Academic Semester Opening 2026

12. august we start the semester in the traditional way with the Academic Semester Opening.

The Academic Semester Opening is a traditional ceremony that has been held every year since MF was founded in 1908. The highlight of the ceremony is the opening lecture.

This year, the lecture will be given by Tore Rem, Literary scholar and Director of UiO:Democracy

The semester opening is open to all students – both new and returning.

About Tore Rem

Tore Rem is a prominent Norwegian literary scholar, author, and public intellectual. He is a professor of English-language literature at the University of Oslo. He was a key driving force behind the development of UiO:Democracy, where he currently serves as director.

Rem has made significant contributions to debates about Norwegian universities and to war history, and is known as both a fearless public debater and a skilled communicator. Together with Helge Jordheim, he led the working group behind the report What about the humanities?, which was presented to the Minister of Education in 2014. Through his position at UiO:Democracy, he has distinguished himself as an engaged advocate for interdisciplinary research on democracy. Rem has also been central in establishing book history perspectives in Norwegian literary studies, among other things through the anthology Bokhistorie (2003).

Rem is a leading Ibsen scholar and has held leadership roles at the Centre for Ibsen Studies at the University of Oslo. In addition to his academic work, he has written a number of influential nonfiction books, often at the intersection of literature, history, and biography.

For his work, Rem has received several awards. He has twice been awarded the Critics’ Prize for best nonfiction book for adults for Knut Hamsun. Reisen til Hitler (2014) and Olav V: Ensom majestet (2022). In 2021, he received the Thorleif Dahl Prize, which is awarded to authors who strengthen literature of high linguistic quality. In 2025, he was awarded the HUMSAM Prize for outstanding research in the humanities and social sciences by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, of which he is also a member.