Greenlandic PhD students awarded prestigious scholarship

PhD students at Ilisimatusarfik Hans Peder Kirkegaard and Rikke Østergaard have been awarded Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholarship

Hans Peder Kirkegaard is a PhD student at Nasiffik - Center for Foreign & Security Policy at Ilisimatusarfik. His project focuses on the cooperation between politicians and intelligence services and the risk of foreign influence among indigenous peoples in the Arctic.

Nasiffik has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Defense in Denmark to fund two PhD projects, one of which Hans Peder received. This agreement is part of the implementation of the Arctic Capacity Package between the Ministry of Defense in Denmark and Naalakkersuisut.

Previously, Hans Peder worked as a special advisor on defense and security policy in the Department of Foreign Affairs - and he started his PhD in September 2023.

Rikke Østergaard's PhD project aims to understand how major challenges in Greenland are shaped by power structures that lead to systemic inequalities. Her PhD project is funded by the Greenland Research Council and begins in September 2024.

Rikke comes from a position at Arctic Command as research coordinator for civil-military cooperation.

Rikke's Fulbright project focuses on gender issues and using intersectionality to develop inclusive security policies in the Arctic.