project period, HYCANOR has arranged seminars in Canada and Norway, organized site visits to hydropower facilities, performed joint supervision of students, written joint publications, and organized mobility stays for students. Addditionally, HYCANOR has collaborated with hydropower producers and other scientific groups performing research within sustainable hydropower in Norway, Canada and other countries.

Throughat the project period, the HYCANOR partnership has arranged three physical workshops, two in Canada and one in Norway. Additionally, two workshops were arranged as video meetings due to covid-19. Students and representatives from the hydropower industry participated in two of these workshops. Additionally, one Norwegian student had a longer stay in Canada. In total, 11 students were involved in HYCANOR over the project period. Four scientific publications were written by the HYCANOR partnership during the project, two published and two in preparation. Students were in charge of leading the writing prosess in two of these publications. Additionally, a special issue on hydropower in Hydrobiologia was edited by the HYCANOR members. The HYCANOR partnership also resulted in one submitted and funded research application for a joint project that will start in 2023.

HYCANOR - Partnership on Sustainable Hydropower in Canada and Norway - is planned as a formalized partnership between three Norwegian and three Canadian excellent institutions. It will be linked to the FME HydroCen Norwegian Research Center for Hydropower Technology, which has >50 national and international partners including industry, research institutes and universities. The HYCANOR partnership will focus on environmental effects of hydropower production, thereby addressing the INTPART priority of Canada and industry partnership (FME). The attention will be towards educating excellent PhD students from both countries, guided by experienced senior scientists that are experts within their respective methodology. Through mutual exchange of topnotch methods, data, tools and analytical approaches, and through involvement of industry and public sector, HYCANOR aims to create groups of world-leading scientists within sustainable hydropower, with international experience and familiarity of collaboration with industry and management. Two main thematic areas will be the core of HYCANOR; fish migrations and fish passages in regulated rivers and effects of artificial water level fluctuations in hydropower reservoirs. The partnership will center around six types of joint activities: seminars, fieldwork, supervision, publications, course development and reciprocal mobility stays. In addition HYCANOR plans to organize site visits to hydropower sites in Canada and Norway, publish a special issue in a scientific journal and submit at least one joint research proposal with all five partners involved.

Funding scheme:

INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research