Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills

Latest from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills

1. Press release13 Oct 2026

   UiO's CELL wins NOK 1 million Education Quality Prize for student partnerships

   • Student partnerships at CELL – the Centre for Experience-based Legal Education, University of Oslo – won the 2026 Education Quality Prize for Higher Education. The prize is NOK 1 million. Minister Eileen Fugelsnes presented it on 13 October 2026.
   • At CELL, students and staff work together to develop the education. Students have their own roles and responsibilities, such as student centre leader, student project leader and learning assistant.
   Higher education
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2. Report2 Oct 2026

   2026 Update: Higher education recovery post-pandemic with stable academic performance and growth in vocational education, yet mental health and graduate employment challenges remain

   • Applications, credits earned, and fail rates returned to normal levels by 2025, with better grades and more students finishing on time.
   • Students’ satisfaction and motivation stayed steady; mental health improved since the pandemic, loneliness decreased below pre-COVID levels, but psychological difficulties remain higher than before 2020.
   Higher educationMental healthUnemployment
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3. News article30 Sept 2026

   Norway's HK-dir replaces fixed list of seven UVD countries with individual risk assessments from 1 October 2026

   • From 1 October 2026, HK-dir removes the list of seven countries whose citizens were automatically offered an interview instead of a document check when applying for recognition of their higher education qualifications.
   • All applicants must now first try to document their education the standard way. Only if documents are missing, lost or cannot be verified can they be referred to interview-based recognition.
   Higher educationIntegrationMigration
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4. News article29 Sept 2026

   Norway launches first GEO research project after AI search cost public youth sites 3.5 million page views

   • Utdanning.no had 11.5 million page visits in 2025 but only 8 million in 2026. Pages describing jobs fell by 30 percent. Ung.no reports the same trend.
   • The main reason is that Google started showing short AI-written answers directly in search results from May 2025 — so users get an answer without visiting the original website.
   Artificial intelligenceChildren and youthDigitalisation
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5. Press release28 Sept 2026

   Four Norwegian schools win European Erasmus+ awards for 2026

   • Four Norwegian schools receive European prizes for their Erasmus+ projects in 2026: Val skoler, Ingieråsen ungdomsskole and Oslo voksenopplæring Rosenhoff win the innovative teaching award, and Askøy upper secondary wins the language award.
   • Val skoler wins because pupils learn vocational subjects by tackling real tasks – such as sustainable food production and circular use of resources.
   EUSchoolVocational education
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6. Press release27 Sept 2026

   Four in five Norwegian vocational college students are satisfied with their education, regardless of study format

   • A 2026 survey finds that four out of five students at Norwegian vocational colleges (fagskoler — two-year post-secondary schools focused on practical skills) are happy with their education.
   • Three in four students study online or in block sessions rather than attending daily in person. They are just as satisfied as those who study on-site — what matters is good teaching and support, not the format.
   Higher educationVocational educationWork life
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7. Report24 Sept 2026

   Study Barometer 2026 reveals high student satisfaction in vocational colleges, highlights need for improved feedback, information and accommodations

   • More than 10,000 students from 59 vocational colleges responded in 2026, with a 36 % response rate.
   • 79 % are satisfied with their education, especially in health and welfare fields.
   Higher educationVocational education
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8. Report15 Sept 2026

   Young Norwegians want more guidance when choosing education, shaped strongly by family, gender and geography

   • The report was commissioned by the government directorate responsible for higher education. It finds that young people struggle with choosing an education and want more support and guidance along the way.
   • Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with young people and also ran a survey to understand how they think when making educational choices.
   Children and youthHigher education
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9. News article14 Sept 2026

   Young Norwegians want individualised career guidance earlier in their schooling – not just information about study options

   • An ISF report commissioned by HK-dir finds that many young people consider choosing an education to be extremely important and demanding, marked by fear of making the wrong choice, grade pressure, and a sense of bearing the responsibility alone.
   • The report draws on qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey experiment with 70 students enrolled in general studies programmes from Oslo, Mid-Norway and Western Norway; the small sample limits generalisability.
   Children and youthHigher educationSchool
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10. Report25 Aug 2026

    Comprehensive status and risk assessment of security in the higher education sector reveals governance, preparedness, and technical challenges amid foreign threats and digital attacks

    • Universities and colleges are at growing risk of spying and cyberattacks from China, Russia, and Iran, plus threats like radicalization and influence operations.
    • Many institutions have good security plans, but nearly half struggle to incorporate security in leadership and planning.
    Artificial intelligenceChinaCybersecurity
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