Mr. Svein Østtveit is interim Director of the Institute.
With over 35 years of experience in the field of education, including a long-standing career with UNESCO where he has served in a range of leadership roles, he is leading the UIS in its mandate to produce high-quality data and methodologies across education, sciences, culture, and communication.
He began his career teaching history, sociology, English, and civics in Oslo. He joined UNESCO in 1989 as an Associate Expert and later served in various roles, including Chief Technical Advisor for a distance education project in Mongolia, and Programme Specialist for youth initiatives, Chief of Strategic Planning and Monitoring, and Director of the Executive Office in the Education Sector. He served as Executive Secretary for the EFA Forum, contributing to the EFA 2000 Assessment and the World Education Forum in Dakar, and led the development of the CapEFA programme.
Prior to joining the UIS, he served as interim Director of the UNESCO International Bureau of Education (UNESCO-IBE).
Mr. Svein Osttveit holds a Master’s degree in Philology (1984) and a postgraduate diploma in Pedagogy (1988), both from the University of Oslo.