The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU; ) is a public research university in Norway and the largest in terms of enrollment. The university's headquarters is located in Trondheim, with regional campuses in Gjøvik and Ålesund.
NTNU was inaugurated by the King-in-Council in 1996 as a result of the merger of the former University of Trondheim and other university-level institutions, with roots dating back to 1760. Later, some former university colleges were also incorporated. Depending on the ranking publication, the university typically ranks within a range of 101 and 400 globally. As of November 2022, the university boasts an approximate 9,000 employees and 42,000 students.
NTNU has the main national responsibility for education and research in engineering and technology. This is likely attributable to the fact that it is the successor of Norway's pre-eminent engineering university, the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) which was established by Parliament in 1910 as Norway's national engineering university. In addition to engineering and natural sciences, the university offers higher education in other academic disciplines ranging from medicine, psychology, social sciences, the arts, teacher education, architecture and fine art. The university's academics include three Nobel laureates in physiology or medicine: Edvard Moser, May-Britt Moser and John O'Keefe.
History
NTNU is a young institution with a long history. The university, in its current form, was established in 1996 by the merger of six research and higher education institutions in Trondheim, as follows:
Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH), established in 1910 Museum of Natural History and Archaeology (VM), established in 1767 Norwegian College of General Sciences (AVH), established in 1922 Faculty of Medicine (DMF), established in 1975 Trondheim Academy of Fine Art (KiT), established in 1987 Trondheim Conservatory of Music, established in 1973
Prior to the merger, NTH, NLHT, DMF, and VM together constituted the University of Trondheim, which was a much looser organization. However, the university's root goes back to 1760, with the foundation of Det Trondhiemske Selskab (Trondheim Academy), which in 1767 became the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.
The engineering education in Trondheim began with Trondhjems Tekniske Læreanstalt (Trondheim Technical College) in 1870, and in 1910, Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) opened officially. In 2010, NTNU celebrated the 250th anniversary of Trondheim Academy. NTNU also celebrated the 100th anniversary of NTH in the same year. The centennial was also celebrated by the publication of several books, among them a history of the university, entitled "Turbulens og tankekraft. Historien om NTNU" which translates as "Turbulence and mindpower: The history of NTNU".
1700s Det Trondhiemske Selskab (Trondheim Academy), Norway's first academic society, was founded in 1760. In 1767, it changed its name to the Royal Norwegian Society of Science and Letters (DKNVS) upon receiving recognition from the Danish-Norwegian king. DKNVS library – today known as NTNU Gunnerus Library – was founded in 1768, and is Norway's oldest library.
1800s First proposal for a Norwegian Polytechnical Institute was made in 1833. Trondhjems Tekniske Læreanstalt (Trondheim Technical College) or TTL was founded in 1870. The newly formed school educated engineers of various fields. In 1898, TTL moved to a larger building in Munkegata. TTL was disbanded in the 1900s, giving a way to a Norwegian Institute of Technology.
1900–1968 In 1900, the Norwegian Parliament passed a resolution supporting the establishment of Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) in Trondheim. NTH was officially opened on 15 September 1910. Five academical departments were originally present in the parliament's resolution of 31 May 1900, such as Architecture and Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (a. General and b. Naval, i.e. ship and ship engine construction), Electrical engineering, and Chemistry (a. General and b. Electro-chemistry).
In 1922, Norwegian College of Teaching in Trondheim (NLHT) opened at Lade gård.
In 1950, Stiftelsen for industriell og teknisk forskning (Industrial and Technical Research Centre) or SINTEF was founded as part of NTH and as its link to Norwegian industry.
1968–1996 The University of Trondheim (UNiT) was established in 1968, and the Department of Medicine (later the Faculty of Medicine) was established as part of UNiT in 1974. It was designed by the architect Henning Larsen. In 1984, NLHT also absorbed the Norwegian College of General Sciences (AVH) as part of UNiT.
1996–2016 On 1 January 1996, the University of Trondheim became the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). As early as 1989, NTH Rector Karsten Jakobsen had broached the idea of a Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. On 21 March 1995 the Parliament, with barely a majority after a long debate, decided to establish NTNU in Trondheim. In 2012 the popular trivia game Kahoot was founded in by Johan Brand, Jamie Brooker and Morten Versvik in a joint project with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. They teamed up with Professor Alf Inge Wang and were later joined by Norwegian entrepreneur Åsmund Furuseth.
2016–present In 2014, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research asked the country's universities and university colleges to provide suggestions, observations, and ideas for rebuilding Norway's institutions of higher education. The context of the request was that the Norwegian government wanted to cut back on the number of institutions in the sector.
