Apply for a summer research project within the field of sustainable energy, climate and environment

There are a total of 20 different projects that you can apply for. You will find the projects as well as the application form under "List of summer research projects that you can apply for". 

To be eligible to apply, you must be:

• A bachelor¡¯s student currently enrolled in the final year of your program at the University of Oslo, or
• A master's student in either the first or second year of your program at the University of Oslo 

Exchange students at the University of Oslo are not eligible to apply.

Students selected for a research project will perform research addressing sustainable energy, climate and environment issues under supervision of research groups working within the topic at the University of Oslo. Students who get assigned to a project will receive a stipend of NOK 50 000. The stipend will be subject to tax according to general Norwegian tax law.

Info about the summer research project

• Students are expected to work for 6 weeks full-time equivalents.
  • Reduced time per week down to 50% for 12 weeks can be accepted in some projects. 
• Students selected for a research project will each receive a stipend of NOK 50 000. The stipend will be subject to tax according to general Norwegian tax law. Each student is responsible for providing the necessary tax information. The stipend is paid after confirmation that the student has started the project. 
• There will be a closing event on October 13. Students will present their projects and findings. 
• Students that previously have received an UiO:Energy and Environment summer research project are not eligible for a second project.

Selection of candidates

• Students currently enrolled in their last year of a bachelor program, a master program (first and second year) or a relevant professional degree program at the University of Oslo can apply for the announced research projects.
• The final selection of candidates will be done by the project owner/supervisor and UiO:Energy and Environment, based on the following criteria:
  • Letter of motivation
  • Professional/academic background
  • Grades

Frequently asked questions

• Do I need to upload my transcript of records in the application form?
  • No, you do not need to upload your transcript of records in the application form. We can access your grades through our system. However, please ensure you include your student number in the application form.
• Many of the summer projects looks interesting. Am I allowed to apply for several projects?
  • Yes, absolutely. If you meet the preferred academic background, feel free to apply for different projects. If you are offered a project, you will only be able to participate in that particular project. It is not possible to take part in multiple summer projects simultaneously.
• How do I apply?
  • Each project has a specific application form located below its description. To apply, simply click on the project you are interested in and then select the "Apply here" box to access the application form. 
• Do I have to work during the summer break?
  • Ideally, we would like the research period to be during summer recess; however, each project has distinct start and end dates. Please see "Expected research period" section for details on when each project is scheduled to take place.
• Is it obligatory to attend the closing event on October 13?
  • No, but we hope you have the time to attend. This is a great way to showcase your findings and your experience with other students. 
• When will I receive the stipend payment?
  • You will receive this once your supervisor has confirmed that you have started.
• Do I have to pay tax on the 50 000NOK?
  • Yes, you do. The stipend will be subject to tax according to general Norwegian tax law. Each student is responsible for providing the necessary tax information.

List of summer research projects that you can apply for:

1: Energy-efficient and Scalable ML (Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisor: Ali Ramezani-Kebry
• Project suitable for: Master student.

• Number of students on the project: 2

• Preferred academic background: Machine learning, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics.
• Expected research period: The project period is flexible and will be determined collaboratively between the supervisor and the selected student.

Apply here

2: 2050+ Climate Imaginaries in Norway (Social Science)

• Project description
• Supervisor: Manjana Milkoreit
• Project suitable for: Master student
• Number of students on the project: 1
• Preferred academic background: Master student in the social sciences, e.g., Human Geography, Political Science, or Psychology, with some experience with qualitative and/or computational methods, data organization, Excel, NVivo.
• Expected research period: April 1 to June 28 (6 weeks or 12 weeks with 50% possible).

Apply here

3: Songs of Earth - Film Impacts on Human-Nature Relations (Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Manjana Milkoreit.
• Project suitable for: Master student.
• Number of students on the project: 1
• Preferred academic background: Master student in the social sciences, e.g., human geography, political science, or psychology, with some experience with survey and statistical methods, data organization, Excel.
• Expected research period: April 1 to June 28 (6 weeks or 12 weeks with 50% possible).

