NTNU will be a leading international university

ISL aims at having one of Norway’s most prominent academic environments within language studies. The department’s profile is unique in that it encompasses studies of European languages, literatures and cultures, Norwegian Sign Language, communication studies, speech therapy, and Norwegian language training.

We will offer disciplinary degree programmes, professional degree programmes, language skills training, interdisciplinary study programmes, and continuing education. The academic profile provides a solid foundation for collaboration in research and education, both within the department and with other environments at NTNU.

The department’s core activities are education, research, and dissemination at an international level. Our staff participate in strong academic networks nationally and internationally and facilitate internationalisation through student mobility and various forms of international research collaboration. ISL will recruit staff and students both nationally and internationally.

Studies of language, literature, and culture will be an integral part of NTNU as a comprehensive university. Our fields enrich and shape NTNU’s main profile, and the main profile enriches and shapes our study programmes. Our programmes recruit well and maintain high quality, and our students complete their degrees. We educate candidates with competence that are in demand and society needs.

Our candidates have a critical understanding of and ability to reflect on the significance of language, text, and media culture in our lives. Our study programmes are rooted in solid disciplinary environments and characterised by research-based teaching, high expectations of students, and a close connection between learning activities and learning outcomes.

Our approach to education is innovative and we offer a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods. Through on-campus and online course offerings, we aim to reach students with diverse needs.

ISL has researchers and research groups across a wide range of areas within studies of language, literature, and culture. We provide high-quality fundamental and applied research and publish in internationally recognised and academically relevant channels. Associate professors and professors at ISL are expected to contribute to building academic communities, to apply for external funding, to publish regularly, and to disseminate research-based knowledge to the public.

Our professors have a particular responsibility for developing and supporting a collective research culture. The quality of our academic work is reflected in successful funding of research projects and recruitment of PhD candidates. Several research groups at the department are at the forefront of research nationally, and at least one is an internationally leading environment.

NTNU will be a driving force for knowledge-based and sustainable social development

Knowledge of language, literature, and culture is essential for democracy, inclusion, citizenship, and sustainable societal development. ISL’s special strength lies in understanding relationships between people, language, text, media, knowledge, culture, and society.

This understanding arises from the combination of solid disciplinary environments and interdisciplinary cooperation, including active participation in NTNU’s interdisciplinary strategic research areas. ISL’s organisation accommodates well for both disciplinary and interdisciplinary activities.

We will use our expertise to develop and disseminate knowledge about topics essential for sustainable societal development, such as democracy and cultural and linguistic diversity and community. Our graduates have critical knowledge of digital text cultures and competence that enables them to handle evolving language technologies.

We will work actively to ensure that our academic perspectives are recognised and valued. This requires both specialised knowledge and the ability to apply it in ever-changing contexts and needs, including through challenge-driven research. We engage with society’s competence needs and expectations while safeguarding academic freedom.

ISL will collaborate with institutions, various groups in society, and the cultural sector in both research and education. In our professional degree programme for language teachers, we educate highly competent teachers equipped to further develop Norwegian comprehensive education. Our lifelong learning offerings are relevant for the labour market, flexible, and accessible.

ISL provides core competences in disciplinary and professional education, and contributes to humanistic perspectives across NTNU’s study programmes. We develop programmes and courses in cooperation with other departments and faculties while preserving our academic identity.

By putting our knowledge in use and by contributing to a knowledge-based public discourse, we demonstrate how our areas of knowledge contribute to a better world. ISL’s academic staff use a diversity of dissemination arenas within and beyond academia.

NTNU will be an attractive academic community

ISL will be an attractive place to study and work, supported by the distinct ISL profile as part of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. We facilitate research both in breadth and depth but prioritise initiatives that strengthen our collective research culture.

We have a work environment focussed on academic community in which staff in all categories share their knowledge, collaborate and learn from each other.  A highly competent administration, in close cooperation with academic staff, strengthens both the work environment and the quality of research and education.

ISL will work actively to ensure that students and staff prioritise being present on campus. The academic and social conditions will be strengthened by the unified campus, making the department’s academic profile more visible and language and literature competence more accessible across NTNU. ISL’s leadership will focus on trust and predictability within given framework conditions in order to make ISL a good place to work.

The work environment and the learning environment are characterised by inclusion, diversity, and tolerance for different opinions. This also includes diversity in leadership, advisory roles, and committees. Staff in all categories will have good career paths and opportunities for development. Our students are challenged and supported so that they thrive, stay, and complete their education. Current and former students and staff have enjoyed their time at ISL.

ISL will be a driving force for the development of Norwegian academic language, knowledge-based language policies, and inclusive language practices. We promote linguistic and cultural diversity in teaching, research, dissemination, and organisation, contributing to an inclusive working environment across NTNU.

For international staff and students, Norwegian language competence is crucial for access to academic, organisational, and social communities. ISL has a special responsibility as the provider of Norwegian language training for these groups. Our offerings will be of high academic and pedagogical quality, adapted to the needs of participants, academic environments, and the organisation.