Umeå University

Umeå University (Swedish: Umeå universitet) is a university in Umeå in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present borders.

As of 2013, Umeå University has over 32,000 registered students (approximately 16,000 full-time students), including those at the postgraduate and doctoral level. It has more than 4,000 employees, half of which are teachers/researchers, including 368 professors.

Internationally, the university is known for research relating to the genome of the Populus tree and the Norway Spruce, and its highly ranked Institute of (industrial) Design.

Organisation

The highest branch at Umeå University is the University Board of Directors. The board includes eight members (including the Board Chairman) appointed by the government, the Vice-Chancellor, three representatives for the teachers, three for other employees, and three for the students.

The University Management consists of the Vice-Chancellor (rector), pro-vice-chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Senior Advisers and the University Director.

Umeå

Umeå (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈʉːmɛo], local pronunciation: [ˈʉːmɛ]; South Westrobothnian [²ʉːm]; Ume Sami: Ubmeje, Southern Sami: Upmeje, Finnish: Uumaja, Northern Sami: Ubmi) is a town in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. The city is located on the Ume River.

Umeå is the biggest city in Norrland and the twelfth biggest in Sweden, with 79,594 inhabitants in 2010. The municipality had 119,613 inhabitants at the end of 2014. When the university was established in 1965, growth sped up, and the number of housing has doubled in the last 30 years. As of 2011, 700 to 800 new apartments are constructed each year.

Umeå is a university town and centre of education, technical and medical research in Sweden, with two universities and over 39,000 students. The city was elected as the European Capital of Culture of 2014.

History

The first written mention of Umeå is from the 14th century. The northern parts of Sweden, including the counties of Västerbotten and Norrbotten, were mostly settled by nomadic Sami people before this time but not necessarily forming any permanent settlement in the city's exact location since the Sami people were, for large parts of the year, herding their reindeer in the inland mountainous parts of modern Westrobothnia. The name is believed to be derived from the Old Norse word Úma which means roaring. The name of the town would therefore mean "The Roaring River.