Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway) National Budget: “A budget we can live with”

Rector Anne Borg says preliminary calculations show NTNU will probably break even compared with last year’s budget. This is something NTNU can live with, in the situation now facing Norway and the world.

The National Budget for 2023 was presented on Thursday morning, with both positive signals and some aspects that cause more concern. Overall calculations show that the budget presented today is fairly similar to what it was for 2022.

The Government proposes just over NOK 1.1 billion for the construction project, equipment and fixtures for the Ocean Space Centre, and NOK 73 million for the pre-project for campus unification. This is more or less as expected.

Projects for the future

“I am glad that the Government is investing in knowledge, and has allocated pre-project funding for NTNU’s campus unification, and the Ocean Space Centre. The campus unification is Norway’s most important investment in what we will live on in the future and the new green industries. The project will bring together students from the humanities, social sciences, technology and health, and this union will be the basis for how we set up the education of the future. With 73 million, work on the pre-project managed by Statsbygg can continue,” says Borg.

The Government proposes reversing study places that were granted temporarily in 2020. At NTNU, this affects 444 study places.

“This has a particular impact on our study programmes in nursing, teacher education and engineering.  At the same time, we see a cut in the allocations for energy research in the budget from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. We are in an energy crisis, and there is a pressing need for more technology graduates and more research for us to succeed with the transition,” says Borg.

Research

In the National Budget, the Government proposes that international students should pay to study in Norway. Borg believes it is important to preserve the principle of free education.

“Free education is one of the most important principles underpinning Norwegian education. It is important to safeguard this principle, to ensure that each individual has opportunities to get an education, whatever their economic background,” says Borg.

The Rector is relieved over the news that the Research Council of Norway will be given time and flexibility, so that they avoid the need to take further steps that would be challenging for research activities at NTNU.