Longyearbyen · 78.22 N 15.63 E

Svalbard Wire

Est. 2026

Everything said about Svalbard, in one place

Tuesday 2 June 2026Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026History section

Back to the history of Svalbard

The modern town, 1993

UNIS is founded

Svalbard WireHistoryArticle by the Wire from 4 works, 338 words.

University Centre, a red-brown building in Longyearbyen standing below snowy mountains on a bright sunny day.
The University Centre in Svalbard, UNIS, in Longyearbyen below snowy mountains. File picture, June 2015. Photo: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

University studies on Svalbard, known as UNIS (the University Centre in Svalbard), were established in 1993, and Store norske leksikon places the institution in Longyearbyen, where its article on the town lists UNIS, Universitetssenteret på Svalbard, as a foundation. The lexicon says UNIS is the world's northernmost institution for education and research. Its article on Universitetssenteret på Svalbard gives the same year and places UNIS in Longyearbyen, at 78 degrees north.

Susan Barr's historical overview in the lexicon lists the creation of UNIS under 1993, in the same period as Stortingsmelding nr. 50 (1990 to 1991), which named tourism as one of several alternative industries on Svalbard. The lexicon's article on Longyearbyen, also by Barr, names UNIS among the town's institutions, together with Sysselmesteren (the Governor of Svalbard), the hospital, the schools, EISCAT Svalbard Radar Station, SvalSat and the global seed vault.

The UNIS website reported in 2018 that the institution had a modest start in 1993, as a course for a few Norwegian students. According to the site, the Norwegian Minister of Education and Integration said at the 25th anniversary that UNIS had grown into a university centre with research of world standard and students from the whole world. He called UNIS by far the largest scientific institution on Svalbard and said it plays a central part in the international science community of the archipelago.

The site says the anniversary celebration began on 19 October with a seminar, where the minister took part together with rectors and deans from mainland universities. He described what the Ministry expects of UNIS in the years ahead, and noted that the Government's strategy on higher education and research on Svalbard names UNIS as its institution for higher education. An Open Day followed, and about 300 people came.

The minister said that the 25 years since 1993 had laid a foundation for further work in research and education at UNIS. Among the gifts to UNIS was a scholarship scheme of NOK 250,000 for young researchers, given by the Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund.

Based on 4 works, listed under Sources.

Back to the history of Svalbard