We are an internationally oriented business school with a regional identity. We aim to attract top research faculty and motivated students to an international research and learning environment in an attractive and vibrant region. Our strategic location, in a region at the heart of the Norwegian energy industry, which is now embarking on a green transition, provides us with a natural advantage in making sustainable changes to business and management practices.
1. UiS: Societal mission, vision, profile, and values
We will be an open and innovative university that demonstrates a high quality of education, research, and artistic development work. Our common direction will be guided by the responsibility for sustainable transition. We will be characterized by a high level of well-being among students and staff. Energy, health, and welfare and learning for life constitute our areas of priority.
Societal mission
Our societal mission is higher education, research and artistic development work, dissemination, and innovation. We have condensed this mission into our motto: We will challenge the well-known and explore the unknown.
Vision: a driving force behind knowledge development and change
The University of Stavanger will have an innovative, international profile and be a driving force behind knowledge development and societal change processes.
Profile: an innovative university
Challenging, exploring, and developing society makes us relevant and recognizable. Staff and students will work closely with the wider community in an internationally oriented and innovative region. We have a regional, national, and global view throughout our academic activities, and our staff and students have an international outlook. UiS will prioritize student-active and innovative learning, high-quality teaching and activities relating to innovation and entrepreneurship. We will offer future-oriented education and critical, independent research of a high international standard, in which ideas are transformed into value creation for the individual and society.
Values: independent, involving, and creative
Our core values will govern our interaction with students, staff, and society. They will help us steer towards the achievement of our vision and our objectives as a university. The University of Stavanger is:
Independent
Students and staff will continuously interact with society and be a driving force behind the independent, critical quest for new knowledge. As an institution built on democratic and humanistic values, we uphold academic freedom and independent research, and promote ideals such as freedom of expression, integrity, and equality. Through critical reflection and clear communication, staff and students will put important issues on the agenda and actively participate in the academic and social debate.
Involving
We value transparency and will involve students and people of the region in the academic community. We share our knowledge and expertise. Involving means our decisions rest on a wider knowledge base. Respect for each other’s differences and backgrounds creates an environment that fosters social and academic participation. Universal design will be a priority in our studies and our physical and digital learning environment. Diversity is valued as a resource in our learning environment.
Creative
We will push forward the boundaries of knowledge and skills. Creativity and innovative activity will define our scientific, artistic, and administrative activities. We will promote the application of new knowledge and encourage wise decisions in the community and workplace. We will promote quality of life, good living conditions and sustainable development. Our courses of study will be formative journeys that develop the individual’s ability to think critically and make reflective life choices.
Strategy 2030 for the University of Stavanger
2. UiS School of Business and Law: Purpose, mission, and vision
We are an internationally oriented business school with a regional identity. We aim to attract top research faculty and motivated students to an international research and learning environment in an attractive and vibrant region. Our strategic location, in a region at the heart of the Norwegian energy industry, which is now embarking on a green transition, provides us with a natural advantage in making sustainable changes to business and management practices.
Purpose
The purpose of the UiS School of Business and Law is to enable responsible decision-making and sustainable value creation, in addressing global challenges and serving society. We seek to advance knowledge frontiers and foster talent based on the principles of truth, equality, equity, and sustainability.
Societal mission
We pursue high-quality teaching and learning, research, dissemination, and innovation. We empower tomorrow's leaders to seize the opportunity to adopt sustainable transitions for businesses and society, and to apply their unique Stavanger experiences to creating value worldwide.
Vision
We will develop a highly recognised international business school with socially engaged students and faculty. As an international business school, we will be
- the school of choice for students interested in making a difference in business and the world at large.
- recognised for quality research embedded in the complexities of the real world and connected to businesses’ ambitions, responsibilities, and innovation.
- closely connected to students and alumni, the University, and to peer institutions and business organisations globally.
The UiS School of Business and Law offers an engaging arena for students, faculty, and other key stakeholders to address society's interests. Through research and transformative learning experiences, we will continue to advance knowledge of core business practice, while also putting emphasis on topics that look beyond the narrow profit-maximising firm: from interfirm relationships and collaborations to regional innovation and social networks; from the economics of learning and motivation to environmental economics and energy finance; from responsible leadership and investments to business law and corporate governance.
3. Strategic guidelines
In order to realise our purpose, we apply five strategic guidelines: social responsibility, soft skills and competence for change, solution-oriented research, connectivity and internationalisation.
Social responsibility
The paradigm that profit maximisation and social responsibility go hand in hand has been changing. Governments’ willingness or ability to regulate markets and industries is not always aligned with societal interests. Moreover, the climate crisis has deepened the urgency to mobilise all types of organisations, including private businesses, to take a more active role. At the UiS Business School, we incorporate social responsibility into the curriculum and encourage reflections on the meaning of "socially responsible", and how to initiate, enable, and support responsible corporate governance and sustainable decision making throughout business organizations and institutions.
Soft skills and competence for change
Production processes are increasingly automated, while the surrounding work tasks are growing in complexity. The share of jobs that require soft skills has risen steadily over the past decades. The UiS Business School prepares its students to succeed by fostering both cognitive analytical abilities and soft skills. We cultivate teamwork and a life-long curiosity, and thirst for knowledge. We encourage transformative learning and student interactions and embrace the multidisciplinary distinctiveness of business education.
Solution-oriented research
The UiS Business School challenges the traditional distinction between applied and fundamental research. Our research finds solutions to real-world challenges with the ambition to advance the frontiers of knowledge. We emphasise empirical evidence, innovative practice-based knowledge, and ambitious research designs. We thus encourage solution-oriented research that is publishable in high-quality scientific journals. We embrace diversity, teamwork, and multidisciplinary collaboration to foster a thriving intellectual environment.
Connectivity
Social responsibility, soft skills, and solution-oriented research require that the school be “connected” in a broad sense. Our faculty members are encouraged to disseminate research to a diverse audience of both scholars and professionals, collaborate with organisations on research projects, and serve on public policy committees and corporate boards. Our students are actively supported to engage with businesses in internships as well as to participate in other academic activities. We aim to continuously develop the school as a meeting place and arena for enquiry, dialogue, and collaboration between academia, business, and policymakers.
Internationalisation
We strive for a diverse student body reflected in a similarly diverse research faculty. We aim to provide our students with an internationally relevant learning experience that is clearly represented in our programme design, curricula, course syllabuses, and case selection, and to facilitate opportunities for international scholarly exchange.
4. Goals
Our 2030 goal is to become an accredited and highly recognised international business school with solid achievements in the following four dimensions:
Education
- High intake quality – motivated and academically strong students.
- High study quality – well-being and ambitious learning outcomes.
- High quality graduates – attractiveness in the labour market.
Research
- High share of publications in top international journals.
- High share of publications in internationally recognised scientific journals.
- High share of external funding.
- Solid PhD education.
- Impact beyond the scientific sphere. Public policy and real-world business challenges.
Outreach
- Disseminate of research to a broad set of stakeholders, practitioners, and users.
- Long-term partnerships with external stakeholders and peer international business schools.
- Visibility in the public debate.
- Facilitate professional networking and debate.
- Serve on corporate boards and public policy committees.
Organisation
- Attractive workplace.
- Good and inclusive work environment.
- Faculty and student involvement in decision-making processes.
- High-standard infrastructure to facilitate a productive working and learning environment.
Details and KPIs are expressed in action plans.
