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Every year, companies, municipalities, and organisations submit projects they want UiS students to solve. This gives you the opportunity to tackle real-world challenges and work on genuine issues taken straight from the business world. It also gives you a chance to get a foot in the door and impress a potential future employer.

Remember that your project must fit into your study programme. Talk to a supervisor, student advisor, or other professionals at UiS familiar with your course of study before applying for a project.

View project proposals from academic departments and the business world.

Get support and guidance along the way

The Study Lab at the University Library offers help with academic writing, where you can receive guidance from our student mentors. Get assistance with your writing or book a session for further support.

The Learning Support Centre provides individual guidance to UiS students facing various challenges in their studies, such as dyslexia and/or ADHD. Read about the support available for students with dyslexia or ADHD.

Do you need an analysis tool?

As a student at UiS, you can use the tool Nettskjema for collecting data for your assignments. Read about how to use Nettskjema for your project.

Printing and binding

You can get your student assignment copied and bound at Attende.

What is the difference between a bachelor's and a master's thesis?

You can read about how to approach your bachelor's or master's thesis in Canvas.

Bachelor's thesis

A bachelor's thesis is typically a written in-depth project worth up to 30 credits. Some programs, such as media or arts-based bachelor's degrees, also include a production component as part of the thesis.

At UiS, all study programs and individually selected bachelor tracks, with the exception of law studies, include an independent project of at least 10 credits. This is usually a bachelor's thesis, which is a concluding part of the bachelor's degree.

Master's thesis

A master's thesis is generally a written in-depth project worth between 30 and 60 credits. Some programs, like media or arts-based master's degrees, also include a production component as part of the thesis.

All master's programs at UiS include an independent project worth between 30 and 60 credits. For most programs, this is a master's thesis, which serves as the final part of the degree.

The master's thesis is an independent work where you apply the knowledge gained during your studies to solve a specific problem.

20 years as a university

Prior to that, it was known as Stavanger University College.

In 1966, central politicians in Stavanger decided to regulate 1300 decares, equivalent to about 200 football pitches, at Ullandhaug for a university area. The foundation for the University of Stavanger was laid.

Today, there is a historical aura over the Ullandhaug campus. From here, we look down on Hafrsfjord, where Harald Fairhair swung his sword in 872 and united Norway into one kingdom.

At the same time, students can enjoy an increasingly rich campus experience. Two of the newest additions are the Energy central and the Welfare Building.

Databases and academic sources

Remember to use Remote Access to gain access to our online resources if you are not on campus.

We have an active environment and disposes club premises in room D-120 in Kjølv Egelands hus with associated workplaces for our members. We have students from both bachelor's, master's and PhD levels and maintains a close collaboration with the department.

As a small association, we work actively to take care of our members. Internal lectures and extracurricular gatherings are therefore arranged with a focus on the social.

Each project will receive 300,000 Norwegian kroner.

The projects are as follows:

• User-Centered Models in Health: bridging hospitals, municipalities, and user voices together. Project leader: Professor Tatiana Iakovleva in Entrepreneurship at the University of Stavanger (UiS)
• Nurse-CGA. Project leader: Associate Professor Kristina Sundt Eriksen in Health Sciences at UiS
• EXO - exoskeletons in operating room nursing. Project leader: Irene Sirevåg, PhD candidate in operating room nursing at UiS
• Virtual Reality - simulation for training in joint tapping and joint injections. Project leader: Svein Joar Auglend Johnsen, PhD, specialist in internal medicine and rheumatology. He is a postdoctoral research fellow and consultant at Stavanger University Hospital (SUS)

Read more about the projects below.

– A sustainable healthcare service requires us to utilize the opportunities provided by technology, make the best possible use of and further develop the skills of employees, and solve tasks efficiently, says Line Hurup Thomsen, who is the director of HelseCampus Stavanger.

HelseCampus Stavanger is a platform where various stakeholders come together to create future healthcare services. These stakeholders include healthcare providers, businesses, academia, patients, and caregivers.

– Interdisciplinary collaboration is key to solving the significant challenges ahead of us. The projects that have received funding specifically work across disciplines and organizations, with a focus on service development and digitization, she says.

