In 1973 Norad started to purchase places at NTH for Hydropower Development education. In 1993 this became an international masterprogram. This is the only program in the world giving a master in Hydropower. In 2023 close to 500 students have brought our knowledge back to their home countries and fulfilled NTNU’s vision “Knowledge for a better world”.

The program goes over two years and gives a broad knowledge within Hydropower Engineering. The students learn to optimize the use of the available resources through hydrology and water resource management, and how to find an optimal  design of the hydropower schemes with respect to economy, environmental impacts, dam safety, sediment transport, hydraulics and geology. 

The education is based on Norway 100 years of experience within developing complex hydropower schemes and the newest research on Dam Safety issues, on Environmental impacts, and Hydropower Technology.

Students from the program goes into leading positions in the energy sector in their home countries and have had significant impact on the development of hydropower internationally.

Examples of the impact of the program is documented through "50 Years of Energy Cooperation Tanzania - Norway" and "Energize Nepal"