Lonely fjords, vast landscapes and delicious salmon were what we expected... But Norway has so much more to offer!
As part of the first International Week of the USN (University of South-Eastern Norway) from 3 to 6 June 2019, we, Professor Dr. Stefanie Hehn-Ginsbach, Professor Dr. Wolfgang Müller, Christine Heinzel and Sybille Juretzka, had the opportunity to engage in a professional and intercultural exchange with colleagues from all over Europe.
The USN was only founded in May 2018 as a merger of eight locations in south-eastern Norway. At the Kongsberg campus, around 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 greeted us in traditional costume and offered us Norwegian specialties. Even 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 receive all the relevant facts about the region, the city and the university from Heidi Tovsrud Knutsen as part of the official opening. A first highlight was the amusing and at the same time professionally convincing keynote speech by keynote speaker Pellegrino Riccardi, who charmingly illustrated the challenges and solutions of intercultural cooperation using concise examples.
The afternoon was all about regional industry and technology. At the Kongsberg Group's Technology Park, a global technology center with the Marine Technology, Defense, Aerospace and Digital Business divisions, various speakers gave us insights into more than 200 years of industrial history. The interplay between theory and practice gives rise to globally significant and forward-looking products and services here, and science also draws on the wide range of use cases and uses them to provide concepts and solutions for practical applications.
As a successful conclusion to this varied day, all participants were able to put their knowledge of Norway's history and their sporting skills to the test in teams across the various universities at the Lagdalsmuseet open-air museum. As representatives of HWG Ludwigshafen, we had a lot of fun with the first prize for the overall competition and the Instagram photo competition.
The second day was dedicated to breakout sessions, such as presentations on the topics of "Partnership in System Engineering and Industry Master" or "Integrating Students with Business Community". In a smaller group, this allowed for a more in-depth discussion of the special topics and led to an exchange of 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 knowledge 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 over 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 largest silver mine in Norway. With its eventful 300-year history, this mine, which was operated until 1958, was not only a technological but also a socially important economic driver for the entire region.
At this historic and unique location, we experienced an exciting guided tour through the winding corridors of the silver mine before enjoying local delicacies in the largest cavern against a unique backdrop.
This interesting International Week with its multi-faceted program was rounded off on the last day with an open microphone session, which enabled the participants to share their experiences of the previous days with everyone in addition to technical topics.
As a result, not only were the last business cards exchanged, but promising cooperation projects also emerged. We owe the exchange and cooperation across faculty, university and national borders to the unique networking of university staff, lecturers and students through Erasmus+.
We are delighted that the International Office of the HWG LU with Ilse Page has made these special experiences possible for us and encourage everyone to try out the wide range of opportunities for themselves!
Many thanks and a big compliment to the USN team around Cecilie Dons Wallebek for this successful first International Week!