Apply here

4: Utvikling av EVU: Design for l?ring og omstilling (Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Ole Sm?rdal og Anja Amundrud
• Project suitable for: Bachelor eller masterstudent
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: Studenter med interesse for b?rekraftig utvikling, demokratiutvikling, medborgerskap, og/eller praksisutvikling, og som vil v?re med p? ? utvikle nye videreutdanningstilbud rettet mot ansatte som jobber med energi-, klima, og milj?omstillinger. Formell bakgrunn er enten opptak til en master i utdanningsfeltet, eller opptak som bachelorstudent i UiOs nye b?rekraftsertifikat. 
• Expected research period: Tidligste start er 1. april. Prosjektet m? v?re ferdigstilt innen 1. oktober.

Apply here

5: Defect engineering in the ultra-wide band gap semiconductor ¦Á-Ga2O3 (Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Javier Garc¨ªa Fern¨¢ndez, ?ystein Prytz and Holger von Wenckstern
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 1
• Preferred academic background: The candidate preferentially has an interest in materials properties, with some laboratory experience. Experience with characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or X-ray diffraction (XRD) are desirable. An interest in thin film growing methods, such as pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) is advantageous.
• Expected research period: June to September.

Apply here

6: Complex Vanadate Thin Films for Next Generation Low-Power Electronic Devices (Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Henrik Hovde S?nsteby
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: Students on the ¡°Renewable Energy and Nanotechnology¡± program (3rd year bachelor¡¯s or master students), or chemistry students with specialization in inorganic chemistry. Some background in thin film deposition techniques would be preferred
• Expected research period: June ¨C August 2025, preferably during the summer vacation when access to relevant infrastructure is easier. The project supervisor will be active at the department for most of the period, and available for supervision throughout the project.

Apply here

7: High-temperature TAP reactor studies of ammonia oxidation (Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Evgeniy Redekop and Daniela Farmer 
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: Experimentalist - chemistry, materials science, catalysis; modeling ¨C physical chemistry, chemical kinetics, mathematical modeling.
• Expected research period: July to August.

Apply here

8: Pavement Pollinators: Discovering the secret lives of wild city bees (Natural Sciences and Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Bastiaan Star and Marianne Strand Torvanger
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 3
• Preferred academic background: Bachelor or master`s students with the following background: ecology/biology, experience/interest in fieldwork, interest in biodiversity research, experience/interest in entomology and biological species identification, interest in public outreach.
• Expected research period: 8 weeks in the period April 1 until mid-August 2025.

Apply here

9: EU energy Policy review for modelling (Natural Sciences and Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Marianne Zeyringer, Javed Muhammad Shahzad and Guillermo Valenzuela.
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: Renewable Energy Systems, Computational Science, Mathematics, Physics, Economics or equivalent. Students having experience with coding (for data visualization/compiling) will be preferred but not necessary.
• Expected research period: Part-time April to November.

Apply here

10: SAMWIND- a mixed methods approach on wind power feasibility (Social Sciences and Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Paola Velasco Herrej¨®n and Marianne Zeyringer. For the modelling, Guillermo Valenzuela and Shahzad Javed will be co-supervising. 
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the projects: 3
• Preferred academic background: 
  • Project 1: Psychology, Development, Environmental Sciences, Human Geography, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Economics, Political Science or closely related subject areas.
    • Experience in field data collection and analysis (desired)
    • Experience using NVIVO (desired)
  • Project 2: Renewable Energy, Physics, Computational Science, Informatics, Mathematics or other quantitative background. Coding experience (e.g. Python)
  • Experience with data handling, especially spatial data (desired)
• Expected research period: The projects will ideally start from mid May 2025, but can also begin during the summer recess.

Apply here

11: A Digital Minerals Library for the Twin Transition (Natural Sciences and Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Maja Van Der Velden and Andrea Alessandro Gasparini
• Project suitable for: Master student.
• Number of students on the projects: 4
• Preferred academic background: We are looking for an interdisciplinary team of master students with one or more of the following backgrounds/skills: Design background, such as user experience (UX) or interaction design - HTML skills - Visualisation skills - Interdisciplinary background or interest to work in an interdisciplinary team - Interest in digitalisation, energy transition, sustainability, Anthropocene, just transition, minerals, etc. A variety of backgrounds are of interest for this project: anthropology, chemistry, (human) geography, geology, informatics, sociology, etc
• Expected research period: Six weeks in the period June 1 until mid-August.

