Åse Gornitzka takes office as president of the COST Association

As of June 22 2025, Professor Åse Gornitzka has taken office as the President of the COST Association. With a distinguished academic background and decades of experience in higher education policy and governance, Professor Gornitzka assumes the role with a clear vision for strengthening the COST’s role in the evolving European research and innovation landscape.

In her first remarks as President, she outlined her top priorities: “My presidency will focus on ensuring COST is firmly positioned in the transition from Horizon Europe to Framework Programme 10. COST must be recognised not only as a bridge across research and innovation divides, but also as a cornerstone of the European Research Area.”

Professor Gornitzka emphasised COST’s unique ability to foster inclusive and international collaboration: “COST Actions enhance diversity of thought, prevent research isolation, and open doors for global cooperation. Our networks are stronger when they include voices from the breadth of Europe and beyond.”

She also reaffirmed COST’s commitment to key values such as gender equality and support for young researchers: “Despite significant progress, gender disparities in research persist. COST will continue to lead by example – promoting fairness, fostering excellence, and empowering the next generation of researchers, especially from Inclusiveness Target Countries. We know that networks are a determining factor in researchers’ career trajectory, especially in the early stages, and consequently for the development of research fields.”

Under Prof. Gornitzka’s leadership, the COST Association continues to build on a period of significant growth and momentum. The COST community has expanded from 45,000 to over 60,000 participants, with increasing participation of women researchers and engagement from young researchers and actors outside Europe. The sharp rise in proposal submissions reflects COST’s growing relevance and visibility across Europe. Notably, the quality and geographic diversity of applications have never been higher, underscoring COST’s unique ability to connect researchers across borders, disciplines, and career stages.

Åse Gornitzka holds a Doctoral degree from the Faculty of Public Administration at the University of Twente, in the Netherlands. Since 2017 to this day, she has served as Vice Rector and Pro-Rector at the University of Oslo, Norway. From fall 2025, she will return to her position as Professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo.

Before assuming the presidency of the COST Association, Professor Gornitzka served on several governing bodies and committees in research and higher education policy arenas, both at national and European level. She has also been a Board Member of SCANCOR – the Scandinavian Consortium for Organisational Research – at Stanford University and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.

Prior to her current position, she held academic positions at Arena Centre for European Studies at the University of Oslo, as a senior researcher in an independent research institute in Oslo, and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Bergen.

Professor Gornitzka has published over 120 journal articles and book chapters. Her research focuses on reform and transformation in higher education and research, policymaking in the knowledge sector at both national and European levels, and the governance and organisation of universities. She has also contributed to research on the nexus between scientific expertise and policy making, especially at the European level.

This article was first published on 23 June by COST Association.