Digital monitoring of patients in rehabiliation

To alleviate hospitals, patients will have shorter hospital stays in the future. Early discharge of patients requires close collaboration between specialists, primary healthcare professionals, patients, and their families. Digital tools can make follow-up more efficient for healthcare professionals while ensuring safety for patients. The project User-Centered Models in Health: bridging hospitals, municipalities, and user voices together aims to determine how a user-centered care model can be jointly developed by all involved parties.

– We will examine the barriers to digital monitoring and rehabilitation services for patients receiving community-based follow-up after hospitalization. This requires collaboration between municipal sectors, hospitals, innovators, businesses, and most importantly, patients, their families, and healthcare professionals, says project leader Tatiana Iakovleva, who is a professor in entrepreneurship at UiS.

Three questions are central to the work

• How do the motivations, objectives, and constraints with regard to digital monitoring differ among municipal sectors, hospitals, innovation contributors, and end recipients?
• What are the emerging enabling technologies for digital monitoring at home? How do end users, care workers, and medical experts feel about them?
• How does a digital twin model of the healthcare system contribute to assessing the impact of new technological solutions?

Partners in the project include Norwegian Smart Care Cluster (NSCC), VitalThings, Stavanger municipality, Strand municipality, USHT Rogaland, HelseCampus Stavanger, and DigiRogaland.

The research project builds upon the NFR-funded project Releasing the Power of Users.

Assessment of older cancer patients

The project, called NURSE-CGA, focuses on providing a comprehensive assessment for older cancer patients, led by nurses. This aims to ensure that each patient receives tailored treatment and follow-up when they transition home from the hospital.

– The ability of older individuals to tolerate cancer treatment is not solely determined by their age. They may have other health issues, be taking multiple medications, and have reduced reserve capacity. A systematic and research-based approach to assessing treatment tolerance in older cancer patients, known as comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA), aims to uncover these factors, says project leader Kristina Sundt Eriksen. She is an associate professor in health sciences at UiS.

Selv om CGA har vist seg å være nyttig, er det vanskelig å bruke i praksis fordi det krever mye tid og spesialister, Although CGA has proven to be valuable, it is challenging to implement in practice due to the time and specialized expertise required, particularly from geriatricians. To address this problem, experienced nurses with knowledge of older patients and cancer will take charge of the assessment.

Partners in the project are Stavanger University Hospital and the University of Stavanger.

Exoskeletons for perioperative nurses

We are facing a global crisis regarding staffing and resources in healthcare. In response to these challenges, the pilot project EXO - exoskeletons in operating room nursing aims to explore possible new measures for retaining healthcare professionals. Operating room nurses are particularly prone to strain and injuries in their daily work.

– Experienced operating room nurses will test using wearable technology, known as an exoskeleton, which claims to reduce bodily strain and prevent injuries. The study will measure perceived health before and after the two months intervention period of using the exp-skeleton. After the completion of the intervention, qualitative interviews will explore the operating room nurses experiences of the intervention. If wearable technology can contribute to preventing early retirement, valuable expertise will remain in the operating room, and this will also benefit the patients, says project leader Irene Sirevåg, who is a PhD candidate in operating room nursing at UiS.

Although this pilot study only involves operating room nurses, the results may be transferable to other professions in healthcare.

EXO is a collaboration between the University of Stavanger (UiS), Stavanger University Hospital (SUS), and international exoskeleton suppliers.

Read more here: Eksoskjeletter kan redusere arbeidsbelastning for sykepleiere (Norwegian only)

The development of a VR simulator for the treatment of joint inflammation

The project focuses on creating a VR simulator (virtual reality) to train in a medical procedure called arthrocentesis and ultrasound guided injection into the joint cavity. This procedure involves using an ultrasound machine to visualize and diagnose synovitis. Then, by using ultrasound images a needle is used to aspirate inflammatory joint. Finally, the synovial inflammation can be treated by injecting anti-inflammatory medication into the joint.

– We plan to use three-dimensional VR images and haptic controls that allow users to feel resistance and touch during the procedure. This provides a realistic training experience. The initial goal is to create a VR model for the procedure itself, including preparation, positioning of the ultrasound probe and the standard projections used during the examination.” We will create a VR model for injecting medication into a specific joint, says project leader Svein Joar Auglend Johnsen, PhD, specialist in internal medicine and rheumatology.

