Student innovation

The University of Oslo has more than 27,500 students. The university has joined forces with Inven2, Oslotech/StartupLab and several active student welfare organisations and arenas to encourage student innovation. The work got off to a flying-start with the launch of the FORNY StudENT programme in May 2016 – a ministry initiative aimed at strengthening research-based innovation through student innovation. 

Inven2 also organises Inven2Start every autumn together with a number of partners. It is a low-threshold service and start-up package for students who want to shape their own future by starting a company based on their own idea and trying their hand as entrepreneurs. Inven2Start is marketed in the Oslo region by the University of Oslo, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, BI Norwegian Business School, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Oslo School of Architecture and Design, which together represent a total of 73,000 potential student entrepreneurs.

The ideas that were awarded grants in 2016 varied widely: from a smart bicycle lock, a new type of backpack for work, school and training, to an opening and closing mechanism for clothes for people with impaired hand function.