February 18, 2004–An agreement signed between Wolfram Research and UNI-C, the Danish IT Centre for Education and Research, marks the launch of a joint venture called the Nordic Education Centre (NE-C). Based in Denmark, NE-C brings certified Mathematica courses to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland for the first time. Classes will be held in UNI-C’s state-of-the-art facilities in Copenhagen and Århus, Denmark.

“Our partnership with UNI-C is the logical culmination of a long and fruitful relationship that has developed between our two organizations. Those looking for Mathematica training in the Nordic countries could not ask for a more professional and committed organization than UNI-C to provide this needed service,” says Paul Wellin, manager of Wolfram Education Group.

NE-C courses promise to provide inspiration and new skills to both amateur and seasoned Mathematica users. Courses on complex data analysis, modeling, and symbolic calculation should attract programmers, developers, IT architects, business analysts, project managers, and others who work with data. Businesses can tailor classes according to their interests and choose from short- or long-term options.

Wolfram Research hopes the collaboration is the first in a series of similar partnerships dedicated to promoting Mathematica training abroad. “We have been expanding our Mathematica training offerings around the globe for the past two years now. We are truly pleased and excited to partner with UNI-C to extend this effort to the Nordic countries,” Wellin says.

Outside of the U.S., Mathematica courses are organized by affiliates known as Certified Training Providers. The alliance between Wolfram Research and NE-C makes the Danish organization both a Certified Training Provider and a Wolfram Research Expertise Partner. As a training provider, Kurt Bøge, chief consultant of NE-C, can teach official Mathematica courses as well as train additional instructors. As an Expertise Partner, NE-C is supported with special discounts on training kits, free training for NE-C personnel, and enhanced marketing support from Wolfram Research.

UNI-C, a public institution under the Danish Ministry of Education, is Denmark’s largest provider of information technology solutions for education and research. More than 500,000 people use UNI-C’s IT products and services, which range from technical connection to pedagogical tools.