Relevant education and unique study location – in the middle of a Science Park
Those who take education courses in Kongsvinger are extremely attractive on the job market!
If you study in Kongsvinger, you will almost certainly have your dream job when you submit your bachelor's or master's thesis. You will be very attractive on the job market whether you choose nursing, social care, sustainability or digitalization.
– Our education is based on documented needs in the business community, and preferably that there are no existing education programs that meet the need. The subject content is developed in collaboration with the business community and means that we educate candidates that the working world would like to have, says Vegard Herlyng, general manager at the University College Centre in Kongsvinger (HIK).
Several of the courses offered in Kongsvinger can be studied alongside work. For example, Master in Digital Management and Business Development both full-time and part-time. Bachelor's degree in nursing lasts four years, and is therefore also possible to combine with work. The same applies to most vocational school courses (health and technical subjects).
Satisfied nursing students, an exciting master's in digital management and a new research center in digitalization and sustainability - that's where you want to be these days!
Important initiatives for business
– When we took the sustainability course at HIK, it gave us a lot of inspiration to look at our value chain and what we can do in our value chain to become more sustainable. Without the educational offerings at the University College Center, we would not have come as far in sustainability work as we have today. HIK is a crucial partner in promoting research-based knowledge to companies in the region, says Stine Lilleseth.
Lilleseth Chain is one of many companies that have taken a sustainability course at the University College Center, and gives much of the credit for their newly started chain recycling project precisely to the knowledge they have acquired at HIK.
Happy students and unique surroundings
In addition to being close to the business community, one of the success factors for the offerings in Kongsvinger is also the satisfaction of the students. Karina Jørgensen (24) from Bergen was among the most satisfied in 2020 nursing students in the country. She tells the local newspaper Glåmdalen:
– The proximity between students and teachers and a clear environment are important success factors. We have quite small classes, and there is generally less distance between students and teachers than at larger campuses. Here you don't get lost in the crowd. If we send a message to the tutor, there is usually a quick response no matter what time of day it is.
She also highlights the good opportunities for internships locally, whether at the hospital, institutions or in home care. This year (2025), Kongsvinger students were also satisfied – with 4th place out of 30 study locations.
– I'm not surprised. It's a nice school to go to, says nursing student Mathilde Malmerengen to Glåmdalen in 2025.
Students in Kongsvinger are part of Inland Science Park and thus shares premises with several development actors, exciting businesses and, not least, research centers for digitalization and sustainability (CREDS).
Future-oriented, unique and relevant education – and 100 million for research positions.
Research center established
University of Inland Norway (INN) has now established a research center within sustainability and digitalization in Kongsvinger.
"We have raised 100 million in start-up capital for the center. The funds will go towards research positions. We are very much looking forward to developing this further together with the University of Innlandet and other stakeholders," says Herlyng.
The research at the center will be conducted in close collaboration with the business community and students. Several projects and collaborations with both local and national actors are underway.
– INN has the ambition to be a strong development actor that contributes to green transition. This center will be central to this initiative. The establishment is an example of how we want to work. We will be a regional force that collaborates closely with our surroundings and contributes to development in the region, states Rector Peer Jacob Svenkerud.
For a complete overview of university and vocational school educations in Kongsvinger – see www.hik.no.
