In Trøndelag the intention is to address the problem of rural areas losing young and skilled inhabitants to cities (brain drain).
There is demand for a skilled work-force in many rural areas. The university’s role is that they offer science-based education to young people, which can be considered a ‘pull’-factor, motivating young people to leave their homes. Secondly, universities produce a resource – young, skilled individuals – who are in high demand in rural areas. The problem arises when they have finished their education because this skilled workforce often wishes to remain in urban areas.
Rephrased within TeRRItoria’s conceptual framework, universities act as “de-territorializing” force when they pull young individuals away from more rural areas, weakening those territories in the process.
The transformative experiment in Trøndelag aims to foster meaningful exchanges between urban universities and rural regions in the form of the urban-rural migration of skilled individuals.
The question addressed is what would “reterritorialization” (i.e. strengthening rural territories by providing a skilled population) look like and how it can be achieved. Students, business gardens, guidance counselors and advisors, municipalities and other community groups will be involved, along with NTNU and Trøndelag County.
The video below explains in details the activities carried out so far.
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