There were 2,363 applications submitted to the Research Council of Norway before the deadline of 25 May, of which 541 were submitted to the Young Research Talent programme. Only about 8% of applications received an offer. One of the successful projects was developed by Kjersti Lohne.
Criminal prosecution as a Nordic export
Kjersti Lohne has been awarded the Young Research Talent Grant. The project Promoting Justice in a Time of Friction (JustExports) project will address how Scandinavian countries "export" ideas and practices from the criminal justice field through international cooperation, and will look at both similarities and differences between different countries.
"Scandinavian countries export solutions in the field of criminal justice as part of their foreign policy toolkit. Everything from proposals for how to reform criminal law, as part of establishing rule of law, international criminal law, prisons and correctional services to women's legal rights in countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, Kosovo, Myanmar, Uganda, Ukraine and the United States", says Kjersti Lohne. "My project is about how this happens in practice."
"I am incredibly pleased with the opportunities I now have to follow up my own research
agenda and strengthen the research environment at the intersection of criminology, international relations and international law. Research into the role of punishment outside the national state is not just something I as a criminologist find tremendously exciting. It can also tell us something new both about Scandinavian criminal culture and foreign policy, as well as about the liberal world order. At least, that's the ambition!".
Tough competition
NOK 2.5 billion was awarded for research projects this year. The Research Council received 2,363 applications for a total of NOK 23.5 billion. 256 of these applications were granted.
The Research Council had to postpone the deadline by two weeks, until 25 May, due to the corona epidemic. Many applicants have been waiting for answers since then, and this morning the Faculty of Law received the good news that Kjersti Lohne's project, among others, has been granted funding.
Congratulations from the Head of Department!
"It's a great day when talented young scientists are rewarded for their efforts" says May-Len Skilbrei, head of the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, . "For people in temporary positions, it is a gamble investing their time and effort in writing an application rather than working on scientific publications, and I am very pleased that Kjersti has been rewarded for her efforts. She is an exciting and mature researcher who gets noticed internationally, so it will be fascinating to see what she can do with this new project", says Skilbrei.
