The ISS Blog

The students at the Norwegian course for refugees are practicing the language after only one month of teaching.

The ISS students used programming and adaptive learning to ameliorate statistics and computer analysis for enterprises and development organisations.

Take a look at the news article in Uniforum.

Malm? University visited UiO in June to see how the International Summer School is run.

International Summer School initiates Norwegian courses for newly arrived refugees.

The former director of the ISS, Nita Kapoor, welcomes the new director, Anne Cathrine Uteng da Silva, as both digital and in-person courses begin for the summer 2022 students.

Happy New Year!

¡°The brutality the world witnessed in Norway on July 22 underscores the ISS mission to strengthen international friendship and dialogue and foster a deeper understanding of each other.¡± Michelle Fredrickson, Resident Manager at the ISS Blindern Dormitory through the past 10 years, reflects on the impact of July 22.

Looking back at The International Summer School (ISS) on its 75th anniversary, we find that it has served as a central tool for the internationalisation efforts at the University of Oslo through its many decades.

Had the ISS been a person, they would have reached the age where most of us would be younger, less experienced, and look to them for wisdom we cannot yet possess. Although those who created the ISS 75 summers ago are no longer with us, the ISS has become an institution that has stood the test of time by remaining faithful to its most foundational values and ideas: Academic Achievement and International Goodwill.

We are very happy to introduce the newly appointed board of the ISS. The ISS board is an important and valuable part of the ISS, and we want to take this opportunity to welcome all new and old members: Thank you for being part of our team!

Year-end is a symbolic juncture, and this one marks the end of a particularly challenging year. It is also a time for hope. Although the pandemic is not over, there is reason to be optimistic that things are changing for the better. As for The International Summer School, 2021 will be another irregular year due to the lingering restrictive effects of the pandemic and we are preparing for yet another digital summer. But there is also another reason why the coming year will be different.

For the 74^th time, the International Summer School at the University of Oslo saw close to 500 students take Bachelor and Master classes in Norwegian language, international peace and development issues. But this time was different, because it was the first time the ISS was completely digitalized. Why? Well, because of the pandemic of course.

A special summer awaits all of those taking part in the very first digital International Summer School, which UiO will be presenting this year. I am impressed by the zeal and enthusiasm of the ISS team and the near 500 students worldwide who will be a part of this experience, and look forward to seeing the launch of the digital ISS on June 22nd.

How do we live up to our ideals in non-ideal situations? The Summer School was initiated and developed under decades of relative stability ¨C until now. 

In times of crisis we must care for our communities, and therefore we tend to retreat into the immediate and the local. This is nevertheless as much a transnational crisis as it is a local one. The Covid-19 pandemic reminds us that the world is closely interconnected, and that human bonds are also part of the solution. 

As Chairman of the Board of the International Summer School at the University of Oslo, I have thought a lot about the importance of the ISS as an institution. The ISS plays several roles, locally as well as globally, that greatly benefit its students and the University as a whole, but also in a much wider sense.

This short article is dedicated to anyone who is considering a career in teaching Norwegian. One of the great things about being a Norwegian language expert abroad is that Norway has an image that attracts many people. Being familiar with Norwegian culture and speaking the language opened doors to places I did not know existed.

It¡¯s January. The office is buzzing with activity. Even though I work at the International Summer School (the ISS), I am not enjoying any peace and quiet. On the contrary, the ISS is kick-starting the year and I see students everywhere! It¡¯s peak season ¨C again! 420 international students are about to start a new semester at the ISS, and they are all going to study Norwegian as a second language. Hurray!

I am very happy to see that international students find their way to Norway and The International Summer School at UiO for their personal and academic development." Harald Nyb?let, Director General at Diku writes about his own time at the ISS. 

The 2019 International Summer School flew by in an excited buzz, and we are already looking toward the next year. We know from experience how very fast the summer of 2020 is approaching. We spend the fall season thoroughly going through all the feedback we¡¯ve been given from the students in an effort to improve the summer school even further.

¡°Learn, be curious and feed your longing¡±: Norwegian language teacher Erik Skuggevik passed on words of wisdom on behalf of the teachers to the Class of ISS 2019 at their Farewell Ceremony.

Today, we greet and meet 500 students from 87 different countries at the University of Oslo. We wish you all a warm welcome to the 73^rd International Summer School!

Something rather magical happens every summer on Blindern campus. It is with great pleasure that we await the start of the 73^rd International Summer School at the University of Oslo.

When thinking about my relationship with The International Summer School during the last 26 years that it has been a part of my life, I have to go way back to when I was a kid.