Tips for a fun and educational student life

Tips for a nice and educational student life

Hi first year students!

Those of you who started your studies this autumn have hopefully already started with your subjects for this spring. The last semester probably brought with it both positive and negative experiences, but the road to graduation is still long. Your time as a student is rarely problem-free, but student life is still said to be one of the most fun and rewarding times of your lives!

Your professors (including us :) ) all have in common that they were once students as well. We see ourselves in many of you. An important part of our job now is to create a motivating and good learning environment. We want each of you to develop a wide array of skillsets, ranging from theoretical knowledge and practical abilities, to the ability to see the bigger picture and think critically. Reflection and curiosity is also very important.

Our main goal is to help you become good problem solvers (that can compete with others on the market). We also have a vision that your studies here at NMBU will help you continue to learn and grow, even long after you’ve graduated.

Our professors are people, and people are different, but our passion for our respective subjects and our wish to share this with you is something we all have in common. We wish to achieve this through interesting lectures that pique your curiosity and make you want to learn more. Basically, we want to be good educators.

Here are some good tips on how to have fun while learning:

Take an interest in your subjects!

If possible- be social and get together with your peers for both group work and discussion about the subject. Most of us learn more by explaining to others, either it’s a term, a theory or a difficult problem, than just reading it by ourselves.

Make use of the whole array of study help that is offered:

Try to keep up with lectures on a weekly basis, and try to read through the contents before the lecture. This is time well spent!

Outside of lectures, there is practice groups where you can get help from teachers assistants and other students to work on different assignments.

Show up to lectures, even if they are being streamed. Here you can meet others studying the same thing, and maybe make some new study partners. It is also nice for us professors to see you, so that we know what might be difficult to understand or get other forms of feedback.

Some subjects offer an “oracle” hour, where you can get most of your questions answered. Even questions in several different subjects.

Don’t be afraid to ask your professors or teaching assistants questions.

Get involved in social activities outside of your studies .It’s easier to have fun at university if the student environment is fun. Try some activities at Eika, Learned societies, fraternities, Eika idea-workshop, or other things you enjoy.

The advice above will make it fun to learn, and make you well prepared for your exams!

Ulf Indahl (RealTek), Siri Fjellheim (BioVit), Hilde Vinje (KBM), Mette Wik (Handelshøyskolen)