Rector Christen Krogh at Lillestrøm station Photo: Marit Christiansen/OsloMet
Breakthrough for Campus Romerike in Lillestrøm town centre
The government has decided that OsloMet can proceed with plans for the future campus in Lillestrøm town centre, with more students and academic environments than at Kjeller today.
“We are pleased that the government has listened to the recommendations from the region and OsloMet. Our ambition is to build a strong campus with 4,500–5,000 students. Together with a strong campus in central Oslo, the new campus in Lillestrøm town centre will give Romerike, the rest of the Oslo region and Norway a boost,” says Rector Christen Krogh.
The Minister for Higher Education and Research, Sigrun Aasland, shared the news during her visit to OsloMet at Kjeller today, together with the Labour Party’s parliamentary leader, Tonje Brenna, and OsloMet’s Rector, Christen Krogh.
The Ministry of Education and Research (KD) has also asked OsloMet to explore whether, in addition to the planned size of the new campus, there may be scope for additional study places at Campus Romerike.
Health, organisation and technology
OsloMet’s planned academic profile for the new campus is within the fields of health, organisation and technology. The government’s decision supports this profile. The new campus will include OsloMet’s current academic environments at Kjeller, as well as programmes and disciplines in organisation, economics and administration, and information technology.
“We have worked closely with municipalities, the county authority, political parties and the business community in the region on Campus Romerike. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed with commitment and expertise to developing OsloMet as a strong university for the region,” says Krogh.
An investment for all of Norway
Since 2000, the population of Romerike has grown by 64 per cent. At the same time, Akershus has the fewest study places per inhabitant of any county in Norway.
“An investment in Romerike is an investment for all of Norway,” says Rector Christen Krogh. OsloMet is Norway’s third-largest university and a leader in many areas where society has a strong need for both knowledge and competence. Our plan for a new Campus Romerike is to help address some of our most important societal challenges. This will benefit the whole country,” the Rector continues.
The way forward
Statsbygg will, on behalf of OsloMet, carry out further studies on the new campus at Romerike.
“Establishing our new campus in Lillestrøm requires a long-term investment in the affected academic environments. OsloMet’s Board has already decided that the university will invest in building capacity and competence for a new campus. The development of the new campus must be organised in a way that supports the academic environments,” says Rector Krogh. “We will now continue working with the ministry and our politicians, both regionally and nationally, to achieve this in the best possible way.”
The government states in its decision that Campus Romerike will be developed in two phases. First, the current operations at Kjeller will be relocated, then the campus will be expanded with parts of the academic environments within the chosen profile. The timing for when the new campus will be ready in Lillestrøm will depend on further studies. The current lease for Campus Kjeller expires in 2030, and the ambition is to move to Lillestrøm before then.
The investment is currently estimated to cost NOK 3.1 billion, but this will depend on the final scale.
More about Campus Romerike
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The concept evaluation (KVU) for Campus Romerike was presented in May 2024.
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The quality assurance of the KVU was completed in June 2025 and then moved on to political consideration by the Ministry of Education and Research.
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The Ministry has now decided to further explore a larger campus in Lillestrøm town centre than OsloMet currently has at Kjeller, with potential for additional growth.
