The “blue” university

The University of Bergen is a young and modern university. Nevertheless, we offer the same traditional, classic programmes of study as most institutions throughout Europe.

With around 16,000 students and 2,500 academic and administrative staff, we are a medium-sized university, while our city-centre location means that we are also an urban university, with our activities intimately woven into the geographical, historical and cultural tapestry of Bergen.

Universities have a two-fold role. On the one hand, they must satisfy society’s need for highly educated academic professionals. On the other, they should act as arenas for the voicing of independent critical observations of that very same society.

The University of Bergen

· aims to be a meeting place where ideas and knowledge can be exchanged, as well as a gateway to new thinking and development

· recognises that knowledge crosses all borders – between countries and cultures and between traditional disciplines

· commits itself to achieving and maintaining an international reputation of high standard

We focus in particular on the marine environment. This point of interest derives naturally from the University of Bergen ’s geographical location and the University has gained international recognition in this fi eld. Since marine science is one of our main priority areas we are often described as the “blue” university. Other areas in which the University of Bergen is particularly active are informatics, including bioinformatics, and development projects in medicine and social sciences, as well as cancer, virology and vaccine research in medicine.

We participate in a number of cooperative programmes at national and international level, and we are particularly well known for our collaboration with universities in developing countries. Our commitment to international cooperation involves participation in networks and collaborative projects, as well as exchanges of academic staff with a number of respected institutions in Europe and North America . Since the 1980s, the University has also prioritised development -support programmes in third-world countries.

We also participate in a number of interdisciplinary cooperative projects with institutions in Africa , Asia and Latin-America. The principal topics of these areas are water and natural resources management, epidemiology, health and poverty research.

Since 1992, Makerere University in Uganda and the University of Bergen have put a great deal of collaborative effort into rebuilding Makerere’s scientifi c competence and capacity. We have committed ourselves to a wide-ranging cooperative programme with Makerere University, which will continue until 2014.

The University has seven faculties, each of which comprises several departments, centres and research institutions. The University is spread over two main campuses. One of these, Årstadvollen, is our health sciences campus, which includes Haukeland University Hospital and Haraldsplass University Clinic. The other is Nygårdshøyden, which lies on a hill close to the city centre.

UNIFOB is the University of Bergen ’s research company. It is the University’s principal mechanism and preferred partner for running externally fi nanced research and development projects. UNIFOB’s centres perform research and related activities that span all the disciplines studied by the University’s departments.

The University of Bergen and the Institute of Marine Research have been designated European Research Centres in marine biology. From 1996 until 1998 the University was a Centre of Excellence for post-doctoral training in marine biology.

Many of the research laboratories and facilities of the University and the Institute of Marine Research form part of the European Research Infrastructure (Large-Scale Facilities) Programme, which gives scientists from other countries access to high-quality research facilities.

The Bergen Open Research Archive, BORA, ia digital repository of research output from research institutions in the Bergen area. Contained here are full-text peer-reviewed journal reprints, theses, dissertations and other digital research materials. BORA is part of a world-wide network of Open Access Archives.

Back to front page

To order a free example of the paper edition of Features, contact the Communication and Media Centre either by e.mail or telephone +47 55 58 69 00