The project partners are Stavanger University Hospital, Helse Vest IKT, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the University of Stavanger (UiS).

"What is your professional background?"

"I have a master's degree in petroleum geology."

"What have you researched?"

"The doctoral work has been aimed at detailed analysis of chalk to identify mineralogical impurities at the core level and right down to the nano-scale (one nanometer is one billionth of one meter). Many methods were used, including HIM-SIMS (Helium Ion Microscopy – Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry). This method has not been used for analysis of chalk before. The methods were used to map chemical, physical and mechanical processes when injecting different types of water and how the mineralogical impurities affect these processes. Experiments were carried out on both fabricated calcium and pure natural dolomite, as well as mixtures of both, in addition to natural core samples. The tests were carried out under high pressure and temperature which correspond to the conditions in reservoirs such as Ekofisk.

"What did you learn?"
"Mineralogical impurities are more widespread than more traditional methods estimate. This is because minerals from clay can cover the surface of the small constituents of chalk in the form of a coating that occurs in scattered areas. The distribution of mineralogy can affect various properties and processes of water injection into chalk. Minimal chemical reactions were observed in completely pure mineralogical environments when calcite and dolomite were flooded separately. The most interesting observation was that various mixtures of calcite and dolomite showed far more complicated chemical and in some cases mechanical processes , which in turn led to the dissolution of calcite and the precipitation of new minerals."

"What can the research be used for?"
"Natural chalk will always have impurities in it. These impurities can affect several conditions during oil production. In reservoirs such as Ekofisk, the impurities can affect processes such as increased dissolution of calcite. This can increase oil recovery. The dissolution can in turn affect geomechanical conditions, as well as the precipitation of new minerals. First and foremost, we can use the knowledge to increase the accuracy of modeling and simulation of oil production. The next step in this research may be to develop a "smart" water to control the processes in the most appropriate way possible."

Tine Vigdel Bredal defended her doctorate with the title How diagenetic rock composition and mineralogical changes associated with water injection affect geomechanics and fluid behaviour in chalk i.e. producibility (IOR) 5 June. The research has been carried out as a collaboration between the National IOR Centre of Norway and the University of Stavanger and is funded by the Research Council of Norway.

The University of Stavanger has given the students permission to use the lawn west of Arne Rettedals hus to pitch tents, stay overnight and express their views, for instance by having a stand and distributing information. The permit is valid until May 29th.

Campus administrators are in close contact with the students to ensure the best possible practical execution of the event.

University of Stavanger is an open university, which encourages students to engage in public debate. UiS wants to facilitate free speech, also in matters characterized by strong divisions. At the same time, protest actions should not interfere with other people’s teaching, exams or other activities.

UiS has employees and students from both Palestine and Israel, which it is actively working to take care of. Those who are emotionally affected by the war in Gaza can get help to talk about it. The article UiS and the war in Gaza has more information about this, and what the university does in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict in general.

UPDATE: On 29 May the permission was prolonged with another 14 days.

The student representatives had tabled a proposal for an academic boycott of Israel. They also wanted to end procurement agreements with Israel.

In his submission, the rector opposed this proposal for reasons of principle.

"The board should reflect on academic boycott more fundamentally and the university's role. In addition, the board should reflect on what an academic boycott would mean for the individual researcher's academic freedom," the case submission states.

There was disagreement among the board members, and during the discussion the term "boycott" was removed from the proposal.

The board agreed on the following resolution:

1. UiS is terminating all institutional collaboration agreements with Israeli institutions, due to the war in Gaza, which is contrary to international law. Nor will UiS enter into any new agreements as long as hostilities are ongoing.
2. UiS takes the initiative to terminate procurement agreements involving Israel through SIKT.

Case presentation: Request for an academic boycott of Israel (Norwegian only)

See our web page about how UiS is addressing the war.

Today's working life is in constant change, and employees must continuously adapt to new tasks and collaborators. For this adaptation to proceed smoothly, it is crucial to have a supportive work environment where employees feel safe to contribute and learn. Here, leaders can play an important role, and this is precisely what researchers at the UiS School of Business and Law tested in a field experiment in collaboration with Lyse.

– I think the collaboration we have had with the researchers at UiS has gone very well. Many people have opinions about leadership research, but few actually conduct research on it, says Eimund Nygaard, CEO of Lyse.

