Its our time

IT’S OUR TIME

WWW.UIA.NO

IT’S OUR TIME

It’s Our Time www.uia.no

WWW.UIA.NO

The Faculty of Engineering and Science is one of the University of Agder’s five faculties. With approximately 2100 students and 200 employees, the Faculty of Engineering and Science has 60 professors or associate professors on staff. The Faculty is organized into four departments: ICT, Engineering, Mathematical Sciences and Natural Sciences.

PhD Students The Faculty offers a PhD program with five specialization areas.

There are currently more than 50 PhD students. The specialization areas offered are ICT, Mechatronics, Renewable Energy, Applied Mathematics and Mathematic Didactics. There are 6 master’s programs and 11 bachelor’s programs at the Faculty. Shorter programs are also available. The student population is growing rapidly, with a 70 % increase in admission to the Faculty’s bachelor’s and master’s programs since 2007.

Collaboration with Industry UiA is a national and international research institution with research in all academic areas covered by the university’s study programs. UiA and the Faculty prioritize regional, national and international cooperation. Regionally, the Faculty cooperates extensively with high profiled technology, research and commercial networks, as well as individual businesses and institutions in the private and 4

public sectors. Most of the bachelor’s and master’s theses at the Faculty are written in cooperation with local industry. The Faculty has a strong link with the region’s offshore industry, cooperating on both research and education.

International Approach Internationally, UiA cooperates with more than 175 partner institutions through student, faculty and staff exchange. The university has fulfilled the requirements of the Bologna Process by adopting the Bologna degree structure, implementing the European Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (ECTS system), increasing continuous evaluation, increasing internationalization, introducing individual education plans and establishing a comprehensive quality assurance system.

UiA was the first higher education institution in Norway to be awarded both the ECTS and DS labels by the European Commission.

The University of Agder (UiA) was established on September 1, 2007 when Agder University College received full university accreditation. It is the fifth largest university in Norway. The university is located on two campuses in Kristiansand and Grimstad with approximately 10,000 students and 1,000 employees.

Faculty of Engineering and Science Dean Frank Reichert Rock Solid – Pofessor Peter Hugh Middleton Mr. Mechatronics – Professor Kjell G. Robbersmyr Clustered for Success – Kjell O. Johannessen NCE NODE Project The Beauty of Mathematics and its Applications – Professor Leiv Storesletten Making Sense of Mathematics – Associate Professor Claire Vaugelade Berg and Barbro Grevholm Bridging Classroom Culture – Professor Maria Luiza Cestari Math – No Problem – Associate Professors Martin Carlsen, Ingvald Erfjord, and Per Sigurd Hundeland Reaching and Teaching – Associate Professor Morten Brekke Simulating Better Grades – Associate Professor Per Henrik Hogstad Start-up Guy – Associate Professor Morgan Konnestad??

Shooting Star – Senior Engineer Knut Næss Mosgren Reinvented – Associate Professor Kåre Mosgren In Sync with Nature – Assistant Professor Crossing the Line – Alumnus Helen G. Pettersen Rajeev Takes Off – Alumnus Rajeev Lehar Coming Full Circle – Alumnus Thomas Fiskå Brain Teaser – Professor Andreas Prinz Asking Well – Professor Jose Gonzalez iFrank – Professor Frank Reichert Impatiently Driven – Associate Professor Rune Fensli A Pioneering Professor and a Smooth Operator – Professor Tor Oskar Sætre

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Ash – Don’t Waste It – Associate Professor Henrik Kofoed Nilsen A House a Day - Associate Professor Rein Terje Thorstensen Portrayal of a Professor – Professor Hans Grelland Making Waves – Associate Professor Harald Næser Igniting the Spark – Astrophysicist Tarald Peersen What Makes her Tick – Molecular Biologist Vivian Kjelland Tapping into Water – Professor Dag Olav Andersen

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Collaborating for Africa – Senior Engineer Vigdis Landsverk Building Competence in Khartoum – Professor Alfred Christy Still at the Top of his Game – Professor Emeritus Knut Brautaset A True Scholar on a Narrow Path – Professor Emeritus Per Tveit The Mover and Shaker – Former Faculty Director Gunnar Oftedahl The Agder Spirit – U.S. Ambassador to Norway, Barry B. White A True Visionary – Farmer and Philanthropist Johan Benad Ugland Campus from Scratch – Campus Grimstad Campus Live – Campus Organizer Elisabeth Rasmussen Connection Day – The Annual Career Fair Girls, Girls, Girls in Record Numbers The Road Less Traveled – PhD Student Liping Mu First Friends, then Business – International Liaison Tor Erik Christensen Sawubona – Student Exchange, Janne Nilsen Hello Norway – Student Exchange, Erlend Lüchterath Renewed at UiA – Professor Paul Imbertson, The University of Minnesota Vehicle for Success – Project Manager Kari Elin Bratteland ACTIO – «The Awesome Four» Faculty of Engineering and Science Study Programs

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It’s our Time

NAME OF OF FACULTY HERE AND SCIENCE FACULTY ENGINEERING

KRISTIANSAND

US

IT’S OUR TIME

What better way to provide an in-depth understanding of the Fa­ culty of Engineering and Science than to uncover the academic excellence amongst faculty and students. Persistence and dedi­cation to reaching common goals are characteristics of a faculty with a long history of exploring opportunities all over the world. Furthermore, collaborating with the private and public sectors, our faculty ta­kes pride in supporting the world leading industry located in the Agder region.

At the Faculty of Engineering and Science, we help thousands of eager students each semester and publish hundreds of scientific ar­ticles every year. But who are the people behind our success? What stories do they tell? And what achievements are we all proud of?

Each page of this book introduces you to one of us or one of our friends. Pål has lovingly written, translated, edited and arranged each story. His greatest regret was that he had to meet a dead­ line and therefore had to leave many stories untold. Of course, we will tell them in the future.

