Out of 47 applications, 19 were granted funding, and the "NorTex Data Science Cluster" project from IRIS Energy was one of them.
This is a collaboration project initiated by IRIS, University of Agder (UiA), GCE NODE, Rice University and UT Austin. IRIS and UiA has applied as host institutions for the SFIs DrillWell and Offshore Mechatronics. IRIS has lead the work with the proposal and will be the project leader. The project will finance several activities to stimulate and promote research collaboration between Norwegian and US partners, not limited to the mentioned partners, but will include other academic institutions or industrial companies relevant for the proposed Data Science Cluster.
With the proposed NorTex Data Science Cluster the partners of this project will generate a long-term active partnership under the already established NorTex umbrella. NorTex is built on the existing initiatives carried out by the Norwegian Consulate General in Houston, Innovation Norway, INTSOK, and the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce in Houston (Report: “Connecting the North Star with the Lone Star”, by the Norwegian Consulate General in Houston, 5 November 2012).
INTPART will fund partnerships between Norwegian higher education and research institutions and excellent partners in prioritized counties. Special emphasis is on integrating higher education- and research, and may include business partners. INTPART is an SIU and Research Council collaboration.
The main goal of INTPART is to develop world class higher education and research institutions in Norway by promoting and funding long term institutional partnerships with strong academic groups and institutions in eight prioritized countries; Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, South-Africa and the USA.
INTPART will support establishment and/or further development of institutional collaborations in research and higher education. Collaborations should involve strategic leadership and administration in addition to the research and the academic partners. Education cooperation should as far as possible be an integrated part of the institutions' regular higher education programs.