Apply here

12: Data visualization of energy system model results (Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Marianne Zeyringer, Javed Muhammad Shahzad and Guillermo Valenzuela.
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the projects: 1
• Preferred academic background: Computational Science, Informatics, Mathematics, Physics, Energy Systems or similar. Having experience with Python coding will be mandatory.
• Expected research period: Part-time May to October.

Apply here

13: Mapping actors, innovations and marketing strategies in the global alternative protein market (Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Arve Hansen, Ulrikke Wethal and Johannes Volden
• Project suitable for: Master student.
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: Preferred applicants are students enrolled in Master Programmes at UiO departments. The assignment is open to all candidates with at least one year of studies at the Masters level. Interested candidates must submit a statement of purpose/motivation and an overview of academic records and background. 
• Expected research period: The work is to take place principally in the summer of 2025 (preferably beginning in early June) and the report is to be submitted by September 1 to Hansen/Wethal/Volden. The scope corresponds to six weeks¡¯ full-time work, but the work can also be spread over a longer period according to the applicant¡¯s suited timeframe..

Apply here

14: Navigating Energy Sovereignty: Insights from the Svalbard Continental Shelf (Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: 
• Project suitable for: Master student.
• Number of students on the project: 4
• Preferred academic background: Law students with an interest in international law, energy law, and Arctic governance. Background in maritime law, sovereignty issues, or natural resource law is advantageous.
• Expected research period: Preferable over the summer.

Apply here

15: Nuclear Propulsion (Natural Sciences and Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Sunniva Siem, Ole Reistad and Sunniva Rose.
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 4
• Preferred academic background: 
  • Physics and informatics. Understanding and interest in physics and programming is important.
  • Law student. Understanding and interest in laws and policies related to energy production, preferably also nuclear energy.
• Expected research period: Six week duration beginning at any time between April 1 and September 15.

Apply here

16: Extractivism and Climate Change: A Cultural-Historical Study of Svalbard During the Late Modern Warm Period (1970¨C2025) (Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Dominik Collet
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: History, Climate/Environmental history, Philosophy.
• Expected research period: July to September.

Apply here

17: Towards novel electrocatalysts: Meeting the challenge to convert biogas into-methanol (Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Petra Agota Szilagyi and Ken Luca Abel.
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 1
• Preferred academic background: Chemistry/Materials Sciences
• Expected research period: Between mid-July to end of August.

Apply here

18: Sound and the sociomaterial: Acoustic methods and hydroelectric power in Norway (Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Andrea Nightingale and Steve Williams.
• Project suitable for: Master student.
• Number of students on the project: 1
• Preferred academic background: Master student in the social sciences, e.g., human geography, political science, or environmental science, with some experience with survey and interview methods, data organization, Excel. Experience with acoustic methods (soundscapes, field recording, audio editing) would be beneficial.
• Expected research period: July 1 to mid-August (six weeks full time).

Apply here

19: Little Ice Age (LIA) ¨C a cold long lasting climate crisis and its impacts on Scandinavian society (Natural Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Kirstin Kr¨¹ger
• Project suitable for: Master student.
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: Climate, Atmosphere, Ocean-Sea Ice, Environment, Society
• Expected research period: June - September 2025

Apply here

20: The Sustainability of High-rise Buildings (Social Sciences)

• Project description
• Supervisors: Tanja Winther and Per Gunnar R?e
• Project suitable for: Students at bachelor and master level.
• Number of students on the project: 2
• Preferred academic background: Human geography and similar social science disciplines (including sociology, anthropology and political science), as well as master candidates in Development, Environment and Cultural Change. Students must have proficiency in a Scandinavian language, to be able to read documents and web pages in Norwegian.
• Expected research period: June ¨C September 2025 (tentative)

Apply here

Questions?

Contact Maria Dyvik.