Blindern without staff and students feels empty and sad. The start of the semester is both hectic and pleasant, and marks our return to normality. For my part, the semester began when the Rector’s Office, the University Board, the Mayor of Oslo and all the deans welcomed new students to the University of Oslo at Universitetsplassen on 10 August. It is a formal yet friendly event that marks the beginning of what we all hope will be some educational and formative years for our students.
One group of students that has received a little extra attention at the start of this semester are the exchange students. In total, UiO is welcoming around one thousand incoming students this semester, and our faculty is receiving just over 250 of them. UiO is Norway’s highest-ranked university, and the Faculty of Social Sciences is the country’s largest social science educational institution. The faculty is home to academic communities that are very strong within their fields, and we are delighted and very pleased that students from other universities than UiO seek out our academic environments and choose to take part of their degree here with us.
Most of our incoming students are at Bachelor’s level. Of the 253 exchange students we have at the faculty this semester, 211 are studying at Bachelor’s level and 42 at Master’s level. The vast majority come from European universities, but we also have a number of incoming students from Asia and North America (the USA and Canada). We have only a couple of incoming students from South America, and we have in total welcomed three students from Australian universities.
We also send our own students out into the world, but we have always had more incoming than outgoing students. This semester, we have 226 outgoing students. Australia is a very popular destination for our outgoing students, and it has been so for a long time.
Exchange students make up a relatively small share of the faculty’s total student population, but they contribute to a more diverse student body and a more international learning environment. In turn, this can inspire our own students to go on exchange themselves. In recent years, we have developed many exchange agreements, and these agreements make international student mobility possible – and straightforward. The faculty offers many courses in English, which are taken both by exchange students and by our own degree students.
Going on exchange should be easy, and we are very pleased with the many exchange agreements we have established. Exchange students broaden the range of experiences, perspectives and world views among our students. Our impression is that they quickly become part of the student community, make new friends and feel well looked after. We also believe that they complete more credits while they are here than the average among our own degree students. I am confident that all the faculty’s staff will help to ensure that our exchange students also have an enjoyable autumn semester. When the exchange students return home with good experiences, new knowledge and new friends, they are excellent ambassadors for UiO and for the Faculty of Social Sciences in their own academic environments – which is another valuable effect of happy exchange students.
We have many exciting processes and opportunities ahead of us. I look forward to following the good work, and wish you all the very best for the autumn.