PC1 and NPF project meetings in Helsingborg

This week in Helsingborg, Sweden, project partners in the North Pole Fiber and Polar Connect Step 1 projects came together for a focused two-day workshop, generously hosted by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. Participants included representatives from NORDUnet, SUNET, DeiC, GlobalConnect, DTU – Technical University of Denmark, and the European Commission’s European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) —gathering a broad range of expertise and perspectives around a shared vision of Arctic connectivity.

The workshop allowed the teams driving the North Pole Fiber and Polar Connect Step 1 projects to come together, creating a space for deeper coordination and collaboration, syncronizing the activities and direction of the projects, and making sure the projects together with partner activities drive forward the Polar Comnect Initiative.

The first day entered on internal knowledge building—an opportunity to share experiences and align goals, tasks, and strategies across the different strands of the Polar Connect initiative. Day two featured detailed updates on both projects, a presentation of Arctic infrastructure and capabilities from the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, and forward-looking discussions on the 2025 summer seabed survey campaign—an essential step for the continued development of Arctic sub-sea connectivity.

The event concluded with a visit to the Swedish icebreaker Oden, which will play a key role in this summer’s seabed survey work. An essential resource for scientific and logistical capability in the far north, Oden will be instrumental for the next phase of translating polar connect vision into reality. Sincere thanks to all participants for contributing their insight, expertise, and commitment to advancing the Polar Connect initiative, to our hosts for putting both this and the high level event elegantly together, to Martin Jakobsson from Stockholm University and his team from the Seabed 2030 project for an exciting demonstration, and to Captain Mattias Petersson and his crew on Oden for a memorable and highly informative tour of their impressive vessel.

Per Nihlén

Organisation: Sunet, Swedish Research Council
Title: Chair of the Polar Connect Advisory Board and Chief Technology Officer and Inventory

Per is the Chair of the Polar Connect Advisory Board . He serves as Head of Unit at  the Swedish Research Council, where he leads the development and operation of Sweden’s national infrastructure for research and education in networking and digital communication. With over three decades of experience in digital infrastructure and public-sector innovation, Per leadership has been instrumental in advancing high-capacity networks that support research collaboration, data-intensive science, and education across the Nordic region. Per is also Chair of the Board of the Foundation for the Development of Telematics, a grant-making foundation that supports the advancement of high-performance digital infrastructure in Sweden. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Netnod, representing the foundation as owner and contributing to the governance of Sweden’s critical internet infrastructure. Per has been a trusted advisor to government agencies, research institutions, and international collaborations.

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