So, if you ever wonder who the people behind our Faculty are, and why we are proud of them, just find a nice place, pour your­ self a warm cup of coffee or tea, and start reading. The stories are about US, because we strongly believe «It’s our time».

Frank Reichert, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Science

Publisher: The University of Agder, Faculty of Engineering and Science Editor in Chief: Frank Reichert, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Science Managing Editor: Pål Grandal Graphic designer: Jo Guribye (www.guribye.no) Contributors: Kristoffer Pedersen, Amanda Johansen, Tor Erik Christensen, Geir Kløkstad, May Elin Aunli, Clare Jortveit, Thomas Fiskå, Vidar Mortensen, Svein Per Hardeberg, Janne Nilsen, Erlend Lüchterath Circulation/volume: 1,000 6

it’s our time

www.uia.no

Faculty oF engineering and science

It’s Our Time

www.uia.no

GRIMSTAD 7

A scientist, researcher and a problem solver, Professor Peter Hugh Middleton’s ability to land projects of value and prestige makes him an invaluable asset in designing the future of the Agder region. The professor believes money alone will not solve the world’s problems – you need «rock solid engineers» to make things happen!

- RoxSolidCell is a project on fuel cells that is proving to be exactly what the name implies; rock solid, says the enthusiastic professor from Nottingham.

- It’s an indestructible fuel cell, «The real McCoy»! If you drop this one on the floor nothing happens. It is rock solid, assures Hugh Middleton. More to the point it is robust and will solve many of the problems associate with this technology.

Funded by Eurostars, a European initiative to promote industry, RoxSolidCell is a joint venture between several partners including UiA, the Bergen company Prototech, Fiaxell (a Swiss spin-off com8

pany of EPFL), CNRS in Nantes and CTI (a French industrial ceramics manufacturer) and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the academic partner in Switzerland.

- We are going places with this project - Fiaxell is the company developing the idea, and we estimate we’ll have the products ready in three years’ time, predicts the professor.

England’s First Industrial PhD -I got the «bug» for science around the age of 15 when I set up a laboratory in my Grandparent’s wash house where things you

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Rock Solid

just can’t do these days got done – with a little help from the local pharmacy which supplied all manner of chemicals, apparatus and «stuff». After that, I moved up and majored in science at high school and then to university where I studied chemistry. I was then the first recipient of a CASE (combined award in science and engineering) award to take up a PhD in the field of electro chemistry. This was a new idea at the time to bring academia and industry together to promote the applied sciences. Today most PhD funding is of this type.

- After college I moved to Manchester to study corrosion science, I built a high pressure test rig to simulate corrosion conditions down in boreholes. The Manchester years gave me loads of experience discovering how industry works, and I still maintain many of those links. I was then offered a position at Imperial College London to work on a new kind of fuel cell called an SOFC –soon to become the hottest subject for R&Dwhich led to my involvement in the Swiss programme to develop high temperature fuel cells at EPFL.

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«It’s definitely our time»

Titanium Having spent several years in Agder, Hugh Middleton is a gift to a region with an innovative oil, gas, and process industry. His research and industrial know-how have made the industry aware of the sympathetic British born professor. Middleton, for his part, is equally impressed by many of the industrial magnates that he gets involved with on his adventurous projects.

- Norsk Titanium Technology (NTiT) is a company from the Scatec-group, Alf Bjørseth’s incubator group.

- We have a sponsored program backed by NFR, and we are working closely with SINTEF and Teknova on this one to transform the current laboratory on campus into a high performance high temperature materials lab. It’s quite big. This is a flagship project, claims Middleton.

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE Why titanium?

- The cost of making titanium is high because the process is complex, and the yield is very low. We are now developing a new way of manufacturing titanium more effectively. Titanium is a commodity that is finding use in many areas where strength and light weight are beneficial – such as the aviation industry, where an aircraft’s landing gear is a prime example. Titanium has the highest strength to weight ratio of any metal, and in aviation you want a light take-

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off weight, making titanium a far better alternative than both steel and aluminum, explains Middleton.

Turning Heat into Electricity The Scatec-group has recently launched TEGma, a new company on thermo-electric materials. The process industry uses a lot of energy, but most of it is wasted as heat. The same is true with vehicles.

- Any process heating something up will have a problem with waste heat, says Middleton.

- Thermo-electric materials capture the waste heat and turn it into useful electricity directly with no moving parts.

- TEGma has just been formed with funding from various sources including the RFF Agder. We’ll be engaging a PhD student to work in our new high temperature lab. From UiA’s point of view, we are building up competence and a high-profile laboratory to give the Agder region another unique resource.

- We have a golden opportunity now, and we are getting the support we need. Sitting amidst the Eyde and NODE networks, UiA is becoming a hub in a network of world leading companies, it’s definitely our time, concludes Middleton.

Mr. Mechatronics Professor Kjell G. Robbersmyr has dedicated his academic career to educating mechatronics students with a multidisciplinary mindset. A mindset that helps the oil and gas industry remain world-leading.

Inspired by a Scottish university, the UiA mechatronics program started in 1988. With an academic background in mechanical engineering and research experience related to industry, Robbersmyr started his commitment to Norway’s first mechatronics program in Grimstad. Alongside ambitious colleagues, Robbersmyr started the relentless job of taking mechatronics from a weird blend of words to a household name, adding significant value to a globally-oriented oil and offshore industry.

As the head of the mechatronics study program in 2003, Robbersmyr’s main ambition was to develop a master and PhD program.

- The key to establishing a successful master’s program depended solely on our ability to recruit students from a solid bachelor’s program, explains Robbersmyr.

- In the beginning, only 15-20 students signed up, but it wasn’t long before there were 80 students attending our three-year bachelor’s program, recalls the professor.