The NTNU board decided on 28 January 2015 to merge NTNU with the University Colleges of Sør-Trøndelag, Ålesund and Gjøvik to form a new university that would retain the university's current name, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The merger, which went into effect in January 2016, made NTNU Norway's largest single university.
Campus
NTNU has several campuses in Trondheim; Gløshaugen – for engineering and natural sciences – and Dragvoll – for humanities and social sciences – are the main two campuses. Other campuses include Tyholt for marine technology, Øya for medicine, Kalvskinnet for archaeology, Midtbyen for the music conservatory and Nedre Elvehavn for the art academy. NTNU Gløshaugen is an artistic combination of historical NTH buildings and modern buildings. Combined, the campuses span a total area of 734,000 m2.
In addition to NTNU, the following research institutes are located at Gløshaugen, and cooperate closely with NTNU in several areas of research and development:
SINTEF, since its establishment in 1950, has its main departments at Gløshaugen. SINTEF was originally founded by NTH, but since 1980 has been an independent research institute.
In 1998, the Paper and Fibre Research Institute (PFI), an independent research institute, moved into a new building at Gløshaugen, relocating from Gaustad in Oslo.
In April 2013, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) moved into a new building south of the Natural Science building. NINA often works closely with SINTEF and NTNU.
NTNU has long considered the possibility of bringing the two largest campuses together at or near NTNU's Gløshaugen campus. In 2013, the Rector initiated a vision project and charged it with defining different perspectives on future development in a 50-year perspective. The same year, 2013, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research initiated a choice of concept study for the future co-localization of NTNU's two main campuses in Trondheim. The reports were presented in 2014, and both recommended bringing Dragvoll and Gløshaugen together, and better integrating them with the city. A unanimous NTNU board endorsed the recommendations in the vision report.
Merger On 1 January 2016, the merger between NTNU and the university colleges in Gjøvik, Ålesund, and Sør-Trøndelag officially entered into force, and NTNU consequently had campuses in Ålesund and Gjøvik, as well as in Trondheim. 2016 was also a transitional year in terms of NTNU's leadership. On 24 November 2015 the new Board met for the first time. It was then extended to include board members from each of the three former university colleges and an external representative appointed by the Ministry of Education.
Organization NTNU is governed by a board of 11 members, in accordance with the provisions of the Norwegian Act relating to universities and university colleges. Two of the members are elected by and from the students.
NTNU's overall budget in 2023 was 11 billion NOK, most of which came from the Norwegian Ministry of Education.
As a result of the university merger in 2016, the number of NTNU faculties increased from seven to nine – including the University Museum – with approximately 39,000 students and approximately 2,500 PhD students. The eight NTNU faculties are organized in 55 departments:
Faculty of Architecture and Design The Faculty of Architecture and Design has four departments: Department of Architecture and Planning Department of Architecture and Technology Department of Design Trondheim Academy of Fine Art
Faculty of Humanities The Faculty of Humanities has seven departments: Department of Art and Media Studies Department of Historical and Classical Studies Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture Department of Language and Literature Department of Modern History and Society Department of Music Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering The Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering has seven departments: Department of Computer Science Department of Electric Energy Department of Electronic Systems Department of Engineering Cybernetics Department of ICT and Natural Sciences (in Ålesund) Department of Information Security and Communication Technology Department of Mathematical Sciences
Faculty of Engineering The Faculty of Engineering has eight departments: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Energy and Process Engineering Department of Geoscience and Petroleum Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering (in Gjøvik) Department of Marine Technology Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering (in Ålesund) Department of Structural Engineering
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences The Faculty is integrated with St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, and is located in Campus Øya in Trondheim. Its main areas of research are translational research, medical technology and health surveys, biobanks and registers. In 2016 the faculty had about 350 master's degree students, 250 bachelor's degree students, 720 medical students and more than 500 students attending other courses.
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences has eight departments: Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine Department of Health Sciences in Gjøvik Department of Health Sciences in Ålesund Department of Mental Health Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science Department of Public Health and Nursing Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience
Faculty of Natural Sciences The Faculty of Natural Sciences has eight departments: Department of Biological Sciences Ålesund Department of Biology Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science Department of Biotechnology and Food Science Department of Chemical Engineering Department of Chemistry Department of Materials Science and Engineering Department of Physics
Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences The Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences has seven departments: Department of Education and Lifelong Learning Department of Geography Department of Psychology