The speakers were overall good, but the lectures were from really different backgrounds and the presentations weren't all on the same level. This left some topics underappreciated, since as a participant you couldn't always get a good grasp on the topic. This is obviously a problem all academies and universities around the world are facing.
Nevertheless, after attending the Academy I can honestly say I know more about the North than I knew before it. The lectures were broad and gave everyone something. Being able to get information and ask further questions on topics such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Arctic remote sensing and indigenous rights was a good opportunity to get a solid understanding of the vast scope of issues we're facing in the region.
I can recommend the North as a study destination, if one finds themselves interested in questions related to the Arctic. As with all regional questions, it is rather difficult to really get to know an area without living there yourself, so I encourage especially northern mobility if one has the possibility for that. I can warmly suggest studying in Nordic universities and Tampere University. Naturally the focus is different with each university, but that just gives the student a good possibility to find out what suits them best!