UNIS is the world’s northernmost higher education institution, located in Longyearbyen, Svalbard (78º N).
UNIS is the world’s northernmost higher education institution, located in Longyearbyen, at the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard (78º N). UNIS offers high quality courses at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate level in Arctic Biology, Arctic Geology, Arctic Geophysics and Arctic Technology.
This summer the permafrost summer school went on a boat trip out to Elveneset. The methods they learn are great tools to measure the thaw of our permafrost.
13/06/2026
A beautiful day for fieldwork on Svalbard. This day we joined AG-218, the permafrost summerschool, on their daytrip to Elveneset. There the students got to test out two methods for measuring permafrost and do their own measurements. And here are some snippets from the day! 😍😍
🦌 News from the Tarandus field cabin.
The Tarandus team has now settled into life at the field cabin, but getting there was more challenging than usual for this time of year.
02/06/2026
🎒 New to UNIS and wondering what to bring or what to expect for your autumn semester in Longyearbyen as a student? Or maybe curious to know more about living under the midnight sun and polar night?
Join us for a webinar and chat with current students and staff at UNIS on June 8th from 6 pm. 👩🎓👨🎓
For more information see: https://www.unis.no/news/welcome-to-unis-webinar/
01/06/2026
Som en del av vertskapet sammen UiT Norges arktiske universitet tok UNIS nylig imot åtte amerikanske senatorer på Svalbard. Besøket gikk til Isfjord Radio, hvor målet var å gi senatorene innsikt i klima og forskningen som gjøres i Arktis.
🌱 Sammen med Norges ambassadør i USA, Anniken Huitfeldt, fikk senatorene - både demokrater og republikanere - se klimaendringene på nært hold og muligheten til å lære mer om det sårbare Arktis.
Under besøket deltok Gijs D. Breedveld og UNIS-direktør Jøran Moen som delte kunnskap om forskning og utfordringene Svalbard står overfor i dag innen marinbiologi, klima og energi. Der snakket de også om Norges bidrag til det internasjonale polåret (IPY) og til Polhavet 2050.
🎓 Å dele kunnskap om Arktis er viktig. På Svalbard merkes klimaendringene raskere enn andre steder. Da er dialogen og utvekslingen av kunnskap kanskje viktigere enn noen gang.
Alle foto: Ingrid Ballari Nilssen/UNIS
Lazy days around our campus these days. I wonder what this one is dreaming about. Maybe he is looking forward to our lecture this Thursday about "Animal movement in the Anthropocene", or maybe he's just looking forward to greener slopes in Adventdalen later in season.
What do you think?
28/05/2026
Sharing is caring 🤝🤝
Today Arctic Safety Centre and UNIS together with Visit Svalbard hosted the biannual Field Safety Forum for our local tourist companies. With the goal of sharing knowledge and experiences so everyone can learn and grow from it. 🎓🥾
In this forum field expertise and science are combined to build a solid foundation for safe and respectful travels on Svalbard — and for promoting a responsible and safety-focused tourism industry. 👏👏
27/05/2026
📣 UNIS reporting from Tórshavn!
🎓 Together with around 1,400 researchers, policymakers, students, and Arctic stakeholders, UNIS director Jøran Moen, researcher Maaike Weerdesteijn, and department leader of Academic Affairs, Ane Hammervoll Bjørsvik have traveled to the Faroe Islands for this year's UArctic (University of the Arctic) Congress.
🌍 While attending the congress they are looking forward to engaging in discussions on climate, oceans, sustainable development, and cross-border cooperation. The congress is also an important meeting platform for all the UArctic members, where UNIS is one of 200+ member institutions.
And it seems like they have already made a new friend. 🐏
27/05/2026
How can climate change affect drinking water quality in the Arctic? New research from Longyearbyen’s elevated manganese levels may provide important lessons for municipalities across Norway. In this NRK feature, our postdoctoral researcher Geert Hensgens shares insights from the ongoing research. 🌍
Forsker på de høye verdiene av mangan i drikkevannet i Longyearbyen. Mener norske kommuner kan lære Forskere jobber med å finne svar på hvorfor drikkevannet i Longyearbyen er forurenset. Lokalstyrelederen mener kommuner på fastlandet vil kunne ta lærdom av funnene.
| Monday | 08:30 - 16:00 |
| Tuesday | 08:30 - 16:00 |
| Wednesday | 08:30 - 16:00 |
| Thursday | 08:30 - 16:00 |
| Friday | 08:30 - 16:00 |