- Consequently, we ended up with a great recruitment pool of students for both the master and PhD. This year we have a record number of 26 students taking up 30 seats on our master’s program whereas the PhD program currently counts eight students, which is quite an accomplishment. Taking into account how successful 11

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the industry has been over the past few years, this is a pretty good number.

The Turning Point Robbersmyr is convinced that the mechatronics program hit a turning point in 2005 when it joined «NODE», Norwegian Offshore & Drilling Engineering, a project created to assist the oil and gas industry in southern Norway in maintaining its world-leading position.

- If we don’t manage to deliver candidates to the companies in our region, we’ll fail terribly, stresses Robbersmyr.

- The UiA mechanical engineering department has always had a great collaboration with the industry, and our ability to join forces with regional industry has certainly been a key to our success. Ne12

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vertheless, the NODE project helped create the necessary awareness needed in the region.

Mechatronics – a multidisciplinary mindset When designing a study program capable of adding value to an expanding industry, Robbersmyr started visiting companies in the Agder region to find out about their needs.

- I learned a lot about the local and regional industry which enabled us to create a program with a certain profile to match. Simultaneously, we were able to hire faculty members with the right academic and industrial background. The timing was impeccable, and started us off in the right direction. Collaborating with three major industry segments in the Agder region, including the subcontractors, we created a bachelor’s program with three different disciplines to match, explains Robbersmyr.

- In the mechatronics master’s program we reassemble all of the students’ knowledge from their bachelor studies into systems for simulation, adds the professor.

- We have created a program with courses incorporated into a series of multidisciplinary projects. For instance, during the second semester they do a large project combining the courses mechanical engineering, oil hydraulics, and programmable logic controller (PLC). This means that our students have a multidisciplinary and innovative mindset, invaluable to the industry. And to us.

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- It all came down to a question of becoming world leading through collaboration, making sure everybody understood the consequences of not choosing the collaborative path.

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The Game-Changer Johannessen has a vivid recollection of the exact moment that sparked off the NODE movement.

- I was at an INTSOK meeting when Aker CEO Roald Amundsen provided quite a game-changer, he recalls.

- Amundsen thought it was a paradox that the world leading industry of Agder was a better known fact in Houston than in Norway. This caught me completely off guard, so I had to ask him again: «Did you really mean world leading, Roald?» «- Yes, I meant world leading», was his answer. We sat down for a cup of coffee, and the window of opportunity became obvious to us all when the Director of Innovation Norway, Erling Hellum, told us about a funding program called «Arena». Two million crowns geared toward collaboration, connecting industry, the public sector and academia was the fuel we needed to move the process forward, and this was the beginning of the NODE cluster, explains Johannessen.

Contributing to Agder University College being accredited as a university was the number one priority on Johannessen’s to-dolist implemented by the NODE steering committee. Simultaneously, NODE started its campaign to support the mechatronics program at the Faculty of Engineering and Science. Looking into the future, Johannessen and the NODE cluster are seeking knowledge and competence across the board, emphasizing international management, supply chain management and robotics.

- Building a knowledge hub in the shape of a state-of-the-art laboratory housing all the stakeholders, initiating collaboration with the best innovation centers and universities in the world, and ensuring that the oil and gas industry in southern Norway remains world leading regardless of competition, concludes Johannessen.

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Clustered For Success

Studying Porter In the chain of events taking place immediately after establishing the NODE cluster, Johannessen did his fair share of research, particularly studying Michael Porter’s theories on competitive clusters.

Porter maintained that a cluster dominated by two or three large global-scale competitors is the most difficult cluster to manage and make successful. Unless these companies start talking and finding some common ground, it is not going to work, concludes Porter.

- I spent a lot of time discussing our options with Aker CEO Roald Amundsen and Hydralift CEO Birger Skeie. At first they were not willing to collaborate. However, we found a common denominator in the NODE ART research project joined by both Aker and National Oilwell Varco. If I hadn’t invested time and effort in Porter’s theories, I more than likely would have proceeded unaware and ultimately crashed and burned, says Johannessen.

- When establishing a steering committee, Johannessen wan-

ted a committee represented by top decision makers. Amundsen and Skeie initially told Johannessen that they would appoint one of their directors to the committee, but with Porter’s theory backing him up, Johannessen was adamant and stood his ground, boldly saying that it was his way or no way at all.

- They ultimately gave in to my demands, and I strongly believe that it was their support and presence that helped us raise the bar; creating the vision and ambitious goals that enabled the NODE Arena project to eventually become a Norwegian Center of Expertise. NCE NODE went on to earn its 2012 European ’gold certificate’. This is a huge accomplishment, acknowledging a small region as great, adds Johannessen.

NCE NODE

NCE NODE

After being awarded the prestigious «Gold Label of Cluster Management Excellence» in Vienna this April, positioning the Norwegian Center of Expertise, NCE NODE cluster, at the very top of the European Elite, Managing Director Kjell O. Johannessen shares valuable insight on the success story.

- In retrospect it is becoming more and more clear to me that our success is a result of good decision making prior to establishing the NODE project, stresses Johannessen.

Firstly, we managed to convince all the stakeholders within the Agder ecosystem, that is industry, political management and academia, that working collectively was the only solution, giving the industry and the region a competitive edge in a highly competitive and internationally-oriented industry.

Looking back, Johannessen recalls a modest and fractured, non-collaborative industrial community unable to connect with important stakeholders and important decision makers on a national scale.

- The preparations and research prior to launching NODE made it abundantly clear that we had to get all the «top dogs» together, which proved to be just as difficult as I anticipated, remembers Johannessen.

- Taking into account that these gentlemen were running billion dollar companies with a long history of competition, the idea of collaborating was definitely not an easy sell, I assure you, explains the managing director.

