W Scholarship
Think big!
Norway needs more legs to stand on. As a small nation, we have always relied on our natural advantages in the primary industries — petroleum, fisheries, and power production. On their shoulders we have built new sectors, industries, and profitable jobs. All in all, it has served us well.
Background
W Scholarship is established by the Witzøe family, with the mission to strengthen Norways competitiveness through developing talented Norwegian youth towards their full potential, regardless of financial background or current placement in the workforce.
The scholarship supports education and skills development in fields of strategic importance to Norway, including marine biotechnology, emerging technologies, and economics and finance. The aim is to help shape the technologists, entrepreneurs, and leaders of tomorrow.
The knowledge, experience, and networks our scholars build should benefit Norwegian society and industry — for generations to come.
- 75%
- Coverage of study costs
- 5
- Leading Universities
- 5
- Scholarships Awarded
Coverage
Together, these cover up to 75% of the total stipulated cost of your studies. The remaining share is covered by you or through other arrangements. Below is what counts toward the calculation:
Tuition
Tuition at your admitting university counts toward the total.
Cost of living
Housing, food, and daily expenses.
Travel and insurance
Travel to and from your host country, and health insurance for the duration of your studies.
Networking
Access to the W Scholarship scholar network.
Universities
The W Scholarship supports study at five of the world's leading universities. What they share is a position at the international forefront of the academic fields the scholarship is directed toward, and the access they offer to a scholarly and professional network that candidates can draw on throughout their lives.
ETH Zürich
ETH Zürich traces its roots back to 1855 and is associated with 22 Nobel Prizes, among them Albert Einstein and Wolfgang Pauli. The university holds a central position in Europe in artificial intelligence, robotics, materials technology, and biotechnology, and it works closely with European industry and research communities. Since the 1990s, several hundred companies have grown out of the ETH community. For candidates in emerging technologies or marine biotechnology, Zürich offers a way of working in which basic research and applied technology go hand in hand, an approach that can be carried home to Norway.
Visit ETH ZürichTsinghua University
Tsinghua ranks first in artificial intelligence on CSRankings 2026 and is a global center of gravity in machine learning, computer vision, and applied AI. Here, candidates encounter Asia's technological development up close, in an environment where scale, speed, and ambition provide a very different backdrop from most Western institutions. For Norwegian candidates working in emerging technologies, Tsinghua offers both academic depth and a strategic understanding of the technological race between China and the West, an insight few Norwegians yet possess.
Visit Tsinghua UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania
Penn is one of the oldest universities in the United States, with a rare combination of strengths in finance, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence. The Wharton School is among the world's foremost business schools. Its alumni include Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai (Alphabet), and Nicolai Tangen, who manages the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. It was here that researchers Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman laid the foundation for the mRNA vaccines against COVID-19, work that earned them the Nobel Prize in 2023. Penn is a good fit for candidates who want to work at the intersection of capital, technology, and biology.
Visit University of PennsylvaniaNanyang Technological University
NTU ranks among the world's leading technical universities, with particular strength in materials technology, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and sustainable engineering. Its alumni include Lip-Bu Tan, the current CEO of Intel and one of the semiconductor industry's most pivotal figures. Singapore as a host country offers a vantage point of its own: a trading hub between East and West, and one of Asia's deepest concentrations of capital and technology. For candidates working in emerging technologies, NTU is a singular window onto the continent.
Visit Nanyang Technological UniversityStanford University
Stanford is the hub of Silicon Valley, with real weight in technology, economics, and medicine. The list of founders who came out of it is long: Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Reed Hastings (Netflix), and Peter Thiel (PayPal). For finance students, the connection runs especially deep. It was here that William Sharpe developed the Capital Asset Pricing Model, work that earned him the Nobel Prize in 1990 and that today underpins portfolio management around the world, including at the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global. Few places offer a shorter path from idea to company.
Visit Stanford UniversityFocus Areas
The scholarship is directed at three fields where Norway has particular conditions for success, and where global competition for talent is fiercest. What they have in common is that they build on advantages we already hold, whether in nature, capital, or established expertise.
Emerging Technologies
Norway has natural advantages few other countries can match when these technologies are to be developed and scaled. Abundant access to clean, affordable power, a cold climate, and a highly educated population give us a strong starting point. At the same time, these are technologies that can lift the industries we are already good at, from aquaculture and energy to maritime industry and health. Building expertise here is an extension of the proud industrial tradition Norway holds, from M. Thams & Co. to Ocean Farm.
- AI
- Automation
- Machine learning
- Materials technology
- Nanotechnology
- Neuroscience
- Robotics
Marine Biotechnology
Few countries have a better starting point in marine biotechnology than Norway. We have the world's second longest coastline, an aquaculture industry that already leads globally, and strong research communities in marine biology. Value creation at sea over the coming decades will largely be decided by who masters the biology, not just the logistics. Building on what we already know is not enough. We also need to learn from others, draw on impulses from abroad, and see the field with fresh eyes.
- Feed technology
- Fish health
- Marine nutrition
- Marine synthetic biology
- Microbiology
- Molecular biology
Economics and Finance
The Government Pension Fund Global is among the world's largest investors. Managing this wealth, alongside private capital and pension funds, requires expertise at the highest international level. Advanced portfolio theory, quantitative modeling, and a deep understanding of global markets are prerequisites if Norwegian capital is to keep working hard for generations to come.
- Advanced modeling
- Financial mathematics
- Fintech
- Macro- and microeconomics
- Portfolio theory
Process
- 01
November 25th
Application Deadline
Applications and documents must be submitted by this date.
- 02
End of December
Final decision
Awardees will be selected and notified, based on a thorough jury decision.
Committee
Applications are read by a committee with experience from research, industry, and public administration, both in Norway and internationally. The committee assesses each applicant as a whole, considering academic quality, motivation, and what that individual can bring back to Norway.
Runar SivertsenBoard director: StrategySalMar
Julie IsdahlHead of Technology Transformation & Global AI ProgramTelenor
Gustav Magnar WitzøeCEO Kvarv AS
Requirements
We want to know who you are, where you are headed, and why. That requires a few documents from you, no more than necessary. Here is what we ask for:
Still missing some documents?
You can start your application anyway.
You've got everything you need! 🎉
The application takes just minutes.
Still missing some documents?
You can start your application anyway.
You've got everything you need! 🎉
The application takes just minutes.
Think big!
Accepting applications up to the deadline. We look forward to reading yours.