University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway

The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (Norwegian: Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet; Northern Sami: Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta) is a state university in Norway and the world's northernmost university. Located in the city of Tromsø, Norway, it was established by an act of parliament in 1968 as Norway's fourth university, and opened in 1972 as University of Tromsø. As of 2024, it is the largest research and educational institution in Northern Norway and the fifth-largest university in Norway. The university's location makes it a natural venue for the development of studies of the region's natural environment, culture, and society.

The main focus of the university's activities is on auroral light research, space science, fishery science, biotechnology, linguistics, mathematics, multicultural societies, Saami culture, telemedicine, epidemiology and a wide spectrum of Arctic research projects. The close vicinity of the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research and the Polar Environmental Centre gives Tromsø added weight and importance as an international centre for Arctic research. Research activities, however, are not limited to Arctic studies. The university researchers work within a broad range of subjects and are recognised both nationally and internationally.

History

Mergers

On 1 January 2009, the University of Tromsø merged with Tromsø University College. The college's teacher education department (the descendant of the Tromsø Seminarium first established in 1848) became part of the university's department of education and pedagogy. On 1 August 2013, the university merged with Finnmark University College to form Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet (The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway), thereby adding campuses in Alta, Hammerfest, and Kirkenes. On 1 January 2016, Narvik University College and Harstad University College merged with UiT - The Arctic University of Norway. As of September 2024 the university has eleven campus locations in northern Norway, the main campus being Tromsø.

Spy case in 2022

In October 2022 a guest researcher at UiT was arrested by the Norwegian Police Security Service and charged with espionage against Norway. The researcher posed as a Brazilian researcher named José Assis Giammaria, but later revealed that he is a Russian citizen by the name Mikhail Valerijevitsj Mikusjin.

Mikusjin is a suspected illegalist who worked for the Russian intelligence service GRU.

International collaboration

UiT is an active member of the University of the Arctic. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.

The university also participates in UArctic's mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.

Faculties and other units

The university is primarily divided into six faculties with multiple subordinate departments and several associated centres.

The university is host to the iC3 Polar Research Hub, a Norwegian Centre of Excellence that produces ground-breaking insights into how the links between ice sheets, carbon cycles and ocean ecosystems are impacting life on earth. As of late 2024, the interdisciplinary centre consisted of 46 scientists including 25 early career researchers.

Honorary doctors

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received an honorary doctorate at the University of Tromsø in 2011 for having secured an agreement on the dividing line in the Barents Sea but lost his status after 28 February 2022 due to a board decision related to his co-responsibility for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Notable faculty

• Nils Jernsletten (born 1934), professor of Sámi and editor of Sámi newspaper Ságat (1964–1966)
• Kirsten Simonsen (born 1946), Danish geographer and sociologist
• Jelena Porsanger (born 1967), Russian Sami ethnographer, university rector
• Hans Munthe-Kaas (born 1961), Norwegian mathematician, former leader of the Abel price committee

Notable alumni

• Monica Kristensen Solås (born 1950), glaciologist, meteorologist, polar explorer and crime novelist
• Svein-Erik Hamran (born 1960), led the development of the RIMFAX for the Mars rover Perseverance
• Sandra Márjá West (born 1990), politician and festival manager of Riddu Riđđu
• Marianne Haukland (born 1989), politician and member of the Standing Committee on Family and Cultural Affairs
• Ine Eriksen Søreide (born 1976), politician, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and leader of the Conservative Party in Norway
• Gunvor Guttorm (born 1958) Sami artist, art historian and academic

Logo

The ravens in the university's logo are Huginn and Muninn. In Norse mythology, Hugin and Munin travel the world for Odin, bringing him news and information. Huginn represents thought and Muninn memory. Ravens are an early Norse symbol, used, for example, on the raven banner.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)