Trondheim
Trondheim is the third largest city in Norway with 172,000 registered inhabitants and a total area of 342 km2. The city has been a member of the Nordic City Network since the start of the network.
With just over 10,000 employees in higher education and research and over 30,000 students, Trondheim is a definite city of knowledge. It is home to Norges teknisk-vitenskapelige universitet (NTNU – the Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Høgskolen i Sør-Trøndelag (HiST – Sør-Trøndelag University College), Handelshøgskolen BI (the Norwegian School of Management), the research group SINTEF and the university hospital St.Olavs Hospital. These are important, big businesses in themselves and they are very important to the development of the city in economic, social and cultural terms.
Nidaros Cathedral is a central part of the cityscape of Trondheim and a prominent symbol of the city’s role as a national ecclesiastical centre and international place of pilgrimage. The city’s most important cultural institutions are Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and TrondheimSolistene (Trondheim Soloists), Trøndelag teater, Trondheim public library and Studentersamfundet (Student Society). There are also a number of museums, cultural institutions and festivals such as Olavsfestdagene, UKA and ISFiT.
Major challenges
To ensure the continuation of Trondheim as a knowledge city, the knowledge institutions, the business community and the public sector must agree on some joint strategies and prioritise initiatives accordingly. A fast growing number of students is a desired development, but it also generates a few challenges:
- Enough homes! Improve the housing possibilities for students.
- Better career opportunities in the city and the region! To ensure that graduates settle here, there must be enough attractive jobs in the city and the region.
- Attractive city! The attractiveness of the city centre is important.
Projects related to the knowledge city
One of the most important topics for Trondheim is how to build the knowledge city of the future. NTNU, HiST and SINTEF all have exciting, major development projects. As a result of this, the municipality have established several permanent partnership arenas are to ensure that the different organizations works towards common objectives. This includes;
- Trondheim student council and StudiebyEN www.studiebyen.no
- Strategic partnership forum for the knowledge city Trondheim
Since 2009, a forum including the city mayor and rectors from the city’s knowledge institutions, have met monthly for a one-hour meeting to discuss the enhancement of the joint initiatives to achieve joint objectives. The principal focus in the forum’s first year was political work and strategic initiatives from the city/region towards national authorities to promote matters important to the knowledge institutions.
- Dialogue forum for overall campus and urban development
In December 2009, the Municipality of Trondheim took the initiative to establish a permanent dialogue forum for overall campus and urban development with NTNU, HiST, SiT, the students and STFK. The principal focus initially was to develop the knowledge city district Kalvskinnet-Elgeseter/Øya-Gløshaugen. The dialogue forum is a meeting place built on trust, where decisions are not to be taken. The various players in the area challenge each other to find the best solutions for the future – by joint