About the Christie Conference
The University of Bergen organizes the Christie Conference every year. The conference makes the value of basic research visible and shows how important research and education are for the development of society.
The theme changes from year to year, but the aim stays the same: to bring researchers, politicians, leaders, advisers and other engaged people together for an open conversation about current questions. The conference takes place in the University Aula. It is free and open to everyone who is interested in the theme of the year.
The Christie Prize
The Christie Prize is awarded during the conference. Each year it goes to a person or an organization that strengthens the cooperation between research, education and the rest of society, and that shows how academic work drives innovation in culture, business and social life.
Anyone can nominate a candidate. The prize is 250,000 Norwegian kroner and comes with a diploma and an artistic plaque. A jury appointed by the University of Bergen chooses the winner, and the nominations are treated confidentially.
Who was Christie?
The conference is named after Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie (1778–1849). He was president of the Norwegian Parliament in 1814 and played a central role in the negotiations that preserved most of the Constitution during the union with Sweden.
Christie was also the driving force behind the founding of Bergen Museum in 1825. This institution later became the foundation for the University of Bergen. In this way he built a bridge between academia and society, just as the conference does today.