Rektors blogg:

Today we open the 68th session of the International Summer School at the University of Oslo. There will be a welcome ceremony in the University Aula, followed by a reception in Oslo Town Hall. We are proud that 583 students from 86 different countries have chosen to spend six weeks at our university this summer.  

The International Summer School has for 68 years been a key institution at the University of Oslo. Long before internationalization became a prioritized goal permeating the entire institution, the Summer School brought thousands of international students to the University. Through the years the Summer School has existed, it has hosted more than 27,000 students from 150 countries.

No wonder that our Summer School is so well known abroad. Every so often when I am out travelling I meet colleagues who tell me of their experience at our Summer School. Many former students have retained the networks that they established during their stay in Oslo and have become good ambassadors for the university and the city.  

In my welcome speech today I will emphasize how important it is to create arenas for exchange of ideas and for fostering understanding across geographical and cultural divides. The International Summer School is precisely such an arena.  Although the undergraduate courses of the Summer School focus mostly on Norwegian issues – language, culture, history, and contemporary society – the perspective is international.

The international perspective is paramount. For we are living in a time when the greatest challenges are those that affect us all. In 2010, the International Summer School launched a graduate course on human rights.  The establishment of this course was inspired by the visit that year of former Vice President Walter Mondale. During his stay he spoke warmly of the research and educational activities here in Oslo that focus on peace and human rights issues and suggested that these activities be extended to the Summer School.   And now in 2014 the International Summer School introduces a new master course - A Changing Arctic – that aims at instilling increased understanding of a region that stands out with its telltale signs of climate changes.   

When challenges that affect all of us are discussed, the views from as many as possible of us should be brought to the fore. Debates are vitalized, energized and enlightened by recruiting many voices and gathering multifaceted views and perspectives.  So my advice to the students will be as follows:   The International Summer School boasts superb leaders and teachers. But your own contribution to the learning environment remains essential. Expose your views. Let your voice be heard in the debates. Leave an imprint on our campus.