A memorandum of understanding was signed Wednesday which will make it easier for northern college students to transfer credits to southern universities.

It will also allow for more collaboration on research.

The agreement is between the universities of Dalhousie, Laval, Ottawa, and Alberta and it will apply to all three colleges across the North.

Linda Pemik, from Nunavut Arctic College, said the MOU will also give northerners more control over what kind of research happens in the North. (CBC)

“We're looking at ways that we can bring more programming to the territory, building on the expertise and infrastructure of the southern institutions,” said Linda Pemik with Nunavut Arctic College.

The MOU is a chance for northern students to get a head start on a university education. Courses taken at one of the three colleges in the North will be recognized in the south, and students and researchers can move between the schools.

“We've always been inundated with researchers coming up, that's part of the problem. Northerners want to control the research agenda and be equal partners in the process. This will give us a stronger voice in that - identifying areas of research that we want to work on collaboratively,” said Pemik.

Pemik said the next step is to do an inventory of courses and research at the colleges and universities which signed the agreement.

She said that will help determine if there are more opportunities for collaboration.