Jan 2025 – Iranian authorities crack down on university protests, killing thousands and sparking a wave of dissent that later fuels the largest student demonstrations of 2026 [1][2].

Oct 2025 – A shooting at South Carolina State University kills one student and wounds another in a campus housing building, marking the school’s first fatal campus gun incident [2][3].

Dec 22, 2025 – Historian Edgar Hovland dies at age 87, concluding a distinguished career that shaped Norwegian economic and maritime history [11].

Jan 2026 – The Norwegian Polar Institute gains a full voting seat on the European Polar Board; director Camilla Brekke calls it “a new chapter for the institute” in European polar research [3][8][11].

Feb 2026 – The Ministry of Education allocates 2 000 grants worth 1.3 billion NOK for new or renovated student housing, primarily in Oslo and Bergen, to improve affordability and stability for students [1][2][5][6].

Feb 2026 – The government revises Lånekassen’s means‑testing so that compensation for serious illness or injury no longer reduces student stipends, applying the change retroactively and embedding it in the 2026 budget [1][5][10].

Feb 2026 – A parallel 1.3 billion NOK program upgrades student bus routes in Oslo and Bergen, aiming to boost safety and lower travel costs for commuters [7].

Feb 2026 – Iranian university students stage the largest anti‑government protests since the January crackdown, marching at Sharif University and other Tehran campuses, honoring the thousands killed earlier and confronting security supporters [1][2][3][4][8][9][10][11].

Feb 2026 – A University of Innlandet survey of 448 students finds two‑fifths report poorer learning outcomes during COVID‑19, with 70 % of full‑time students blaming reduced peer and lecturer contact, while part‑time students report unchanged or improved results [1][2][3][4][5][6][8][9][10][11].

Feb 2026 – The Association of Norwegian Students Abroad awards its 2026 Juvenarte art prize to Karsten Krogh‑Hansen (first prize, 25 000 NOK) and Mina Stokke (second prize, 10 000 NOK), praising their works for timeless relevance and political humor [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][9][10][11].

Feb 2026 – Climate scientist John Smol receives the Mohn Prize in Tromsø and warns that recent U.S. climate policy roll‑backs threaten global scientific collaboration, citing job losses and budget cuts for American researchers [7].

Feb 2026 – Education Minister Sigrun Aasland calls for increased on‑site teaching and announces forthcoming reforms to Lånekassen’s stipend rules, to be presented in the 2026 national budget, aiming for fairer aid distribution [8].

Feb 2026 – The government forms an expert group to redesign doctoral education in response to rising PhD attrition that threatens Norway’s innovation capacity, especially in STEM fields [8].

Feb 2026 – NTNU launches a 50‑million‑kr Secure Anti‑Fraud Excellence (SAFE) centre in Gjøvik, a five‑year project to develop digital fraud detection tools after a 1.2 billion‑kr rise in fraud losses in 2024 [8][11].

Feb 2026 – A shooting at South Carolina State University kills two students and wounds one in a campus housing building, echoing the October 2025 incident and raising renewed concerns about campus safety in the United States [2][3][4][5][6][7][9][11].