How to start a student organisation

A student organisation is a group of students doing something on a volunteer basis. Are you passionate about something? Do you have a commitment to a cause you want to work for? Do you want to contribute to the student community in Bergen? These are all good reasons to start a new student organisation. 

Three students working in the Student Villa

Before you register your new student organisation

  • Choose the student organisation´s name

  • Determine the purpose and goal of the student organisation

  • Write the student organisations' by-laws (these are the organsiations’ ground rules)

  • Do you have a memebership fee?

  • Find board members

  • Set a budget for the semester - possibly the entire school year.

  • Invite to a founding meeting – This is where you talk about what the organisation will focus on, and where you agree upon the by-laws. 

Before starting your own student organisation, take a look in our list of student organisations, to see if a similar organisation or association already exists. 

Register the Student Organisation in Brønnøysundregisteret

Start by filling in the form entitled Coordinated register notification (You need a private electronic ID, MyID to log in) in Brønnøysund Register Centre. Alternatively, you can use the paper form from The Brønnøysund Register Centre (in Norwegian only). It's important to register at the Brønnøysund Register Centre in order to get an organisation number, which allows you to open a bank account for your organisation and register a website with a .no-address.

Register for financial support from Kulturstyret 

In order to apply for financial support from Kulturstyret, the student organisation needs to be registered at Kulturstyret. After that you can register for financial support by filling in the application on their website. The information is currently in Norwegian only, but you can also contact Kulturstyret via email. 

Register the organisation at StudentBergen 

All student organisations in Bergen can apply for an account on StudentBergen. Once you get access, you can add and edit information about your organisation and upcoming events.

Helpful resources

There are several places you can seek guidance and assistance when starting up a student organisation. The Association of NGOs in Norway has a guide on how to run a voluntary organisation, with information regarding finance, annual meetings, communication and so on. At Sammen you will find financials for budget and accounting for student organisations (currently only in Norwegain), and they hold courses for student organisations and members. You can probabaly ask for courses in English if you need.