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MATHEMATICS

NCE NODE

«Drilling Bay» Better known in Houston than in Norway, Kristiansand’s «Drilling Bay» is located in Korsvikfjorden. Two of the world-leading suppliers of drilling equipment, National Oilwell Varco and its biggest competitor Aker Solutions are located a mere stone’s throw away from each other. The two giants are members of the NCE NODE cluster alongside 60 other companies located on Norway’s south coast. Representing 9,000 employees, the award-winning NCE NODE cluster estimates $7.5 billion revenue in 2012 and a backlog of $15 billion.

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The World-leading

- It’s a mystery how mathematics and physics enable us to describe and explain nature.

Mathematics and physics have this inner beauty.

Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Leiv Storesletten is fascinated by the subject he has dedicated his career to.

- Not many people know this, but Albert Einstein actually believed in God because of his extensive comprehension and understanding of nature. It made him believe that there had to be an intelligent force out there, explains Storesletten.

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- «Had I only known more mathematics», were Einstein’s last words.

Working half his life on problems he was unable to solve in his own lifetime, Einstein’s conclusion was that he didn’t know enough mathematics. That being said, finding a theory combining the theory of relativity with quantum physics is still a «work in progress», maybe unlikely to get solved at all, claims the 73-year-old professor emeritus.

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The Beauty of Mathematics and its Applications

Research Aged 73 Leiv Storesletten was the first mathematician to be hired as a full-time faculty member at Agder Regional College in 1970. He was awarded his PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Bergen in 1983.

- In the 70s and 80s we found ourselves on the fast track to national and international recognition for our research in mathematics. I was the faculty dean (1997-2000) when we developed the PhD program in mathematics education, says Storesletten.

Storesletten became a full professor in 1993 and retired five years ago, but his office is still his castle, at least five days a week.

Storesletten has been involved in research throughout his career, conducting pure research for many decades already. Focusing on applied mathematics, hydrodynamic stability and heat and mass transfer in porous media, the retired professor has increased his publication rate considerably since retiring. In other words, he now publishes several articles in international journals every year.

Your retirement plan isn’t too ambitious?

- I grew up on a farm and started working when I was eight years old. Since then, working has always been an important part of my life. Besides, my research keeps me alert and very much on top of things, says Storesletten.

The former head of department and dean has collaborated with several Norwegian and international researchers. His late colleague at UiA, Morten Tveitereid, was one of them.

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Clear Your Desk Leiv Storesletten has always enjoyed connecting with students.

Teaching well has always been at the top of his agenda.

- When young people claim that they don’t need math because the computer will help them figure out their problems, they couldn’t be more mistaken. Take Google for instance. Do people for one minute think there is no mathematics involved in supporting every aspect of such an incomprehensible innovation? asks the professor and answers: - The more advanced modern technology becomes, the more math we need to learn in order to take our innovations to the next level.

In the western world, people live in a society of abundance and satisfaction, making it easy for us to dismiss mathematics altogether. Mathematics is a subject that does require an element of talent to succeed; however, time and concentration are two important variables going into the equation of learning mathematics. Clear your desk, and get into mathematics for the long haul, he advises.

- Over the years, I have published papers and articles in collaboration with researchers from seven different countries. This has been extremely rewarding for me. I have had the pleasure of working with excellent scientists, especially an Englishman (University of Bath) for many years and an Italian (University of Bologna) in later years.

-Storesletten is happy and thankful to have a Professor Emeritus position at the University.

The conditions for doing research are good and it’s very nice to have daily contact with colleagues. Research is usually hard work.

However, it’s a creative and inspiring process.

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A 27-year-old shepherd owns 25 sheep and 10 goats. How old is the shepherd?

- He is 62, answers the 9-year-old student.

Making Assumptions Associate Professor Claire Vaugelade Berg explains the student’s answer.

- First of all, many students have great difficulty solving mathematical word problems. Research literature reveals that students find word problems difficult because they make assumptions. For instance, that all numbers provided in a word problem are significant to the answer, there is only one correct answer to every problem, and so forth. These assumptions are part of what is called «the didactical contract», a set of implicit rules and expectations between the teacher and the students.

In this particular case, the student simply added all the numbers, suspending sensemaking, or pushing all logical thinking aside, explains Berg.

- Teachers and student teachers must be made aware of the assumptions that their students make that result in answers that don’t make sense, adds the associate professor.

Along with internationally renowned colleague in mathematics didactics, Professor Barbro Grevholm, Berg would like to raise student teachers’ awareness of the importance of these results by causing them to analyze, reflect and possibly improve their approach to teaching mathematics. In the project «Inquiry-Based Mathematics Teacher Education» (IBMTE) the two researchers work alongside the Department of Teacher Education at UiA to strengthen mathematics teacher education, offering student teachers a course that ultimately prepares them for life-long learning in the profession.

- The student teachers are required to conduct research and be teachers at the same time. It’s challenging, but after submitting their research-based essays they claim to have learned a lot about teaching mathematics and personal development, explains Berg.

- When the students are informed of the challenges ahead, they are willing to work hard, reading research literature in English being particularly challenging. Analyzing a few weeks of practice teaching observations is crucial, enabling them to connect the dots between practice and theory, adds the associate professor.

Inquiry – Three Different Levels Facilitating the transition from student to in-service teacher, they’re introducing the idea of «inquiry» as a means of enhancing student teachers’ awareness of the specificity of mathematics, and to offer students opportunities to develop awareness of the complexity of their own teaching practice.

- The idea of inquiry is crucial in the IBMTE project and it is understood at three different levels, says Berg.

