Why should international students choose Høgskolen i Østfold?
I hope they come to Norway to experience something that is not possible in other places. When I talk to the international students, many of them tell me they are travelling a lot. They go to Lofoten and even further north. They experience the northern lights, and they take the train to Bergen. Why should they come here? I think we have many exciting courses to offer. We have fantastic student housing that is close to campus, where Norwegian and international students live together. In class we also try to have Norwegian students and international students work together in groups, which is usually interesting for everyone.
What courses do you offer exchange students?
We have Media Studies, for which I am responsible. And we offer a course in Professional Communication, which includes negotiation, which Wayne Kelly teaches. We have Corporate Communication, which is very exciting. In this course the students are writing a mini bachelor thesis. They can choose a company to study from different communication perspectives. It can be internal communication or external communication. Or maybe crisis communication. We also have something called Communication Design, a course taught by Joakim Karlsen and Tore Marius Akerbæk, which is primarily in Norwegian but which we have done in English. The students get to work as journalists. They go out, take pictures and interview people. They make films, a website and they design news stories. They can create maps, videos, or various types of graphics. We have had very good experience in offering this course to international students.
Why do you enjoy having international students in class?
It is enrichening to have international students in class because they bring perspectives from their home countries and how major media events are covered there. We get the perspective from countries like Belgium, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and The Czech Republic. It is very interesting to be able to compare, and see how different perspectives, cultures and values affect how things are presented and viewed in the media. The international students are also very good at coming up to me after the lecture.
Devoted teachers
“I am very passionate about the media perspective. I have a lecture every semester that is about media scandals, and I jokingly say that this is my baby. It is the topic closest to my heart.”
What are you passionate about?
I am very passionate about the media perspective. I have a lecture every semester that is about media scandals, and I jokingly say that this is my baby. It is the topic closest to my heart. In class we start all fun and games. But then I tell them a story about a Norwegian politician who ends up in a political scandal, gets a massive negative media coverage and ends up taking his own life. And I see how the atmosphere in the classroom changes. It ranges from the most serious consequences to more trivial scandals. I am also passionate about analysing major media events. Lately we have been working with the world cup in class, and everything that happened around Qatar before, during and after this media event.
Is it typically Norwegian that lecturers and students are a little more on the same level?
Yes, my students tell me that I am not like the professors they have at home. The first time they write me an email, they are very formal and title me Dear Professor or Madam. And I write back, please call me Elin. Usually, they are very careful in class at first, but eventually they notice that it is safe to ask questions in class and to come up to talk after the lecture. Yesterday a student came up after class and asked if I had time to go through a few things before the exam. That made me so happy, to get feedback on my lecture. Because if they are struggling with something, there are most likely several others in class who are struggling with the same thing.
“The first time they write me an email, they are very formal and title me Dear Professor or Madam. And I write back, please call me Elin.”
Research and campus
Would you like to share something about your own research?
I am a member of a research group here at the college called AreaS. Which is interdisciplinary and where all three faculties are represented. We are working on a large anthology with the theme of trust in the digital society. In the digital age, we have access to an infinite amount of information, but then we no longer quite know what sources we can trust. We look at the concept of trust from the perspective of political science, media studies, history, economy and literature. Specifically, I am looking at different fact-checking services. I am interested in fact checking during the corona pandemic and I am looking at how the fact-checking projects in Norway, Sweden and Denmark went through and fact-checked different COVID-19 conspiracy theories. I am also working on a chapter for a new Handbook of Crises Communication and Risk Communication, together with a professor at UiO, Øyvind Ihlen.
What are the advantages of a small campus like in Halden?
Everything is close. You don't need a car, only your feet, maybe a bike and public transportation. We also get closer to each other on a small campus. Closer to both other students, to the lecturers and the academic staff. The international students start a little earlier than the rest of the students and become close with their peers. And it’s also an advantage that the doors are always open at the international office.