Why study sustainability in Norway’s oil capital?

On Friday, 16 January, Energy Transition Norway (ETN) was invited to the semester kick-off event for the Master’s programme in Sustainability Studies at the University of Stavanger.

The event gathered a full auditorium of students and presenters. Atle Blomgren (NORCE), Reber Iversen (Maritime CleanTech), Iván Darío Piñerez Torrijos (Validé) and ETN’s Project Coordinator, Margie Maria Gonzalez, each presented their organisations, how sustainability is integrated into their work, and why Stavanger is an attractive region for sustainability-related activities and innovation.

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion with strong engagement from the students. Many questions were raised, particularly around the relevance of sustainability competence for industry and business development in Stavanger and Norway more broadly.

The discussion highlighted several important perspectives on the energy transition. A key takeaway was the need for broad, cross-sectoral sustainability competence in transition processes. Scientific and societal understanding of sustainability challenges is essential for achieving transition goals, as is the ability to transfer technological knowledge from the oil and gas sector to today’s regulatory and environmental realities.

—  Equally important is the ability to understand technical concepts and communicate them clearly to key stakeholders - such as policy makers, investors and civil society. Developing solutions that deliver both economic and societal value requires systems thinking and the ability to view challenges from multiple perspectives, Margie Maria Gonzalez pointed out.

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Companies interested in hosting a student for an internship or offering a master’s thesis topic related to sustainability and the energy transition are encouraged to contact Thomas Michael Sattich thomas.sattich@uis.no.

Master’s programme in Sustainability Studies at the University of Stavanger explores how environmental concerns, energy production and societal values are interconnected, and prepares students to understand complex sustainability challenges such as the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals through interdisciplinary perspectives. More information is available here: https://www.uis.no/en/studies/masters-in-sustainability-studies

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