Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is a Norwegian public institution of higher education, established in January 2017 through the merging of formerly independent colleges across five campuses: Bergen, Førde, Haugesund, Sogndal and Stord. Its oldest programs - teacher education in Stord - can be traced to 1839. The total number of students at HVL is about 16000, and there are 1800 academic and administrative staff.[1] Its main campus is in the Kronstad neighborhood of Bergen, Norway. Western Norway University of Applied Sciences provides professional education within health and social sciences, engineering, economic and administrative science, music and teaching. It offers education on the Bachelor and Master levels, continuing education, and on the Doctoral (PhD) level. Around 2700 students graduate with degrees from HVL every year.