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Research

If we are to solve the many challenges facing the world, we need strong research communities covering a wide range of areas.

What we do

UiO is a highly ranked university in Europe and around the world. Our researchers contribute to the work for climate, environment, and sustainability both nationally and internationally.

We work with offshore wind, batteries, solar cells, hydrogen, consumption, climate psychology, climate law, climate philosophy, fair transition, as well as climate and health – and much more.

Flowers in front, researchers behind

Excellent research

Climate, environment, and sustainability are topics for several of UiO’s many excellent research centres.

The research must be innovative and have the potential to produce results that help push the international research front forward.

Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM)

SUM has an international research community with broad expertise in the fields of social and environmental sustainability. The centre uses an interdisciplinary approach to understand local and global challenges and how these can be solved. It was established in 1990 as a direct consequence of the Brundtland report ‘Our Common Future’ on sustainable development.

SUM offers a master’s programme and research training as well as continuing and further education.

Interdisciplinary initiatives

Through interdisciplinary initiatives, UiO will lead the way in the development towards a sustainable society. Here, researchers from across the university gather to find solutions to some of the greatest challenges of our time. 

  • UiO:Energy and Environment 
    • will strengthen interdisciplinary research within the fields of sustainable energy, climate, and the environment
  • UiO:Democracy
    • will strengthen interdisciplinary research within the field of democracy studies 
  • UiO:Life Science
    • will strengthen interdisciplinary research within the fields of health and environment

Our ambitions

The higher education sector has an important social responsibility when it comes to finding good solutions to climate, environment, and sustainability challenges. The University of Oslo will be at the forefront of this work and be a role model for other institutions as well as for society in general.

Among other things, we will:

  • Experiment with new models to bring researchers together across disciplinary and faculty boundaries.
  • Reduce barriers when announcing interdisciplinary and cross-faculty positions.
  • Strengthen opportunities for PhD students to conduct multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research.
  • Further develop interdisciplinary initiatives and link research more closely to teaching within the fields of climate and the environment.
  • Build on high-quality disciplinary research when further developing interdisciplinary initiatives and linking research more closely to teaching within the fields of climate and the environment.