HOGSKOLEN I MOLDE

Their core work

Molde University College is a specialized Norwegian higher education institution with recognized strength in logistics, supply chain management, and operations research. Through H2020 participation, they have contributed expertise in global agri-food supply chain sustainability, last-mile logistics optimization using digital twins, and inter-agency collaboration models in public services. Their research bridges academic theory with practical applications in transport logistics and social service delivery, with a clear recent pivot toward digitalization of supply chains.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Molde's H2020 trajectory shows a clear shift from social science research toward applied digital logistics. Their earliest project (CO-LAB, 2017) focused on inter-agency collaboration in criminal justice and mental health — a social innovation topic quite distinct from their later work. By 2018-2020, they had pivoted firmly toward supply chain management, food security, and digital twin-enabled logistics, which aligns more closely with the institution's traditional strength in logistics and operations research.

Molde is moving toward digitalized, sustainability-oriented logistics research — expect future work combining digital twins, green last-mile delivery, and Physical Internet concepts.

How they like to work

Molde operates exclusively as a participant, never leading consortia — typical for a smaller specialized university college contributing domain expertise to larger initiatives. With 50 unique partners across just 3 projects (driven by MSCA-RISE staff exchange networks), they are comfortable in large, internationally distributed consortia. Their participation in MSCA-RISE projects suggests they value researcher mobility and knowledge exchange over infrastructure-heavy roles.

Despite only 3 projects, Molde has built a remarkably broad network of 50 partners across 17 countries, largely through MSCA-RISE staff exchange programs that connect European and Asian research institutions. This gives them unusually wide geographic reach for an institution of their size.

What sets them apart

Molde brings a rare combination of deep logistics and operations research expertise from a Nordic academic tradition known for rigorous quantitative methods. Their MSCA-RISE participation gives them established connections to Asian research partners — particularly valuable for EU-Asia supply chain research. For consortium builders, they offer a reliable specialist contributor with an unusually international network for a regional Norwegian university college.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LEAD
  Largest funded project (€256K) combining digital twins with Physical Internet for low-emission last-mile logistics — their most commercially relevant work.
• GOLF
  EC-Asia research network on agri-food supply chains demonstrates their global reach and food security expertise beyond European borders.