The Svalex Arctic field course is organised every year on Svalbard. Participants are grouped in multidisciplinary teams with backgrounds from geology, geophysics, drilling and petroleum technology.

The field course brings together students from NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), the universities of Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Tromsø and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).

The geology in Svalbard is dramatic and varied. Since the rocks are exposed, it is also accessible. This offers a unique opportunity of an introduction to the geological development in the north and in the Barents Sea.

Svalex provides three main arenas for learning:

• Course work at the UNIS campus in Longyearbyen
• A geological field trip with the cruise liner M/S Expedition
• Seismic acquisition with the seismic vessel M/S Håkon Mosby

More than 1200 students, professors and guests have participated since the first expedition in 2001.

As proud sponsor of Svalex, Statoil hosts the field trip on the M/S Expedition, conveying the participants across Isfjorden and the surrounding fjords of Svalbard. 

Svalex 2012 will be organised from 23 August to 4 September. To qualify for participation, all students will have to complete a pre-course announced on 7 March. Further information regarding Svalex 2012 will be published on the Svalex website.