Professor Dagfinn K. Lysne founded the Hydropower Development program as a one-year diploma course in 1976 at the Department of Hydraulic Engineering at NTNU (then called NTH). In 1993, the diploma course was converted into a two-year master's program, and student admissions have continued annually since then.

From 1976 to 1993, a total of 256 NORAD scholars completed the diploma course, and from 1993 to the summer of 2001, 95 scholars completed their Master’s degree in Hydropower Development. In recent years, the program has admitted around 12 NORAD scholars per year, and by 2024, approximately 450 students have completed the program. The majority of these have returned to their home countries and made a significant contribution to the domestic development of hydropower.

Over the last years the content of the program have been broadened to cover all aspect of hydropower and students can choose a profile according to their main interest.