Welcome!

Buddy Bergen is a mentor scheme run by the Red Cross student group. Unlike the hectic mentor week at the start of the semester, buddies meet once a week during the autumn semester. And, instead of meeting in big groups, students are paired off two and two – a Norwegian student with an international student.
‘It’s a very popular arrangement,’ says Denise, head of the buddy scheme.
She explains that students fill in a registration form stating their preference as regards gender, area of study and country of origin.
’Norwegian students who are going to take part in an exchange programme, for example, often pick international students from the country where they are going to study,' she says. Others, particularly language students, pick a nationality on the basis of the language they are studying. We try to take everybody’s wishes into account as far as possible.'

Kicking off with a festival
The autumn semester will get things under way with a big Buddy festival.
’We had a festival last year too and it was a great success,’ explains Denise. ‘The festival is something we organise before the actual pairing off takes place, and it serves as a recruitment event.’
Students also have an opportunity that evening to ask questions, talk to the committee and register.
’Both groups of students are equally keen to take part. It is more a friendship on an equal footing than a mentor/mentee scheme, as both parties benefit equally from taking part,’ she adds.

Lasting friendships
The magic date is 24 August, which is when the students who have registered are paired off.
'It's a good time to start. The hectic mentor week during which students receive lots of new information is over, and ordinary student life begins,' says Denise.
She tells us that, although the Buddy scheme only lasts for six weeks, many pairs continue to meet up.
'Some of them have visited their buddies abroad; one of them has just been in France for example,’ she tells us.

Lots of highlights
The autumn programme is jam-packed with highlights according to Denise.
’We try to think up new good ideas while holding on to the old classics. This year, for example, we took part in the Constitution Day parade on 17 May. It was a fantastic, almost overwhelming experience for the international students,’ she says.
’This autumn’s programme includes a fancy dress party, quiz, concerts, walks in the mountains and film evenings, among other things. And there will also be surprises that we naturally won’t divulge just yet.’
'The most important thing is that the events are for everyone, regardless of whether a student is a fitness freak or a teetotaller, for example. Our job is basically to try to ensure that everyone has as sociable a time as possible during their time as students,’ concludes Denise.

Check out the programme and other information on Buddy Bergen’s website.
See photos and become a member of Buddy Bergen’s Facebook Group.

Meet our international students

Click here to watch the film!

The approximately 150 students that arrived at Bergen Airport during the first cold days of January got a warm reception from the Vice-rector for international relations, Kjersti Fløttum, at the Student centre.

All the students got picked up by bus at the Fantoft Student Accomodation, and then taken to the Student centre at the heart of campus. Here they got lots of information, free lunch and not least a warm welcome.

The University of Bergen spoke to some of the students and asked them how their first days had been and how they liked Bergen. Now you can see their testimonials at YouTube.

The Department of Chemistry awarded two Erasmus Mundus programmes

“Being included in the EU’s cooperation project is very prestigious. We are delighted that the Department of Chemistry is the only university department in Norway whose applications have been granted,” says Øyvind M. Andersen, head of the Department of Chemistry.

In 2004, the EU launched its Erasmus Mundus cooperation programme to promote education in Europe and to compete against the USA by attracting the brightest students outside the EU. The students must attend at least three different universities or university colleges in Europe, which work together in consortiums to offer Master's degrees. The programmes accept European students, but are primarily aimed at students from the third world who have at least 240 credits.

Unique composition
After the fifth round of applications, UiB is part of four programmes that have Norwegian participation.  A total of 160 projects applied for the title of Erasmus Mundus programme, 16 of which were from Norway and five from UiB.

The two programmes which the Department of Chemistry is involved in are “European Joint Master in Quality in Analytical Laboratories (EMQAL)” and “Advanced Spectroscopy in Chemistry (ASC)”, which will both start in autumn 2008.

In EMQAL, the Department of Chemistry will offer courses and Master’s theses in cooperation with the University of Algarve (coordinator), a university in Poland, two in Spain and one in Portugal. Each institution will offer courses in the areas in which its competence is greatest.

Associate Professor Bjørn Grung is the coordinator for EMQAL at UiB and he believes the main reason the application was granted is that the Department of Chemistry offers a study programme with a composition not found elsewhere.  Part of the study programme consists of the traditional analysis system, another of quality management and the last part, which is the Department of Chemistry’s main contribution to this programme, comprises data analysis and statistics.

“Our education programme is aimed at students who will work in modern laboratories accredited for analysis,” says Mr Grung.

Bright students sought
ASC is a cooperation project with Lille University in France (coordinator), the University of Leipzig, the University of Bologna, the University of Helsinki, the University of Krakow and the University of Madrid.

“The point is that we have recognised that society lacks people who are able to make the best possible use of instruments that are available in industry and research institutions,” says George W. Francis, the coordinator for ASC at UiB.  

Head of Department Øyvind M. Andersen is confident that the Department will now have access to some of the brightest student in the field. He believes that having access to bright Master’s students will make it possible to offer research-oriented education.

The third Norwegian project whose Erasmus Mundus application was granted is Gjøvik University College’s “Master Erasmus Mundus in Color in Informatics and Media Technology”.

Petroleum research tempts international scholarship holders

The question of what is coaxing international research fellows to Bergen was one of many topics under discussion, when Education in Bergen held the “City of Knowledge – the driving force behind regional development?” conference on the 12th March.  The Centre for Integrated Petroleum Research is one of the research milieus that have attracted a large number of  international scholarship holders.  Centre leader Arne Skauge, believes that the answer is to be found in active recruitment and overall follow-up.

Internet and networking
As the majority of scholarship holders were Norwegian when the centre opened in 2003, it was natural to look further afield, to foreign research milieus, when adding to the number.

-A large number of applicants ensures that we have good applicants to choose from.  It is therefore natural to recruit internationally, says Skauge.

The Centre for Integrated Petroleum Research actively advertises research vacancies on their own and on international web pages and this has proved effective.

Skauge also emphasises the importance of networking. Many of the centre’s foreign scholarship holders have come to Bergen thanks to advice from university scientists abroad.

Pursuing diversity
The Centre for Integrated Petroleum Research has 60 researchers, 40 scholarship holders and 40 Masters Students. This group represents 17 nationalities, and Skauge emphasizes that the Centre for Integrated Petroleum Research seeks diversity amongst its employees.

-A diversity of differing cultures, educational background and varying age and gender help to create a good working environment, he says.

Skauge stresses that the centre also attaches importance to the following-up of employees. Foreign scholarship holders and researchers receive help when applying for residencial and work permits and help when settling in.  Social arrangements and initiatives are an important part of centre activities.