- At the first level, inquiry in mathematics as student teachers engage in mathematics tasks; at the second level, inquiry in teaching mathematics as student teachers engage in looking critically at their own teaching practice during their practice period; and at the third level, inquiry in their own reflections as student teachers engage in looking critically at their own development as future mathematics teachers. More generally, we aim at enhancing student teachers’ knowledge of content and didactics. Our data collection consists of questionnaires, interviews and research-based essays written by student teachers. Here’s one student’s remarks about the research-based essay: «As I worked with my essay, I learned a lot about what it means to be a teacher engaging in research and how important it is in order to become a better teacher. I have learned to ask myself critical questions about what I read and about my own teaching. I think that the word inquiry captures nicely what I have been through during my work with this essay.»

- One specific goal we are trying to accomplish is making student teachers reflect on results emerging from research in mathematics education, enabling them to recognize the deep interconnection between theory (results from research in mathematics education) and practice (teaching). Thereby, we aim to offer them opportunities to become better mathematics teachers. The project builds on our own research results and on results from the earlier projects we have been a part of at UiA, says Berg.

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The answer to a simple mathematical word problem illustrates the complexity of learning mathematics. In the scientific discipline of mathematics didactics it’s called suspension of sense-making. In other words, the student’s answer to the problem doesn’t quite add up.

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Making Sense of Mathematics

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- Many children get lost in school because they lose the meaning of what they are doing, the how and the why, especially teenagers. We need to focus on this, and engage them in issues related to society.

Cestari leads two major projects at UiA which bring real world mathematics into the school. The Mathematical Education Research Group (MERGA) is in its 18th year, and has spawned Math-EUS. Master students at UiA create new tasks with regional enterprises to challenge the analytical thinking of children in local schools.

The goal is to implement a new model of teaching by combining workplace practices with theory. National Oilwell Varco, St. Gobain and Returkraft are important partners in Math–EUS. - When students come out and see what is going on at these companies, they make the link between what they are learning in school and how it is applied in the real world, she says. Math starts making sense.

Cestari is also fascinated by culture in the classroom, and especially how mathematics teaching takes place in a cultural context. With colleagues from the University of California Los Angeles, Åbo University and the University of Gothenburg, Cestari is comparing classroom cultures. The project, dubbed «VIDEOMAT,» is funded by the Joint Committee for Nordic Research Councils for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NORDCORP).

- It is a cross-fertilization of ideas among countries and teaching cultures, Cestari explains. Teachers analyze their own lessons through videos, exchange the videos with colleagues and then discuss their observations.

VIDEOMAT focuses specifically on the teaching

of algebra in seventh and eighth grade because many children have difficulty grasping the concept of variables.

- This is often a juncture where they fall off, she says.

- In a technocratic society, an understanding of algebra is essential.

Science is like Music Cestari and her master and PhD students are collecting and comparing videos from classrooms in the US, Norway, Russia, Finland, Germany, Nigeria and Albania and sharing best practice.

- It is important to go where things happen – in the classroom, she says.

Cestari’s interest in mathematics education developed while working in Switzerland and her native Brazil with children with disabilities. She noticed that they particularly struggled with multiplication and division. She decided to concentrate on these elementary operations, and switched the focus of her PhD from the individual to the interaction between teachers and children, and the teachers’ place in the system.

Cestari was instrumental in developing UiA’s second PhD program, Mathematics Education, which was a key step in attaining university accreditation. From the topics of the many PhD and master’s theses that she has supervised, it is clear that mathematics education in Agder is changing - and not just at the PhD level.

Scientists are not born in the university, Cestari says. They start to think and be interested in research in school. If you do not develop analytical skills then, it is very hard to develop them later. It’s like becoming a pianist. Science is the same as music.

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For Professor Maria Luiza Cestari, giving meaning to mathematics is more than a passion. It is a mission.

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Bridging Classroom Culture

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Photo: Jan Arve Olsen

Associate Professors Martin Carlsen, Ingvald Erfjord, and Per Sigurd Hundeland usually conduct their mathematics education research on older students, but this project has taken the researchers back to preschool. The trio are generally excited about their project «ICT and Learning Mathematics in Preschool». More specifically they are eager to share their overall findings when the project comes to a conclusion in 2013.

- So far we’ve been quite surprised by the preschoolers’ abilities to solve rather complicated math problems provided they engage in a constructive dialogue with the teacher and other adults.

New Ways of Learning Math Through the research project «ICT and Learning Mathematics in Preschool», the researchers have taken a closer look at three local preschools in Kristiansand and Mandal.

- We have been focusing on how 4 to 5-year-olds learn math with the support of ICT tools, DVDs and online resources, and we are asking how ICT tools can provide new opportunities to learn math in preschools.

- We have a few answers already. However, some questions are still unanswered, maintains Hundeland. Naturally, our findings clearly indicate that information and communication technology will provide new ways of learning mathematics in the future.

International Attention The UiA research project has attracted international attention and awareness, and the professors have been invited to several workshops and conferences in Europe to present their work.

- We conduct developmental research, and in this particular study we work closely together with the preschool teachers to develop best practice. Conducting research this way may have a direct impact on teaching methods, conclude the associate professors.

«We have a few answers already. However, some questions are still unanswered» 24

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UiA research indicates that 4-year-old preschoolers exposed to modern technology are capable of doing advanced math on the computer; complicated problems they wouldn’t typically encounter until the second grade of elementary school.

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Math - No Problem

- The format of the lectures hasn’t changed, though, says Brekke.

- I still write on something resembling the whiteboard, I just have state-of-the-art technology broadcasting my «scribbles» online.

The educator wants the students to have access to his lectures wherever they are: at home, on campus, or even on vacation.

- I have spoken with many students who actually prefer following the lectures from a distant location. They simply find it easier to «pay attention in class» in the privacy of their own home, says the popular science teacher.

- Students who have to spend the day at home with a sick child frequently drop me an email asking if the lecture will be subject to live online streaming. This just shows that we have to take our old classroom on the road, so to speak, maintains Brekke.

«Reach and Teach» His vision to «Reach and Teach» as many people as possible is attracting attention from the international world of digital publishing.

