Studies in Norway 's a valuable education alternative

  • 2005-05-18
  • By Laura Zdanovska, a board member at SIA Nordlink
After Latvia joined the EU in May 2004, there has been a wealth of new possibilities for Latvian students to study abroad. But one mechanism has been lost in the process 's the quota program for studies in Norway. I was one of the last students from Latvia who managed to complete a degree under this program, and from a professional point of view, I am very satisfied with my decision to do so.

After finishing high school, I entered Ventspils University College's Economics Department, which had an agreement with Agder University College in Kristiansand, Norway. Before long, I found myself studying in a little Norwegian village called Volda, in the western part of the country. The only way to connect with the rest of the world was through a mountain tunnel or over a fjord.

A specific feature of Norway's quota program is that the first year is spent learning the language, and later on foreign students are incorporated in the school's main curriculum. Norwegian studies classes (most often in another college in another town), as well as some additional subjects are taught in Norwegian.

After studying in Volda, I transferred to Agder University College in Kristiansand 's the fifth biggest Norwegian town. There I finished my bachelor in business administration and, as an extension of my initially planned program, a master's degree in business administration.

Agder University College has an especially international environment, with students coming from all over the world every semester. Most of them study in Norway for only one semester, but there are also students who stay there for several years to complete their degree programs. There are also a number of foreign guest lecturers working in the college. Most of the international students study different specialties within economics, with political science coming in second. There is also a very big group of students who are in the Norwegian Society, Education, and Culture program 's in their home countries they are studying to become teachers, and during their stay in Norway they learn about Norwegian society, culture, education and language basics.

Some features of the Norwegian higher education system that differ from Latvia's system are:

l There is more involvement from the side of professors/lecturers in the form of both feedback and individual consultations;

l The studies and exams are based on a number of books, "obligatory literature," and to a lesser degree on lecture notes;

l The exam system is very formal and quite complicated for a person unfamiliar with it, but it seems to be quite fair;

l Many companies offer college presentations, where they discuss available job opportunities, and probably head-hunt the most talented students;

l Most Norwegian colleges offer at least some subjects in English, but sometimes there are too few subjects to make up a whole program;

l Life in Norway is expensive, so some kind of study scholarship is almost always a must.

After the recent educational reform, Norway has adapted its education system to other European systems. As a result, it has become easier for all European students, Latvians included, to find study programs and degree equivalents.