Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (Norwegian: Høgskulen på Vestlandet or HVL) is a Norwegian public institution of higher education, established in January 2017 through the merging of formerly independent colleges across five campuses: Bergen, Førde, Haugesund, Sogndal and Stord. Its oldest programs - teacher education in Stord - can be traced to 1839. The total number of students is about 16000, and there are 1400 academic and administrative staff.[1] Its main campus is in the Kronstad neighborhood of Bergen, Norway.