- Thanks to state-of-the-art technology you don’t actually have to go to school to learn. That’s the brilliant thing about distant learning, says the teacher.

- My ultimate goal is to create a digital study kit, enabling stu26

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- If you don’t manage to catch my lecture live, just make yourself comfortable for the re-run at home. Assistant Professor Morten Brekke is passionately redesigning the future classroom online – reaching and teaching.

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Reaching and Teaching dents to do math problems and ultimately take exams online.

Accompanied by a textbook, students are able to follow math lectures from home, or anywhere else for that matter, says Brekke.

Last year 40 of Brekke’s lectures were streamed online. An unknown number of people tapped into those lectures a mindboggling 5000 times. - From an educator’s perspective, this is simply fantastic. I am unable to find the downside to streaming online courses.

Digital assessment In the fall of 2013 Brekke will be conducting all his math and physics exams digitally.

- After you’ve submitted your final answer, you log out and get yourself a cup of coffee. By the time you’ve finished your coffee, you can claim your grade at the examination office. Shouldn’t take more than ten minutes, he says.

Brekke conducted digital examinations last year, and he found himself handing out more As and Bs. - Provided you have internet access, this magnificent tool is at anybody’s disposal, and you don’t need a teacher looking over your shoulder if you have the right tools, concludes Brekke.

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Associate Professor Per Henrik Hogstad is revolutionizing the industry of higher education and teaching one simulation at a time. Video documentation of lectures combined with simulation models and problems, all integrated online, bring students’ grades to an all-time high.

The mastermind behind the ultimate package deal for the students, called «SimVideo/SimReal», offers students everything they need to do well in mathematics, physics and statistics, to mention a few subjects. According to Hogstad, there are basically two versions of every mathematics and physics lecture on video: the fast version featuring himself as the lecturer, and the slower version featuring 28

teaching assistant Erik Yggeseth.

The extended SimVideo version of Hogstad’s first online toolkit, SimReal (Simulation in mathematics, physics and statistics) contains video lessons, video simulations, interactive simulations, exercises and applications all connected so that it’s possible to continuously switch between these different modules.

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«Simulating» Better Grades

Incredible Results The digitally-minded teacher wouldn’t dream of a campus without students.

- The online toolkit is merely a supplement which gives students additional help with their studies. Besides, students show up in record numbers to every class regardless of access to SimVideo. In «difficult» subjects like mathematics and physics, students want both traditional lectures and simulations, as well as access to SimVideo when studying on their own.

His students are as thrilled with the online toolkit as they are with their improved grades. Hogstad does receive some feedback from students offering improvements, such as improved availability on mobile devices and more videos featuring Hogstad solving exam problems, but students eagerly share their excitement.

Some of their comments include:

n A great supplement, and very good academic contents n A great way to repeat past lectures n I wish this could be used in all my courses n Enables me to get a better understanding of the subject n Extremely impressive that you have spent all this time to create such a fantastic tool.

Students Earning Better Grades Looking at exams conducted by Hogstad from 2006-2011, the figure above clearly indicates a fantastic improvement since the introduction of SimVideo. With the same examiner assessing the final exams, more students enrolled in the course, and despite the fact that the exam itself was more difficult, the total number of failures in physics in 2011 was under 10% compared to 25% in 2006.

Furthermore, the total number of students achieving As, Bs, and Cs has increased dramatically over the same time period.

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The Startup Guy An entrepreneurial spirit by nature, Morgan Konnestad’s campaign to launch three new study programs in only four years makes him UiA’s «startup guy».

A fourth program, Konnestad’s first master’s program, is on its way.

- Yes, a substantial number of students have graduated from our Bachelor’s program in Multimedia Technology and Design since we launched it ten years ago. The master’s program is actually long overdue – we’re definitely taking the program to the next level, hopefully by autumn 2014, states Konnestad.

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Lecturer and study coordinator Konnestad can add assistant head of the ICT department and university board member to his list of duties at UiA. Konnestad is also passionate about the faculty’s outreach efforts and recruitment campaigns.

- I love talking to young people, so I make sure I’m on the roster

«I love talking to young kids, so I make sure I’m on the roster when we start our recruitment campaigns in the fall» when we start our recruitment campaigns in the fall, says Konnestad.

- My colleague Jostein Nordengen and I enjoy showing kids of all ages what multimedia technology is all about. It’s an easy job for me because Jostein really knows his gadgets, says Konnestad.

Listen and Hear Listening to students comes easy for Konnestad. Hearing them is the most important thing that lecturing has taught him.

- A conversation with a student provides valuable insight which

enables me to be at the top of my game as a lecturer.

The charismatic lecturer had plenty of job offers lined up after graduation from NTNU. Morgan’s decision to move back to his hometown wasn’t that difficult, according to the popular lecturer.

- I wanted to teach. Despite tempting offers from companies in Oslo, Trondheim and Grimstad, I chose academia. No regrets, because I have had the privilege of working with so many interesting people over the years. I go to work every day truly believing I’m in the best place I can possibly be. To top it all off I have been blessed with fantastic colleagues, Konnestad says.

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A Shooting Star Having caught over 350 car crashes on videotape at the Lister testing site, Senior Engineer Knut Næss holds the Norwegian record. However, his entrepreneurial spirit was sparked by his own desire to make his classes more efficient and more entertaining. Little did he know that his educational videos would later turn him into a «shooting star», contracted by international TV networks such as National Geographic.

Besides, Knut Næss moved to Grimstad from his hometown of Oslo back in 1979, when the University of Agder’s engineering branch was still in its early stages as Southern Norway Technical School.

- I came straight from working two and a half years offshore, responsible for stage equipment and TV productions on cruise ships in the West Indies, says Næss.

Prior to his adventure at sea he worked for Philips in Oslo, being 32

responsible for surveillance at hospitals and the Norwegian Bank (Norges Bank).

