 The University of Oslo is Norway's leading institution of higher education and research. Founded 200 years ago, it's also the country's oldest and largest university and offers a world-class research and learning experience. A comprehensive, research-intensive university with eight faculties, two museums and close collaboration with two university hospitals, the University of Oslo's strengths span across a wide range of disciplines from the humanities and social sciences to cutting-edge technology. Our strategic goal is to further strengthen our position as Research University of High International Standing. The University of Oslo was founded in 1811, predating Norway's constitution by three years and became, thus, a cornerstone in the development of the emerging nation. The buildings in classical style were completed in 1852. The new nation placed its most important buildings along an axis, with the Storting, the nation's parliament, the National Theatre, the University and the Royal Palace as architectural statements along the main street of the city. I am particularly proud to welcome all the international students here on the University of Oslo. During the 20th century, the university expanded, with a large new campus near the city centre. This is where most of the university's faculties and research environments are gathered today. The university offers 800 individual subject courses and 40 master's programmes in English, and has thus an international campus with students from all over the world. The university also provides excellent student residences, restaurants and cafeterias, sports facilities, associations, student radio and newspaper, and a wide range of cultural activities. Each year, doctorates are awarded to several hundred candidates, and researchers from all over the world are awarded honorary doctorates. Nils Henrik Arbel, regarded as one of the finest mathematicians in the world, attended the University of Oslo. Every year, the Arbel Prize of six million Norwegian Kroner is awarded for outstanding research in the field of mathematics. The award ceremony is an international event, led by His Majesty King Harald. Five Nobel Prize laureates have been associated with the University of Oslo. The university has cooperation agreements with 100 of the 200 best universities in the world, and owns or is a partner in several international centres abroad, as well as the university centre on Svalbard. The two university museums attract large numbers of visitors. This is church art from the Norwegian medieval period, and from the Museum of Natural History's major exhibition, Shapes of Nature. The Viking Ships Museum, on the Big Dope Peninsula, close to Oslo's city centre, has the world's best preserved 9th century ships, and tells a fascinating story. The Viking ships receive half a million visitors each year. The University of Oslo has been awarded eight of the 21 national centres of excellence. These centres represent cutting-edge research and are leading in their fields both in Norway and internationally. One of these centres is part of the Department of Economics, the country's foremost research and teaching institution in economics. The centre has a long research tradition and can boast two Nobel Prize winners. We at ESOP, at the Department of Economics, study the links between equality, social organisation and economic performance. The Nordic countries do equally well as the most advanced capitalist countries in the world, but we do it with much smaller differences between people. This is a challenge for economics profession, and the research project that we have in the economics department can provide answers to these challenges. The centre for molecular biology and neuroscience is one of the world's leading research environments and is engaged in pioneer research on the brain. Scientists here have gained new insight into the prevention and treatment of strokes and neurological diseases and aging of the brain. The centre for material science and nanotechnology is the university spearhead in the field of materials research and nanotechnology. Here, important research on solar cells is being carried out to improve the utilization of solar energy. The university has a broad academic base and has, among other things, its own centre for Ibsen studies. Students and researchers from all over the world come here to study Henrik Ibsen's work. This is the first annotated Ibsen edition in the world and it is a gift from Norway to the rest of the world, to students, teachers, theatre people and all other interested. The University of Oslo's petroleum geology and geophysics research groups made an invaluable contribution to the Norwegian petroleum boom. Today, the university offers a master's programme in this field that attracts students from all over the world. At the Department of Mathematics, basic research on wave computation has played an important role in enabling safe pipeline transfer of oil and gas from the oil fields. The University of Oslo has recently chosen to focus on certain cross-faculty interdisciplinary research areas in order to better understand several of the complex challenges facing the world today. Seven inter-faculty priority areas have been selected from 2009. The university's centre of expertise for commercialisation, Biskaland Innovation, assists research communities with technology transfer and the commercialisation of research results. The university-owned company's primary task is to secure patent rights for research results used in business development. Research-driven knowledge is essential for national growth and for solving global challenges. The University of Oslo aims at strengthening its role as a leader in research and education in Norway and will continue to develop primary international research environments.