UNIVERSITETET I STAVANGER

Their core work

The University of Stavanger is a Norwegian research university with strong roots in social sciences, humanities, and interdisciplinary research. They specialize in environmental history, citizen science, criminal justice reform, and regional innovation — combining empirical methods with societal impact. UiS also contributes to energy systems research and data science education, reflecting Stavanger's identity as Norway's energy capital. Their work frequently bridges academic disciplines with real-world applications in public policy, environmental citizenship, and community resilience.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), UiS focused on smart cities, energy districts, data science education, and university-industry knowledge transfer — reflecting practical, technology-oriented themes. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted decisively toward environmental humanities, citizen science, interdisciplinary literary studies, and social justice topics (queer history, gender, digital safety for vulnerable groups). This represents a clear institutional pivot from applied technology toward humanities-driven societal research with strong participatory and empirical methods.

UiS is increasingly positioning itself as a humanities-driven university focused on environmental citizenship, social inclusion, and participatory research methods — expect future projects at the intersection of history, ecology, and civic engagement.

How they like to work

UiS balances leadership and participation almost equally (13 coordinated vs 12 as partner), showing confidence in managing projects while remaining a flexible consortium member. Their 165 unique partners across 30 countries indicate a broad, non-repetitive network — they form new partnerships readily rather than relying on a fixed circle. Most coordinated projects are MSCA individual fellowships (relatively small teams), while their participant roles tend to be in larger training networks and research consortia, suggesting they attract talented individual researchers while also contributing to bigger collaborative efforts.

UiS has collaborated with 165 unique partners across 30 countries, making them one of the more internationally connected Norwegian universities in H2020. Their network spans all of Europe with no single dominant geographic cluster, though Nordic and Western European partners are well represented through energy and humanities projects.

What sets them apart

UiS occupies an unusual niche: a university in Norway's energy capital that has pivoted toward environmental humanities and citizen science, creating a rare bridge between energy expertise and humanistic research. Their high ratio of MSCA fellowships (13 of 25 projects) signals strong talent attraction — they are a destination for ambitious early-career researchers. For consortium builders, this means UiS can bring both rigorous social science methodology and genuine public engagement experience, particularly valuable in Horizon Europe missions that demand societal impact alongside technical innovation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Triangulum
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 1.5M) — a flagship smart city demonstration project connecting zero-energy districts with citizen co-creation across European cities.
• EnviroCitizen
  Coordinated by UiS with EUR 665K, this project exemplifies their pivot to citizen science by using backyard birdwatching to cultivate environmental citizenship — a creative blend of ornithology, humanities, and public engagement.
• CLARIFY
  Their most technically ambitious project — applying machine learning, cloud computing, and blockchain to digital pathology and computer-aided diagnosis, showing UiS can contribute to health-tech innovation.