- I learned a lot about electrical installations and hardware, instrumental experience having given me the privilege of actually knowing what electrical wiring is all about.

Næss’ transfer into the world of multimedia started while teaching engineering students soldering technique.

- I discovered that I could make my teaching more efficient and

fun if I made instructional video films. These films became valuable to the outside world because they documented equipment used by various manufacturers. The manufacturers bought the films I made, which kept us on an innovative path in regards to teaching methods, and in return we pulled in a decent profit for the faculty. I called Philips in Oslo to hire out our services making videos of their entire production line from design to certification.

This wasn’t only a great deal for the school. In retrospect, it was a phone call that I later turned into my private little enterprise on the side, explains Næss.

A Phone Call from an Englishman An inquiry from an Englishman would require better and more equipment. However, there was little money in the faculty budget. Næss went home to his wife with the idea of starting his own business.

- After discussing my little venture with her I went to the bank to take up a loan, and I ended up purchasing equipment worth half a million crowns. In my spare time and on weekends I made instructional films for a new generation of soldering equipment and got my private little adventure off the ground. Since then, I have done projects for Statoil, Telenor, Norsafe, and even the Brazilian oil company Petrobas. After doing a shoot for Norsa-

fe, getting the world’s highest lifeboat drop on tape, National Geographic called me for permission to use the footage for a series on offshore safety measures they were working on, adds Næss.

Designing Multimedia Technology Næss’ entrepreneurial drive combined with his hands-on experience, connections and passion for teaching students everything he knows, were instrumental when launching the Bachelor’s Program in Multimedia Technology and Design - Kåre Mosgren, Morgan Konnestad and I were all very interested in multimedia, and along with good colleagues like Bjørn Lindeman and Ivar Gunvaldsen we built the first TV studio in our old facilities from scratch, and in our spare time. Seven to eight years ago our multimedia students even had the opportunity to make a TV segment called «Young» for the local TV network. This was a project we kept running rather successfully for three and a half years. Prior to the great move into our new campus, I paid particular interest to the preparations and planning of the multimedia facilities, and thanks to a helping hand from a friend working for the national TV network, NRK, we managed to get all the equipment mounted and ready just in time to «shoot» Crown Princess Mette Marit as she entered the stage for the grand opening, remembers Næss.

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«I discovered that I could make my teaching more efficient and fun if I made instructional video films»

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Associate Professor Kåre Mosgren can definitely add versatility to his list of attributes. Well known for his ability to reinvent himself, the multimedia teacher has only been «reprogrammed» once.

With a degree in biology and specialization in marine chemistry, Mosgren started his career doing research in chemistry and environmental issues at Hydro Pharma and the research institute SINTEF. - I also did research at The Norwegian Veterinary College in Oslo, adds the associate professor.

Originally from Kristiansand, Mosgren decided to move back home, and the former Agder Engineering College in Grimstad had just the right position for him in 1993.

- I was recruited to participate in the development of the envi34

ronmental engineering program, says Mosgren. For seven years he taught subjects in the fields of biology and chemistry at the program.

- However, due to a decline in the number of students, the university college board of directors decided to terminate the program in 2000. With a fair share of work experience, not to mention passion, related to music technology and web design, it was really no stretch for me to work my way into the multimedia department as a producer. The transition was demanding academically, but being «reprogrammed» at the SAE Institute in New Zealand for a

year more than made up for the efforts I put in, says Mosgren.

Art History Mosgren appreciates his art. A music fan to the core, the multi-talented teacher also writes his own music, plays guitar and sings in the faculty band.

- I also teach art history, self-taught from reading a lot in my spare time, explains Mosgren.

- Multimedia Technology and Design is a popular bachelor’s program with its main emphasis on technology. However, understanding art and design is a neccessity if you follow a career in the multimedia business, claims Mosgren.

- Any job in multimedia requires an eye for design. It is simply an important discipline in our program. Moreover, we’re educating

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Mosgren Reinvented

«I also teach art history, a good addition to the curriculum, self-taught from reading a lot in my spare time» young students, and art enriches their perspectives on life in general, claims the self-taught art historian.

Good Jobs According to Mosgren, many of the best students appreciate art history, achieving very good results on their bachelor theses. The ideal students develop skills in all aspects of a multimedia production: video, sound, design, photography, web technique, and programming.

- Our best students willing to put in the extra effort also tend to get the jobs they want after graduation. We have quite a number of our alumni working in oil/gas companies in the region, but also for big contractors modeling 3D images of construction projects. Some also work in TV and advertising. Good jobs, don’t you think?

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In Sync with Nature - I have come full circle so to speak, says Øyvin.

- Back where I started over 20 years ago, practically in the same office, I am still teaching and loving it, adds the assistant professor.

reputation and makes him a tough act to follow. Simonsen just has this way about him, making everybody feel comfortable in his presence. Connecting with students from all over the world, he also serves as a vehicle for students to broaden their horizons, not only academically, but also culturally and socially.

- We attract many students from German-speaking countries.

Generally they seem to enjoy fishing just as much as I do, so I am happy to take them out in my boat after school in the afternoons.

They benefit from it on so many levels. Besides, fishing for years, I know all the good spots for catching a lot of fish.

- Taking them fishing also gives me an opportunity to get under their skin a little bit, explains the teacher.

Taking Care of People Øyvin’s dedication to helping his students has earned him a great

Not a Geek Dedicated and committed to teaching his computer science students

Assistant Professor Øyvin Simonsen is more active than most people half his age.

Kayaking, orienteering, skiing, and fishing are seasonal activities that take 62-year-old Øyvin where he wants to be: outdoors and in sync with nature.

