26. January 2023
Apply now for UNIS autumn semester courses! The application deadline is 15 April 2023.
25. January 2023
On Monday 30 January the annual lecture series on the history of Svalbard starts.
19. January 2023
As the coal mining industry in Svalbard comes to an end, there is an urgent need to evaluate new energy sources.
13. January 2023
A new episode of The ColdCast is out! Join our chat with Heidi Sevestre about the importance of communicating the science.
10. January 2023
The annual seminar series Svalbardseminaret starts on Tuesday 17 January and runs twice a week until 31 January. Note that all lectures are only given in Norwegian.
14. December 2022
UNIS is launching the northernmost podcast in the world, The ColdCast. Get familiar with the science and research that goes on in the Arctic.
7. December 2022
Are you going to study at UNIS this spring? Here are some tips on how to settle in, and things you should know about studying and living in Longyearbyen.
1. December 2022
Would you like to study in Svalbard in the spring? We have extended application deadline for some courses in Arctic Geophysicsand Arctic Geology. Apply now – first come, first serve!
20. November 2022
Around the summer solstice of 2022, a small group of twenty young researchers met in Svalbard, a small island lost between Norway and the North Pole. The Norwegian Academy of Polar Research wanted to bring us together around the theme of “The Global Arctic” to “identify and discuss points of connection within and between the natural, social and human sciences“.
10. November 2022
Longyearbyen lokalstyre, Universitetssenteret på Svalbard (UNIS) og Store Norske har skrevet under en intensjonsavtale om et samarbeid, som skal bidra til akselerasjon av utviklingen av fornybare løsninger for energiforsyningen i Longyearbyen samtidig som det tilrettelegges for ny kunnskaps- og næringsutvikling.
3. November 2022
Norway is bit more acquainted with its own backyard as a result of the first leg of the very first GoNorth polar expedition. Seismic surveys were carried out in areas we knew very little about until now. Data was acquired in a range of topics, from life in the Arctic Ocean to pollution from afar, via the sea ice of the past – and of the present. The data will be analysed by scientists for many years to come.
17. October 2022
On October 14, Marius Jonassen and Hanne H. Christiansen from UNIS became the second recipients of the Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award (FP Award). The award is both a high-level recognition and a 100,000-euro grant given to a project that transforms knowledge into action to help address the impacts of climate change in the Arctic.
6. October 2022
In September, new student learning spaces were opened on the ground floor in the student housing at Elvesletta – opening up for more collaborative work.
28. August 2022
Join Arctic Safety student Fabienne Mannherz for an excursion to Sarkofagen.
21. July 2022
The Arctic Ocean is changing towards a warmer and ice-free state in summer. Warm Atlantic water continuously carries plankton organisms from south to north. Boreal species usually perish in the cold, dark Arctic Ocean but that may change as climate warms, sea ice shrinks, and the primary production season lengthens.
14. July 2022
UNIS professor Steve Coulson has yet another mite species named after him. The Platynothrus coulsoni is the fifth (!) species named in his honour.
7. July 2022
NTNU researchers from AMOS, the Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems, with help from UNIS students, used small satellites and subsea robots — and everything in between — to study marine life in Svalbard’s Kongsfjorden in a first-ever experiment in May.
20. June 2022
A cooperation between the tourist vessel MS Bard and UNIS gives students a unique opportunity to practice their science communication skills. For the guests onboard it is a fantastic way to learn more about the research in the pristine location they visit during their holiday.
17. June 2022
Sveinung Løset, professor of Arctic marine technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and UNIS, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree at Clarkson University’s spring 2022 Commencement.
9. June 2022
On World’s Ocean Day 8 June, UNIS’ new research boat, Hanna Resvoll, was baptized in Longyearbyen. The boat is named after the first female researcher on Svalbard, Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen, Norway’s first environmentalist.
8. June 2022
When meteorologists report fine weather on Svalbard, it is the air temperature that is being talked about. But when it comes to global warming, ocean temperature is the big joker.
18. May 2022
Researchers have used drones to inspect the snow cornices on Gruvefjellet. This helps us understand and assess the risks of cornice-triggered avalanches in Longyearbyen.
11. May 2022
Would you like to study in Svalbard in the autumn? We have extended application deadline for some courses in Arctic Geophysics and Arctic Technology. Apply now – first come, first serve!
6. May 2022
Why does Earth support life, while Venus and Mars – and for all we know, any other planet in the universe – do not?
4. May 2022
With the novel use of unmanned surface vehicles (USV), it has become safer and easier to collect data from glacier fronts. Master student Milan Beck is one of the first who utilised this sustainable way of monitoring the pristine and vulnerable Arctic nature for his thesis.
2. May 2022
From August to December 2018, Daan van den Broek studied geophysics at UNIS. He's written three blogs where he explains how he went about applying for a semester at UNIS, and how it all went down.
22. April 2022
HRH Crown Prince Haakon and HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway visited the University Centre in Svalbard today. Students informed the royal couple about their field work and emphasized the importance of safety in the field.
10. April 2022
8. April 2022
4. April 2022
Morten Wedege had dreamed of studying and working in the tropics, when a small advertisement on a student board made him aware of Svalbard. It became the start of the career path, that would bring him to every corner of Spitsbergen over two decades.
30. March 2022
28. March 2022
23. March 2022
Last year, while Europe was tanning in the sun and experiencing its warmest summer on record, I was able to escape the heat and spend 5 weeks on Svalbard!
21. March 2022
17. March 2022
With only 35 fellow students at the entire university centre, Katrine Borgå attended the first biology course at UNIS in 1994-95. She tells of a camaraderie that’s still strong after nearly three decades, and an introduction to a career path that she excels at today.
15. March 2022
10. March 2022
8. March 2022
24. February 2022
21. February 2022
The Fram Centre has launched five new research programs with a total budget of 250 million NOK over five years. UNIS is involved in three of the new research programs.
11. February 2022
6. February 2022
4. February 2022
19. January 2022
17. January 2022
14. January 2022
13. January 2022
12. January 2022
5. January 2022
10. December 2021
22. November 2021
21. November 2021
