Students Speak

Exchange studies at Norway

By Bhav Ninder Singh & Ishaan Mishra

Exchange opportunity at the University of Bergen, Norway was ideal to satisfy our fascination for different and unique cultures. The opportunity of being an exchange student in Norway not only provided us with a chance to experience a completely new society at a general level, but also understand and learn from an education system that is different than one we have been part of throughout our lives.

Being a part of a different education system in Norway gave us a new perspective towards education, specifically legal education. Observations relating to different teaching styles, assessment systems, class interactions and course structures provides us with a completely new experience. In addition, the freedom to choose from a variety of different subjects that are specifically available to Exchange students in English at the University of Bergen provided us with an opportunity explore our fields of interest, especially if such courses were not available as part of our B.A. LL.B. course. The courses we took were International Criminal Law, International Human Rights Law and International Civil Procedure. We chose our courses based on our interests and evaluation criteria.

One of the biggest take away from exchange to the University of Bergen was the formal and informal interactions we had with individuals from different nationalities and backgrounds. This experience brought a change in our perception of people from different parts of the wold. Bergen receives thousands of exchange student each year from all over the world. Many of the exchange students live in accommodations shared with other students on exchange, this makes it extremely easy to make friends as everyone is new to the place and are looking for companions. We made friends with a myriad of people and that helped increase our perspective of the world. It gives one a deeper understanding of how different yet similar the value systems of different countries are. We can surely say that we have made friends for life. Spain, Germany, England and Ukraine do not seem so foreign to us now.

To make the already smooth process of integration easier, the Norwegian society helps a lot. Respect is one of the core values of the Norwegian society and we saw it first-hand. Most of the people there know English, so as much as one thinks that language will be a barrier it’s not as difficult. Norwegian people may be shy or reserved in general but when you do get to make a Norwegian friend, it’s one that you value the most.

Moreover, the course structure of the University of Bergen for exchange student is set up in such a way so that they can travel around Europe and explore different cultures all over. It is a holistic learning experience in the sense that not only do you get to know of the Norwegian culture but also travel across Europe and explore the different settings offered by different countries. We travelled to Iceland, Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw and Finland. Its not only as much as culture that one gets to experience but history and nature as well for instance taking the free tours in the cities we visited gave us a much clear picture of what went down in the world wars and how the cities in particular were impacted by the bloodshed. Our visit to Auschwitz was an opener, one can read a lot about these things but the impact of being there is on a whole different level. Travelling is a must, it is bound to change your life forever.
Exchange studies at Norway provide a unique and amazing opportunity for students to explore, and we cannot but highly recommend it. If you are still unsure of whether to seize this opportunity, remember: A ship is safest in the harbour, but that is not what ships are meant for.

1 Ishaan Mishra, Bhav Ninder Singh and Yashika Jain in Helsinki Cathedral, Finland