[3] NTNU was inaugurated by the King-in-Council in 1996 as a result of the merger of the former University of Trondheim and other university-level institutions, with roots dating back to 1760.

However, the university's root goes back to 1760, with the foundation of Det Trondhiemske Selskab (Trondheim Academy), which in 1767 became the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.

The centennial was also celebrated by the publication of several books, among them a history of the university, entitled "Turbulens og tankekraft.

Det Trondhiemske Selskab (Trondheim Academy), Norway's first academic society, was founded in 1760.

In 1767, it changed its name to the Royal Norwegian Society of Science and Letters (DKNVS) upon receiving recognition from the Danish-Norwegian king.

In 1984, NLHT also absorbed the Norwegian College of General Sciences (AVH) as part of UNiT.

As early as 1989, NTH Rector Karsten Jakobsen had broached the idea of a Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

On 21 March 1995 the Parliament, with barely a majority after a long debate, decided to establish NTNU in Trondheim.

In 2012 the popular trivia game Kahoot was founded in by Johan Brand, Jamie Brooker and Morten Versvik in a joint project with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

They teamed up with Professor Alf Inge Wang and were later joined by Norwegian entrepreneur Åsmund Furuseth.

The context of the request was that the Norwegian government wanted to cut back on the number of institutions in the sector.

The merger, which went into effect in January 2016, made NTNU Norway's largest single university.

Other campuses include Tyholt for marine technology, Øya for medicine, Kalvskinnet for archaeology, Midtbyen for the music conservatory and Nedre Elvehavn for the art academy.

The same year, 2013, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research initiated a choice of concept study for the future co-localization of NTNU's two main campuses in Trondheim.

It was then extended to include board members from each of the three former university colleges and an external representative appointed by the Ministry of Education.

It has two departments: NTNU's history of research in engineering goes back to the early 20th century, when Norway's first electric railway, known as Thamshavn Line, was developed and constructed in Trondheim as an AC-powered tramway, with Trondheim-based technologies.

Students and staff can take advantage of roughly 300 research agreements or exchange programs with 58 institutions worldwide.

[22] In 2012, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg opened the Norwegian Brain Centre as an outgrowth of NTNU's Kavli Institute.

The intention was to establish a full-text archive for the documentation of the scientific output of the institution and to make as much as possible of the material available online, both nationally and internationally.

Statistically, 9.1 percent of NTNU's total research output is generated in collaboration with SINTEF, which is the largest academic-industry partnership in the world.

Rankings by ARWU Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023:[44] NTNU specializes in technology and the natural sciences, but also offers a range of bachelor's, master's and doctoral programmes in the humanities, social sciences, economics and public and business administration, and aesthetic disciplines.

The university also offers professional degree programmes in medicine, psychology, architecture, the fine arts, music, and teacher education, in addition to technology.

According to the Norwegian Social Science Data Services, NTNU had 84,797 applicants in 2011 and a total student population of 19,054, of whom 9,062 were women.

In addition to semester fees, the international students have to guarantee their living expenses if they are not offered a scholarship.

The student sports organization, NTNUI, has roughly 10 000 members in its many branches,[47] with the largest groups including orienteering, cross-country and telemark skiing, but there are also groups for sports less common in Norway, like American football, lacrosse and aikido.

University recently started to offer "roof over your head" guarantee to the new coming student to Trondheim until they find proper housing.

NTNU annually awards honorary doctorates to scientists and others who have made an extraordinary contribution to science or culture.