Bridging borders and traditions through the power of music

The Nordtrad Network came to life as part of the Nordplus programme, which is an initiative by the Nordic Council of Ministers aimed at strengthening and developing Nordic and Baltic cooperation in various aspects. Nordplus is addressed to all educational sectors, organisations and institutions involved in lifelong learning, including a strong focus on higher education. The main objective is to contribute to the development of quality and innovation in the participating countries’ education systems, while promoting intercultural projects and mobilities across borders. As a crucial part of cultural identity is rooted in music traditions, Centria University of Applied Sciences is able to contribute to these aims through our Music Department, by being a member of the Nordtrad Network.

NordTrad is a network for students and teachers in higher music education, with programmes and courses in traditional, folk and world music. There are 15 institutions from the Nordic and Baltic countries, whose overall goal is to stimulate exchange and mobility between the partners, to strengthen education in these musical genres. Education in traditional music in the Nordic and Baltic countries started with pioneering work in the 1970s, and since then, it developed into well-established first and also second cycle programmes. This resulted in a growing number of artistically high-level folk musicians that contribute to music life nationally and internationally. Nordic and Baltic traditional music is now a well-established genre on the global scene, albeit being still relatively small.

This development has also led to providing education for musicians with traditions from other parts of the world, often known as “world music”. In such rapidly changing and globalising societies, these music traditions are increasingly vital parts of the local music environment in the participating countries, in order to retain cultural identity. As folk music education is still a small field within higher education, consisting of compact faculties or departments, cooperations such as Nordtrad are of great importance to maintain; it strengthens and guarantees the quality of teaching and research in the field among the Nordic and Baltic Countries. Therefore, despite focusing on local music traditions, this common platform oversteps the boundaries of country borders, and allows for sharing and developing materials that can be made available through various online channels in today’s digitalised world. 

Why this year was special 

Centria assumed the role as the Network Coordinator in the Spring semester in 2024, and since then, have been administering Nordtrad’s activities happening during 2025. This, among other tasks, consists of applying for new project funding, managing and monitoring the finances, administering the teacher and student documentation for all the member institutions, as well as reporting at the end of the project on behalf of the Network. 2025 has been the first year in a whole, when Centria has been in a coordinating position, and during this time, the NordTrad Network has made significant steps in deepening collaboration and artistic exchange between the member institutions.

During this last project year, the Network earned 43000 € in the initial application period. However, due to the members’ willingness and effort in organizing more activities, Centria successfully applied for extra funds in a secondary round, bringing the overall amount up to 78200 €. Under Centria’s coordination, Nordtrad has also grown in size, as a new partner institution has been added to the Network in 2025: Novia University of Applied Sciences from Finland.

During the implementation of the project year, mobilities to three main events were funded involving both students and teachers. First of all, this included the joint study program ”Nordic Master in Folk Music”. This enabled students of four different Nordic institutions within the Network to study in a joint degree programme, resulting in a growing number of well-educated folk musicians with international experience. As part of the initiative this year, students were funded to go on a two-month-long mobility to the town of Voss in Norway.

Secondly, the Spring IRC Forum was organised in Esbjerg, Denmark with impressive participant results, enabling 81 student and 10 teacher mobilities from Nordplus funds. Encouraged by the success of this year’s Forum, the network decided to create a new event as well, to make the most out of the leftover funds with another intensive teaching session. This became the first Nordtrad Master Intensive Course, which was specifically aimed at master’s students, doctoral students and teachers within the Network, with a focus on artistic research and development in folk music. The first event was held in Stockholm in the end of 2025 September, and it turned out to be a huge success. The event brought together 50 participants, representing 12 institutions and 6 countries within our Network. This intensive course provided an opportunity to present musical projects to a like-minded international community, while also promoting the exchange of knowledge, and strengthening artistic research and education in folk music in the Nordic academic environment. The event offered a space for students and teachers to share their work – through presentations, poster sessions, workshops, and joint concerts, representing a wide array of perspectives, methods, and approaches. This intensive course is now planned to be added to the yearly calendar of the NordTrad Network.

The events organised as part of the latest project year have demonstrated Nordtrad’s growing impact on the partner countries, the increasing interest in traditional music, and the Network’s commitment to providing high-quality education, being able to adapt and innovate according to the needs of its members. Building on the success of these above events, the coordination will stay with Centria until 2026 September, but until then, we are still looking forward to carrying out the next year’s editions of these events, planned to be organised in Viljandi, Estonia and in Malmö, Sweden. In addition, still under our coordination, Nordtrad also has aims to further expand into Iceland in the first half of 2026, as teachers and students have been invited from the country to participate in Malmö as observers. Membership discussions have started already, and there is an interest in the Icelandic institution’s side to attend, as this could inspire the local actors to develop a study programme in Icelandic traditional music.

As we look ahead to 2026, Nordtrad continues to stand and expand as a bridge between even more cultures and traditions – proving that through the power of music, borders fade and collaboration thrives. For us at Centria, coordinating Nordtrad has been more than just a project – especially to those taking part in the mobilities; it has been a journey of new friendships, shared moments, and unforgettable intercultural experiences. As we turn the page to the new year, the music and the story goes on – both for Centria and for the Nordtrad Network.