Lonely fjords, vast landscapes and delicious salmon were what we expected... But Norway has so much more to offer!
During the first International Week of the USN (University of South-Eastern Norway) from June 3 to 6, 2019, we, Professor Dr. Stefanie Hehn-Ginsbach, Professor Dr. Wolfgang Müller, Christine Heinzel and Sybille Juretzka, had the opportunity for a professional and intercultural exchange with colleagues from all over Europe.
Just in May 2018, the USN was founded as a merger of eight campuses in southeastern Norway. At the Kongsberg campus, about an hour west of Oslo, the USN held its first International Week with the theme "Global Mindset in Higher Education".
The welcome dinner in a relaxed atmosphere was a successful start: The hosts welcomed us in traditional costumes and offered us Norwegian specialties. Already on this first evening there was a lively exchange between the participants from different universities and faculties.
The next morning, everyone gathered in the foyer of the imposing main building of the "Krona" campus in Kongsberg to first receive all the relevant facts about the region, the city and the university from Heidi Tovsrud Knutsen during the official kick-off. A first highlight was the amusing and at the same time professionally convincing keynote speech by keynote speaker Pellegrino Riccardi, who charmingly illustrated challenges and solutions of intercultural cooperation by means of concise examples.
The afternoon was dedicated to regional industry and technology. In the Technology Park of the Kongsberg Group, a global technology center with the divisions Marine Technology, Defense, Aerospace as well as Digital Business, various speakers gave us insights into more than 200 years of industrial history. From the interplay of theory and practice, globally significant and forward-looking products and services are created here, and science also draws from the wide range of use cases and uses them to provide concepts and approaches to solutions for practical applications.
As a successful conclusion to this varied day, all participants were able to demonstrate their knowledge of Norway's history and their sporting skills in teams across the various universities at the Lagdalsmuseet open-air museum. We especially enjoyed ourselves as representatives of HWG Ludwigshafen, winning first prize for the overall competition and the Instagram photo contest.
The second day was dedicated to breakout sessions, such as presentations on "Partnership in System Engineering and Industry Master" or "Integrating Students with Business Community". In a smaller circle, this allowed for a deepening and discussion of the special topics and led to an exchange about possible cooperation ideas.
Another highlight was the guided tour of the Krona Campus: The campus with its outstanding architecture houses a modern library, which is also open to the public, as well as a know-how center for special measurement and examination procedures in optometry.
The hosts offered us a special experience with an exclusive gala dinner at an extraordinary location. We drove more than two kilometers deep through a former mine shaft into a mountain to a silver mine located several hundred meters below the earth's surface, the so-called "King's Mine"; the first and also largest silver mine in Norway. With its eventful 300-year history, this mine, which operated until 1958, was not only technologically but also socially the decisive economic engine for the entire region.
At this historic and at the same time unique location, we experienced an exciting guided tour through the labyrinthine passages of the silver mine before enjoying local delicacies in front of a unique backdrop in the largest cavern.
This interesting International Week with its multifaceted program was rounded off on the last day by an open-microphone session, which enabled the participants to share their experiences of the past days with everyone, in addition to technical topics.
Thus, not only the last business cards were exchanged, but also promising cooperation projects emerged. We owe the exchange and cooperation across faculty, university and country borders to the unique networking of university staff, teachers and students through Erasmus+.
We are happy that the International Office of HWG LU with Ilse Page made these special experiences possible for us and motivate everyone to try out the diverse offer for themselves!
Many thanks and a big compliment to the USN team around Cecilie Dons Wallebek for this successful first International Week!
