Rektors blogg:

It’s summer season and the semester is over. One would be inclined to think that the Blindern campus is deserted. Not so. The International Summer School is in high gear – and was honored by a visit by our Prime Minister last week. And in a few days the Oslo Summer School in Comparative Social Sciences will bring new students and researchers to the campus.  

For more than 20 years the University of Oslo’s Faculty of Social Sciences has offered intensive summer courses for young social scientists. The 2014 courses will start next week.

The Oslo Summer School was born in the early 1990s, when Professor Fredrik Engelstad saw the need for high-level training and networking among young European postgraduate researchers. With six courses offered in 1993, the average is now 10 courses covering several fields of the social sciences. Renowned professors like Charles Tilly, Kees van Kersbergen, Pippa Norris, and the mother of positive psychology, Antonella Delle Fave, have taught courses, and in 2012 Professor Michael Mann gave the 20^th anniversary lecture on the topic “The Future of Capitalism”.

There has been a shortage of PhD courses within social sciences. The Summer School seeks to rectify this. The Summer School aims to strengthen postgraduate education in the social sciences and to help researchers connect.   

One of the Oslo Summer School’s main objectives is to offer PhD courses on the highest international level, drawing on top-ranking experts. I see the Summer School as an opportunity for young researchers to learn from and connect with some of the most influential and acknowledged lecturers in the world. The setting is informal, conducive to discussions and exchange of ideas and opinions.   

The Oslo Summer School represents all social science disciplines, and each department in the Faculty of Social Sciences has a representative in the executive committee. The various departments are responsible for suggesting lecturers and courses. This ensures that topics are of current interest and  encourages the various academic environments to link to international renowned lecturers and research environments.

To the students and lecturers taking part in the Oslo Summer School in Comparative Social Sciences 2014: Welcome to a week that I am sure will be most rewarding,  professionally as well as socially.