– Research-based leadership training

Recently, they collaborated with the researcher duo Simone Haeckl and Mari Rege from the UiS School of Business and Law to investigate how supportive leadership can make employees more satisfied and engaged.

– The study has examined what works well and what does not work as effectively. Sometimes, it is not clear what leadership training should focus on. Therefore, it is very important to have research that can demonstrate what actually works, he continues.

HR-director Gyrid Holmen is also very satisfied with the project that was recently concluded. She states that having good leaders is absolutely crucial for Lyse to achieve the goals they have set for the future.

– There is great reassurance in knowing that our leadership training is research-based. There is a lot of different stuff out there, but now we have confirmation that this type of leadership training actually works. I think that is very nice, she adds.

Trained leaders to become more supportive

In the experiment, half of the participating leaders received training on how to encourage and appreciate their employees, while the other half did not receive this training. Subsequently, the participants conducted team meetings with colleagues they had not previously

collaborated with and were asked to provide input on what Lyse could do to become an even better employer.

The results were clear: leaders who received the training exhibited more supportive behavior, and employees reported increased satisfaction and engagement.

– We found that leaders play a crucial role in creating an environment where employees feel safe to contribute ideas. The employees whose leaders received the training were more satisfied and engaged, Simone Haeckl explains.

Collaboration with the industry provided unique access

The success recipe for this study was the right timing for the collaboration. Lyse was in a strategic process and wanted input from as many employees as possible. Due to the pandemic, digital meetings had already been established, and most employees were working from home.

– We were able to leverage these circumstances to create a win-win situation. We had the opportunity to implement and test the effectiveness of leadership training in a real company, while Lyse received valuable input from many employees in a structured manner, says Mari Rege.

The results from the experiment are now published in the prestigious management journal, Management Science.

The research also stands out as a successful collaboration with the corporate world. Through Lyse, Haeckl and Rege gained unique access to conduct the experiment in a field setting that is representative of today's working life, where teamwork is becoming the norm and employees constantly need to adapt to new routines.

– This research is a prime example of successful collaboration between the university and a company. I am very pleased that the article was published in a leading management journal where it can reach readers worldwide, Haeckl concludes.

Text: Silje Marnburg Ellefsen & Andreas Vikøren

Elaine Munthe, professor and center manager at the Knowledge Center for Education (KCE) , received the Ruth Wong Professorship at the National Institute of Education (NIE) at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore earlier this year.

By virtue of this award, she is present at The Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference (RPIC) in the same country. The conference takes place this week.

Opening lecture

The KCE center manager will give the opening lecture at the RPIC conference and also have meetings with staff and students to discuss teacher training and research.

– I see this as a great opportunity to forge stronger ties with Nanyang Technical University and NIE in particular and look forward to learning more about teacher education and what they emphasize in the education of teachers, says Elaine Munthe in a comment. The award of the professorship is intended to strengthen international relations and strengthen teacher training at the National Institute of Education (NIE), which is one of the highest-ranked teacher training programs worldwide. The Department of Cultural and Linguistics (IKS) at UiS accepts students from NIE who are in practice here and students from IKS can take courses at NIE.

Platform for future teachers and teacher educators

It is the fourth time the Ruth Wong professorship has been awarded. John Loughran, Clare Kosnik and Lin Goodwin were the first three to receive it.

Dr Ruth Wong was the founder and head of the then Institute of Education (IE) in Singapore. Wong is considered the most famous and respected educationist in Singapore's history in the field of education and teacher training and the award of the professorship in her name has been established by her family.

“Her quest for excellence in education is still relevant today. The Dr. Ruth Wong Professorship will serve as a platform to positively influence a younger generation of teachers, teacher educators and administrators,” the department's website states.

• More information about the Dr. Ruth Wong Professorship at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore

Text: Leif Tore Sædberg, Kunnskapssenter for utdanning, ved Universitetet i Stavanger

“Being next of kin comes at a high price. Not only financially, but also emotionally and socially. Life, as we might have imagined, is suddenly turned upside down. In many ways, we must redefine our familiar lives and adjust expectations about future goals. For many of us, it can bring about grief reactions related to personal loss, but also loss of hopes and desires for our loved ones. All of us have differing levels of resilience, knowledge and experience that influences how we meet new challenges in life.” says Hassel about being next of kin.

