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News

Trial lecture and PhD defense for MSc Rafael Kenji Horota

Rafael has been following the PhD programme at the University of Bergen, and is defending his doctoral thesis at UNIS 8 December 2025:

Ethics and reflection in geoscience: an interview with Mark Furze and Lena Håkansson

When former colleagues Mark Furze and Lena Håkansson met as PhD opponents in Oslo, they quickly agreed on one thing: teaching landscape ethics should be an integral part of geology education.

KHO – at the centre of global auroral research

Professor Dehong Huang from the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) has a long and unique connection to Svalbard, and the UNIS owned Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO). PRIC began collecting data in Ny-Ålesund in 2003, and since opening its station in 2004, it has conducted continuous observations in the high Arctic.

Trial lecture and PhD defense for MSc Lukas Frank

Lucas Frank has been following the PhD programme at the University of Bergen, and is defending his doctoral thesis at UNIS 23 October 2025

Trial lecture and PhD defense MSc Stig Andreas Johannessen

Stig Andreas Johannessen will defend the PhD degree at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management

Inaugural lecture: Safety and humans

How can we understand humans and make everything safer? A safety travel from oil and gas through cars over to preparedness and crisis management training, ending in Arctic Safety, as Gunhild Birgitte Sætren holds her inaugural lecture 10 October.

Trial lecture and PhD defense MSc in Bioscience Victor Gonzalez Triginer

MSc in Bioscience Victor Gonzalez Triginer at the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB) will Tuesday 16 September 2025 hold his trial lecture and defend his thesis for the PhD degree in Natural Science at UNIS.

Government Commits NOK 1 billion to Polhavet 2050

The Norwegian government has committed NOK 1 billion to the Polhavet 2050 initiative, a ten-year research effort uniting 18 institutions, including UNIS. The project will address climate, environment, industry, security, and preparedness in the rapidly changing Arctic.

Disputation: Samantha Paige Huset Dwinnell

Dwinnell will defend her doctoral thesis from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, NMBU, at UNIS on 29 August 2025. Her research explores how climate change affects the food supply and foraging strategies of Svalbard reindeer, shedding light on the adaptive capacity of large Arctic herbivores in a rapidly warming environment.

Pressemelding: Energiforskningseminar i Longyearbyen i september

Den 4. september arrangeres et åpent seminar i Longyearbyen som en del av forskningsprosjektet ZEESA. Her samles lokale, nasjonale og internasjonale eksperter for å diskutere hvordan fremtidens nullutslipps energisystemer kan tilpasses Arktis. Seminaret belyser både tekniske løsninger og hvordan overgangen til fornybar energi kan skje på en sosialt rettferdig måte. Alle interesserte er velkommen!

Press Release:  Energy Research Seminar in Longyearbyen in September

September 4, an open seminar will be held in Longyearbyen as part of the ZEESA research project. Local, national, and international experts will gather to discuss how future zero-emission energy systems can be adapted to the Arctic. The seminar will address both technical solutions and how the transition to renewable energy can be achieved in a socially just way. All interested parties are welcome!

Their Majesties visit UNIS: Strengthening ties in Arctic knowledge and community

UNIS had the honour of hosting Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja for a visit in Helenstua on Tuesday 17 June.

Disputation: Cheshtaa Chitkara

Cheshtaa Chitkara will defend her PhD thesis "Arctic marine microbial eukaryotes–Spatiotemporal drivers of community structure and ecological impacts of Atlantification" at UNIS 28 May 2025.

Trial lecture and disputation: Snorre Flo

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

The Warm Water is Back

Over the past several decades, the world’s oceans have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat added to the Earth through the greenhouse effect. This heat flows northward past the west coast of Svalbard via the West Spitsbergen Current—the northernmost branch of the Gulf Stream. UNIS is one of the few institutions that monitors year-round changes in water masses and the composition of biological species.

From course activities to space flight communications

Anbudskonkurranse på kantinedrift i Forskningsparken

Universitetssenteret på Svalbard (UNIS) inviterer interesserte leverandører til å inngi tilbud på drift av kantinen ved Forskningsparken. Vi ønsker en samarbeidspartner som kan tilby våre studenter, ansatte og gjester et sunt, variert og smakfullt mattilbud – både til lunsjservering, catering og hyttemat.

Svalbardseminaret live stream

To dedikerte Svalbard-venner og publikumsfavoritter går på scenen for å avslutte årets Svalbardseminar. Samtidig markerer vi starten på et jubileumsår – 100 år siden Norge formelt overtok suvereniteten over øygruppen gjennom Svalbardtraktaten, som trådte i kraft 14. august 1925.

