Organisation
The University Centre in Svalbard AS (UNIS) is a state-owned limited corporation, owned and administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research (Kunnskapsdepartementet – KD).
The UNIS Board of Directors
The Board of Directors (Board) is the highest organisational body at UNIS and has the overall responsibility for the management of the company.
The Board of Directors has 11 members, of which four Norwegian universities are represented: the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), University of Oslo (UiO), University of Bergen (UiB) and UiT The Arctic University of Norway, in addition to three external members, three employee representatives and one student representative.
| Name | From |
|---|---|
| Robert Bjerknes (Chair) | University of Bergen |
| Kjerstin Askholt (Deputy Chair) | The Police |
| Brit Lisa Skjelkvåle | University of Oslo |
| Siri Kalvig | Nysnø |
| Arne Oskar Smalås | UiT – The Arctic University of Norway |
| Roger Midtstraum | NTNU |
| Karine Margrethe Hauan | Longyearbyen Local Council |
| Kåre Johansen | Employee representative |
| Janne Søreide | Employee representative |
| Knut Ivar Lindland Tveit | Employee representative |
| Oliver Hyatt Rapp | Student representative |
| None | Observer |
The election regulations for staff representatives are available in Norwegian.
Minutes from the General Assembly:
- Minutes from the 2024 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2023 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2022 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2021 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2020 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2019 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2018 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2017 General Assembly
- Minutes from the 2016 General Assembly
Management
UNIS is led by director, Jøran I. Moen.
The leader group at UNIS is an advisory body for the director, and shall contribute to the sharing of information, cooperation and collaboration between the departments as well as interdisciplinary activities for the development of the company’s research and educational activities. The director decides who makes up the leader group at any given time.
UNIS organisation chart
UNIS in the Svalbard Science Centre
UNIS is the core institution of the Svalbard Science Centre, an international Arctic centre of expertise in research and education, which also incorporates other professional and scientific institutions in Svalbard, such as The Norwegian Polar Institute, EISCAT and Svalbard Science Forum.
The 12,000 square meter Svalbard Science Centre, inaugurated in April 2006, is a modern building with optimal conditions for education and research linked to Arctic nature. The Svalbard Science Centre also houses Svalbard Museum, the Norwegian Polar Institute‘s Svalbard office, SIOS, and Svalbard Science Forum, and is a centre of competence for Arctic research, teaching and logistics.