Satisfied with the organization of the conference

She has attended the conference on informal caregivers in the past and has also been sure to sign up for the Informal Caregiver Centre's newsletter. This enables easy sign up for the next annual conference. It also provides the opportunity to pass on information and encourage other caregivers and next of kin to participate. Hassel is deeply involved in this specific subject area, and has her education and experience from the health sector. She has also worked in various stakeholder organizations and targeted rights issues in various segments.

As a next of kin she was delighted that the conference was held digitally, and also that it was available for quite some time after the live broadcast. The digital organization left room for interested persons to get familiar with the conference presentations. Hassel expressed her desire to be able to deliver feedback once the conference was concluded, in such a way that constructive input could be integrated into the next annual conference, to increase the event’s significance and relevance for all parties.

«The conference is an important arena that gives professionals impetus to see informal caregivers as a serious resource. It creates a common platform for the professionals and informal caregivers, where the latter experiences being seen, heard and taken seriously. Not least, it provides me as a next of kin a voice in the professional environment. It is better now, but there is still potential for improvement.” Hassel emphasizes.

She states that the tussle is often over funding and the distribution of resources. The majority want to contribute to helping the weakest in society, but there is always a discussion about who pays, and where the money comes from. She also calls for greater focus on the need for cost effectiveness. Hassel is clear that it should not be at the expense of service quality for the end user, though she acknowledges that the topic usually unleashes fiery debate.

A compound perspective of Next of Kin

“First and foremost, I was a mother of two children with special needs. My son Martin has a rare disease called Williams syndrome. I also had a bonus daughter who had a severe degree of Aspergers syndrome, and who I followed up full-time. She died seven days after Norway went into Corona lockdown. For many people, this was a very demanding time. For us, it became an additionally demanding situation when we found her dead in the basement apartment of our home,” says Hassel.

Her expertise in the field of healthcare showed itself to be useful. Hassel discovered that the crisis team that is called upon in the event of such dramatic/traumatic incidents did not have the experience and competence to talk to and deal with her cognitively impaired son in the event of such a death in the family. Fortunately, her professional background came in handy.

«There is a lot of literature about grief among children and adults and grief reactions in general. We lack literature about how one meets people with varying degrees of cognitive impairment/limitations; how we approach them as professionals and communicate with them at their level and in their language. For me, it becomes difficult to distinguish between my next of kin perspective and my professional perspective. I often find that I have to switch between these roles, since this is the best way to help my child.” Hassel points out.

Calls for easier access to information for informal caregivers

Hassel states that she would appreciate a common database with relevant information for next of kin and other resource persons. She is clear that not everyone can easily access information from Official Norwegian Reports (NOU) and  the municipalities' and NAV websites, to mention a few.

«I also have a genuine desire for greater collaboration between state, county and municipal bodies to create automated, age-related information based on existing registers.” explains Hassel.

Sharing experiences on her own website

She has collaborated with her son to establish her own website. The purpose is to inspire others to see that there are possibilities in life even if things did not turn out as intended. They want to show that life with a differently abled child comes with opportunities. The website shares experiences, information and knowledge with others in need. In the wake of her bonus daughter’s death however, they had enough on their plate just getting their lives back on track.

«Our son has moved in with a friend into our basement flat. My aim is to adapt it into a futuristic flat, with the extensive use of welfare technology aids. I want to be able to provide efficient services for the boys, but not at their expense. We also want to make these services more cost-effective, but our main goal is for the boys to experience greater mastery and independence in their own lives. This is a project I have worked on and been passionate about for many years.” she says.

Positive for informal caregiver research

The Network for Carer research at the Faculty of Health Sciences at UiS is one of the partners of the Informal Caregiver conference. It brings together professionals, research groups, representatives from the field of practice and other stakeholder groups to strengthen research about support for and involvement of caregivers.

What do you think about this network, and how can research help informal caregivers?

«Research is always important and regardless of what is being investigated, we should invest in it. Research increases knowledge and is an important foundation for professional validation to further service development and to further develop the direction and benefit of implemented measures or necessary changes,” says Hassel in conclusion.

Text: Eigil Kloster Osmundsen