Svalbardseminaret 2025

The annual seminar series Svalbardseminaret starts on Tuesday 14 January and runs twice a week until 28 January. Note that all lectures are only given in Norwegian.

Extended collaboration to ensure future recruitment

Director Jøran Moen of the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and Director Camilla Brekke of the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) recently signed a renewed collaboration agreement between the institutions. The agreement builds on an already strong partnership and aims to secure a steady and sustainable recruitment of highly qualified candidates for polar research.

Apply for Eli and Jens Eggvins grant

Are you from Northern Norway and passionate about a career in marine research?

Acclaimed snow conference holds post-excursion at UNIS

UNIS and the Arctic Safety Centre are hosting a large post-excursion with participants from three different continents: Australia, the USA, and Europe.

Svalbardseminaret 2024

The annual seminar series Svalbardseminaret starts on Tuesday 16 January and runs twice a week until 30 January. Note that all lectures are only given in Norwegian.

UNIS Christmas Calendar

Get ready for daily updates this festive season with our Christmas Calendar research quiz!

CanSats, Drones, and Spectacular Views

Lisa Baddeley is a professor in Space physics – radar applications at UNIS, and for many years, she led the field work AGF-223 at Breinosa. Now, she wants to say hello to her colleagues taking over the lecturing, and I and Walter, the dog, are lucky to tag along.

Student involvement contributes to enhanced learning experience

Students as partners is a buzzword in academia, and for many years UNIS has been working on the topic, but what does the term mean, and how can one practically facilitate student involvement and partnerships in everyday study life? We had a talk with both staff and students to learn more about the initiatives UNISbreakfast and UNISprout.

Scientists and local community explore new mystery aurora together

In a new project supported by the Research Council of Norway, aurora scientists and enthusiasts come together to join forces.

The Arctic Field Grant call opened 4 October

NOK 6 millions is available for fieldwork in Svalbard (including Bjørnøya and Hopen) and Jan Mayen. 

UNIS 30

I forbindelse med at UNIS fyller 30 år, åpner vi dørene for å vise det beste av vår forskning. Du kan forvente eksperimenter, kule premier, beltevognkjøring, skredsøker-jakt, og mye, mye mer!

Svea – a window of opportunity for Unis

This fall marks 107 years since Swedish miners established Svea at the head of Van Mijenfjorden in Svalbard. From the winter 2024, research will take over and a new chapter in the history of Svea will begin. If we seize the opportunities now, Svea could become an essential showcase for UNIS.

Two excellent papers from the UNIS geology team

On the onset of hyper-aridity in East Antarctica and the digitization of the renowned Festningen section in the outer part of Isfjorden.

Extra podcast episode: large extinct marine reptiles on Svalbard

Why are there so many marine reptiles to be found on Svalbard? How old is the oldest ichthyosaur ever? And what in the world is a “krafse”?

With love for Svalbard

Cecilie H. von Quillfeldt's love for the archipelago started in the mid-80s when she came as a student in marine biology. She has been hooked ever since. Almost forty years later, she still gets euphoric talking about Svalbard.

Call for Applications for the NVP Summer School in Svalbard 2023

The Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research (NVP), in cooperation with The University Centre in Svalbard, are pleased to announce that applications for the NVP Summer School 2023 are now open.

Tiny technology to outwit deadly winter threat

Local experts and organisations have developed a new avalance monitor system to mitigate a growing danger.

The global Arctic

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“.

Samarbeid om fornybar energi i Longyearbyen

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.

GoNorth: Returning with a trove of data

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.

Prestigious award to Arctic permafrost project led by UNIS

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.

New learning spaces

In September, new student learning spaces were opened on the ground floor in the student housing at Elvesletta – opening up for more collaborative work.

Blog from the field

Join Arctic Safety student Fabienne Mannherz for an excursion to Sarkofagen.

Melt down of the Arctic Ocean: Dead end or new opportunities?

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.

Another species named after Professor Coulson

UNIS professor Steve Coulson has yet another mite species named after him. The Platynothrus coulsoni is the fifth (!) species named in his honour.

Observing Arctic marine life — from the seabed to space

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.

Science communication with a view

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.

Sveinung Løset Awarded Clarkson University Honorary Degree

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.

The ocean’s role in a warming Arctic 

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.

Monitoring the snow cornices on Gruvefjellet

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.

Robotic mapping of Svalbard’s marine forest

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.

Jump straight into it – a year at UNIS

Svalbard as testing ground

Kongsfjorden’s Wingman