Annual Report 2011 - NTNU

NTNU Global
NOVEMBER— DECEMBER 2011
In this issue
News 1
Organized events 2
Publications 3
New Projects 3
About 4
WELCOME to the NTNU Global, the newsletter from the NTNU’s research
strategic area Globalization.
NTNU’s Globalization Research Programme addresses socially-relevant, topical
issues concerning the promises and pitfalls of globalization in economic, social,
cultural and political life.
NTNU’s globalization research centers on four focus areas:
Global Production and Communication
War, Conflict and Migration
Intercultural dynamics: Communication, Responsibility and Development
Global Economic Flows, Governance and Stability
NEWS
Message from the Director of
the Globalization Research
Programme
I use this opportunity to say “good
bye” and “thank you” to colleagues
and friends of the Globalization Research
Program.
I have accepted the post of Warden of
St. Thomas´College Mt Lavinia in Sri
Lanka for a term of 3 years. The faculty
has kindly given me an 80% leave of
absence, so I am still an NTNUer. I
have enjoyed my position as director of
the globalization research program,
largely because it has been such a pleasure
working with and collaborating
with many of you. The discussions
between us have been stimulating and
encouraging.
I also appreciate greatly the input and
encouragement received from the advisory
council of the Globalization Research
Programme, which has shown
tremendous collective erudition. The
chair and dean of the faculty of humanities
has shown enthusiastic support
and skilled leadership.
Moreover, I leave in the confidence
that the new director, Prof. Ragnar
Torvik, will take
the program to new heights and be a
steady hand in the approaching critical
years when the entire TSO system will
be reconsidered. I wish him and the
rest of the leadership all the very best
in this process and continued good
work. I sincerely hope that the globalization
TSO continues or that there is
something like this platform for collaborative
research when I return.
As the director, my strategy was to
encourage collaborative research and
produce interesting findings worthy of
publication in international journals, so
as to raise interest in the thematic area
on campus and our profile in Norway
and abroad. Whether or not we have
been successful in achieving even a
small part of that ambition is for others
to judge, but I am very satisfied
with how I have been able to use my
time as director to try to lead by example.
I am happy to report at least 24
international publications, mostly in
collaboration with others, including
over 20 refereed journal articles in the
time that I have been director. We
have also been relatively successful at
raising research money and we have
been involved heavily in the activities
on campus, whether student related or
otherwise, such as the India2011.
None of these successes would have
been possible without the collaboration
of dedicated scholars affiliated
with our program and our coordinator,
Chamila Attanapola, whose efficient
management of the globalization
program is a cornerstone of its success.
I bid you all every success in the
future.