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News

2. September 2026

Join the 4th edition of SCOPE

From 13-14 November the students of UNIS invite all students to join the Student-led Conference on Polar Environments, a conference by and for students. Register for the conference before 15 September!

29. July 2026

UNIS marine biologists join the first Arctic Ocean 2050 expedition

Four marine biologists from UNIS are joining the very first expedition of the Arctic Ocean 2050 research programme. Before departure, we met Associate Professor Arunima Sen and PhD candidate Carla López Mateo to learn what they will be searching for nearly 4,000 metres below the surface, and why this expedition marks an important milestone for both UNIS and Norwegian polar research.

21. July 2026

Welcome to a new semester at UNIS

To ensure a smooth start, we would like to provide you with some essential details. We encourage you to actively participate in the academic environment, engage in scholarly discussions, and make the most of UNIS's resources.

2. July 2026

Administrasjonssjefstilling lyses ut

Nina Ellingsen Høiskar har sagt opp sin stilling som Administrasjonssjef ved UNIS.

23. June 2026

Explore the tundra from your phone: a digital journey into Arctic biology

Do you want to walk through the tundra in space and time? Read more about the biology and exciting natural environment of Svalbard? With "Learning Arctic Biology" we offer a unique and easy way to explore the landscapes and life of Svalbard.

22. June 2026

Children’s book about Arctic science wins Indie Book of the Year award

Science communication from Svalbard has received national recognition after Longyearbyen author and former communication advisor at UNIS, Maria Philippa Rossi, won the 2025 Indie Book Award in the children’s and young adult category for Arctic Mysteries – Warm Ice and Cold Facts – Research in Svalbard.

17. June 2026

Uniting Norway’s research community for the future of the Arctic Ocean

Paul E. Renaud of Akvaplan-niva has been appointed program director of Arctic Ocean 2050 (Polhavet 2050). He succeeds Bodil Bluhm, who has served as acting program director since January 2026.

2. June 2026

Welcome to UNIS! – Webinar

Is this your first time coming to UNIS? Are you wondering what to bring and what to expect? Join us for a chat with current students and staff at UNIS. Here you can ask the questions you need answered before traveling to Svalbard and Longyearbyen.

27. May 2026

Longyearbyen named Norway’s top student city for the fourth year in a row

For the fourth consecutive year, Longyearbyen has been ranked Norway’s best student city in Studentum’s list of the country’s top ten.

12. May 2026

Government allocates extra funding to strengthen UNIS amid rising costs

The Norwegian government’s revised national budget, announced earlier today, proposes an additional NOK 10 million in funding for the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) to help meet rising operational costs.

10. March 2026

Utlysning: Jan Christensens legat 2026

Husk søknadsfrist 31. mars 2026.

6. January 2026

Svalbardseminaret 2026

The annual seminar series Svalbardseminaret starts on Tuesday 13 January and runs twice a week until 27 January. Note that all lectures are only given in Norwegian.

19. May 2025

Trial lecture and disputation: Snorre Flo

Follow MSc in Biology Snorre Flo's trial lecture and disputation at UNIS 26 May 2025

11. January 2024

Collaboration in Svalbard

OsloMet has entered into collaboration with the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).

22. December 2023

Twilight effect from a rocket?

Watch the video here

5. December 2023

30 years as a leading polar research institution

A recent analysis of publication trends in Arctic research (Aksnes et al., 2023) confirms that the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) has established itself as a leading polar research institution after 30 years of engagement in the north.

19. October 2023

Hanna Resvoll to participate in oil spill preparedness

Last week, the research vessel Hanna Resvoll and crew participated in a comprehensive exercise in Svalbard after obtaining oil spill response certification.

17. October 2023

Imaging geological complexity to better understand fluid flow in the subsurface

Doctoral candidate Peter Betlem at the Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, is defending the thesis "De-risking top seal integrity - Imaging heterogeneity across shale-dominated cap rock sequences" for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor.

26. June 2023

UNIS to lead two new UArctic network projects!

Kim Senger and Hanne H. Christiansen have received grants totalling 800,000 NOK from the Norwegian UArctic Network funding to support their collaboration projects on Arctic climate archives and on developing closer inter-university collaboration.

27. April 2023

Pool of science

It was neither a new tourist venture nor the jacuzzi of MS Nordstjernen that drifted on shore. The pool on the ice below SSU was a student project in Arctic technology led by Prof. Alexey Marchenko.

9. June 2022

The new UNIS boat is baptized

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.

6. May 2022

NASA Rocket to Measure Earth’s Life-Supporting Secret: A Weak Electric Field

Why does Earth support life, while Venus and Mars – and for all we know, any other planet in the universe – do not?

15. March 2022

Svalbard will be a showcase for renewable energy solutions in the Arctic

21. February 2022

New FRAM initiative: Research in the Arctic, for those who live there

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.