Umea University

Institution Info

Umeå University has about 29,000 students and 4,200 staff. The establishment of the university in the mid 1960s led to a population expansion from about 50,000 inhabitants to today's 110,750. The expansion continues, with about 1000 new inhabitants every year, and has made Umeå a modern, somewhat intellectual city in contrast to the traditional basis on heavy industry for cities along the coast of northern Sweden (Norrland).

Umeå university gives priority to and is keen to develop many different areas of research. These include life sciences (especially medical and cell and the molecular biology of plants), human technology interaction, social welfare, ecology and gender perspectives.

Umeå University works collaboratively with companies such as ABB, Volvo, Skanska, Ericsson, and Ohrlings Pricewaterhouse-Coopers. Another center for world class research is the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå. For instance, Umeå Plant Science Center, a cooperation between this university and the Umeå University, carries research into tree genes which can lead to a whole new forest industry.

The inquisitiveness of human beings and their quest for new knowledge knows no bounds. The same is true of what we do at Umeå University. Every day, students, lecturers and researchers from all over the world communicate with one another - either face to face or using modern technology. Development of the range of programmes on offer is a must if we are to meet new needs in a changing world. Umeå University has an organisation and management that promote the satisfaction and desire for development of both students and staff!

Respected and committed
For more than forty years, our university - inaugurated in 1965 and situated far to the north - has exceeded all expectations and proven itself as an important regional, national and international factor. Today, there are courses and study programmes in every academic field. Students come from all over Sweden, as well as from many other countries, to pursue their studies. However, while we are a world player, we are also a dynamic and highly significant force in the development of our own region of Sweden. The university inspires and supports lecturers, researchers and students to turn their business ideas into reality. Cooperation with other players in the field of research results in greater resources and a broader perspective.

Success together
The university has long worked to bring about communication between fields, interdisciplinary thinking, with new approaches and perspectives in mind. Besides our seven university colleges, at Umeå University, 24 centres have been established offering interdisciplinary research, which in many cases is being carried out by our internationally successful, highly respected researchers. To gain success, in research or any other area, you have to listen - to one another and to our partners -, to share and to co-operate.

We mean to bring Europe and the world into Northern Sweden and to take Northern Sweden out into the world.