HISP Centre researchers are part of new Norwegian national centre for artificial intelligence

On 11 June 2025, the Research Council of Norway announced the list of newly designated national research centres for artificial intelligence (AI). One of the six research environments to receive this status is TRUST: The Norwegian Centre for Trustworthy AI. TRUST is an interdisciplinary centre that will be housed at the University of Oslo (UiO) and made up of 77 partners, drawing on a range of sciences to focus on challenges related to both the public and private sector, civil society, and research from around the world. The mission of TRUST is to to develop an interdisciplinary knowledge base for the development of safe, fair, and responsible AI.

Solveig Kristensen, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at UiO, commented on the importance of this centre: “Today we take a big step forward. Together with our partners, we aim to bring forward new knowledge in a rapidly evolving field—something of great importance to society as a whole.”

While the HISP Centre is not a formal part of TRUST, several HISP researchers play key roles in this new centre. Professor Geir Kjetil Sandve, who leads HISP’s work on predictive modeling and machine learning for the DHIS2 for Climate & Health project, is part of the TRUST leadership team as a co-director. Professor Kristin Braa, Director of the HISP Centre at UiO, is a principal investigator for TRUST. CICERO, the Centre for International Climate Research is a TRUST research partner and key HISP climate and health technical partner. Finally, the Ministry of Health of Rwanda, which is one of our 10 country partners in the DHIS2 Climate & Health project, is part of TRUST as a research node.

The designation of these national research centres is part of the government of Norway’s investment of 1 billion Norwegian kroner into AI research. At a press conference announcing the six new centres, which were selected from a competitive pool of 50 applicants, Norway’s Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sigrun Aasland, remarked: “This is a significant day for AI-research in Norway. Here, our leading knowledge communities will carry out groundbreaking research that will put us on the international AI map. They will ensure that we get the best and most up-to-date knowledge available in Norway.”

TRUST’s work is scheduled to begin in early 2026, and the dialog about the structure and scope of the project is underway. We look forward to the engagement of HISP researchers in this important effort, and potential connections to our larger work with AI and machine learning that could draw on insights from–and offer benefits to–the global DHIS2 community.

For more information, read the announcement from the dScience centre at UiO.