Østfold University College has now submitted an application to Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak (ÖKS) together with AMU Nordjylland. The proposed pre-project, Circular Transition in Practice, is designed to prepare and strengthen the foundation for a larger cross-border main project on circular transition in the ÖKS region. In the application, AMU Nordjylland is listed as lead partner, while Østfold University College serves as the Norwegian project owner and partner.
The pre-project will build a common and documented basis for a future main project that combines analysis, competence development, and implementation in companies’ everyday practice. The project is rooted in Interreg ÖKS priority area 2, Green Transition, and specifically addresses the objective of promoting the transition to a circular economy.
Interreg ÖKS supports cross-border cooperation between parts of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, with a strong focus on innovation, green transition, mobility, and labour-market cooperation. This makes the programme a strong match for a project that aims to connect academic knowledge, working-life competence, and company needs across national borders.
If funded, the pre-project will focus on four central tasks: clarifying future project partners, involving companies through dialogue and needs assessment, reviewing relevant research and strategies from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and documenting key choices that can shape a full-scale project application. The ambition is not only to identify who should be involved, but also to define what kinds of activities, methods, and collaboration structures will create the strongest impact in a future main project.
For Østfold University College, the application builds on earlier experience from cross-border innovation and sustainability projects. The application highlights HiØ’s analytical and research-based competence in circular transition, technology, and organisational development, and points to earlier Interreg experience including GreenBizz and FREIIA. This experience strengthens the academic and practical foundation for the proposed collaboration.
We are now looking forward to the next stage of the process and await the decision from Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak with great interest. If the application is approved, the pre-project will provide an important step toward a larger initiative that can support companies in the region in working more systematically with circular transition in practice.