- I never dream of running the New York Marathon. I prefer running in the forest, says the fitness junkie from Kristiansand. The NTNU graduate joined the Faculty ten years ago after a long career at the Norwegian telecommunications provider «Telenor»; first as a technician and then as a teacher at the education and training facility in Grimstad.

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everything they need to know about microprocessors and data communication, the sympathetic lecturer is far from your average geek.

- Even though I teach the stuff I am not a user as such, says Mr. Simonsen.

- Related to my teaching methods, I stick to the system that works. Writing on the whiteboard making the students take notes during class seems to do the trick. Additionally, I believe in being structured and prepared, stresses the educator.

- When it comes to being prepared, nothing makes me happier than having a student take me up on an offer to help them prepare for their final exam. In fact, more students should take advantage of this offer. They should actually be lining up in front of my office, emphasizes Simonsen.

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Crossing The Line Already in high school, Helen G. Pettersen had her mind set on working offshore.

When landing her first job as a service engineer at Aker Solutions in 2009, she was determined to cross that line and enter the Kingdom of Neptune.

It has been a long naval tradition to initiate sailors into the Kingdom of Neptune upon their first crossing of the Equator.

- Those who haven’t crossed the equator at sea are called pollywogs. After a rather interesting ceremony, though, you become a so-called shellback, says Pettersen.

- The actual ceremony is disgusting. They sat me down in a bathtub filled with fish oil and leftover food. Afterwards I had to crawl over to the fattest person on the ship, a guy called «Baby».

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His entire stomach was covered in chocolate and my job was to lick it all off before King Neptune squirted mustard into my mouth. The Sea Hag then rings the bell confirming your new status as shellback. Afterwards, in yet another ceremony, you’re awarded the diploma by the captain, explains the young engineer.

All Over the World Pettersen boarded «The Discoverer Inspiration» in Durban, an

American drilling ship with Modular Derrick Drilling Machine (MDDM), developed by Aker Solutions in collaboration with the American offshore company Transocean.

A four week rotation enables Helen to travel the world, from offshore installations in the North Sea to drilling ships in the Indian Ocean.

- As a service engineer, you get a lot of basic knowledge about the machinery, which will be necessary to take my career to the next level later on, says Pettersen.

- My company has facilities all over the world, but at this point I am happy living in Grimstad getting my hands dirty because I have a lot to learn, concludes Pettersen.

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Rajeev Takes Off Developing the world’s first electric powered amphibian plane reveals a visionary UiA alumni ready for the ultimate «Take Off».

Forced to give up his childhood dream of becoming a pilot due to impaired vision, Rajeev Lehar lost all motivation and inspiration as a teenager. However, after a few bumpy years after high school graduation, he got a second wind by joining the Air Force Technical College, and later UiA’s aerospace engineering program.

- That’s when the snowball effect really kicked in, says Lehar, currently climbing the corporate ladder at Aker Solutions, a world leading oil services company.

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- Completing both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Agder changed my life. I excelled thanks to terrific faculty who believed in my potential, stresses the proud UiA alumnus.

Getting Airborne Making an impact as an aerospace engineering student wasn’t enough for the ambitious and diligent student. Reconnecting with a childhood friend was about to mark yet another important and very

personal turning point in Rajeev’s life.

- Having to give up my dream of following in my brother’s footsteps to become an airline pilot was devastating to me, but finally I saw an opportunity to do the next best thing, begins Rajeev.

- My friend Tomas Brødreskift and I were discussing his idea of building an airplane, and after teaming up with an aerospace student in the U.S., an engineer from Eker Design and Hydrolift’s

head of development, we found ourselves on the fast track to developing the first electric powered amphibian plane in the world, reveals Rajeev.

- Constructing, manufacturing and ultimately selling your own aircraft is a bold undertaking by any stretch of the imagination, but the company Equator Aircraft Norway SA will get me airborne, fulfilling my dream, says Lehar.

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Coming Full Circle In 2006, Multimedia technology and design student Thomas Fiskå was the creative force anchoring the weekly student TV show «Young» on a local television station. Seven years later the 28-year-old alumnus has come full circle as the university media expert in charge of visualizing UiA for the world.

1. What do you do in your current position at UIA? I’m a graphic advisor in the department for student recruitment, working with brochure design, web development and graphic design of logos, clothing and advertisements. Analyses of advertisements and web pages are also central tasks.

2. What do you enjoy the most about working with different media platforms?

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Continuity in the way we communicate independently of whatever platform is involved. Different platforms offer different prerequisites and contexts. There are significant differences in how people gather information. During the first week of the semester, for instance, we see hundreds of students visiting application sites via their mobiles to find out where to meet up with their classmates. I believe we need to think about contextual use and responsive design that adapt to all platforms.

3. Where did you work after graduating from UIA/HIA? I got a job right after graduation. It was a project position which I had until I got my permanent job in a web agency in Kristiansand, responsible for several design projects.

4. Why did you choose the multimedia technology and design program at UiA? The program offers versatility; valuable insight into audio, video, 3D; marketing project management; and programming and design.

It’s all connected.

5. In retrospect – what did you learn of significant importance to your current professional career?

Working together as a team on large and small projects in order to

get a grade taught me a lot. If someone drops out of a group it affects everyone; you have to figure out the potential of each member and let people do what they do best.

6. What piece of advice would you like to offer a potential multimedia student?

The program has a wide range of possibilities. It is your job to find out what you want to focus on. For my part, it was design. But you cannot be a good designer without technical knowledge. One must know about the opportunities and constraints of the industry. Having insight into how programmers work enables me to be a better project manager and designer. Additionally, it improves my purchasing expertise.

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Faculty Time-out Fancy a latte, cappucino, or cafe mocha? The faculty time-out on Wednesdays is a popular gesture initiated by faculty management to promote companionship and a good laugh!

Come Wednesday afternoon, faculty members, PhD students and administrative staff head for the coffee shop. They cherish their weekly 15-minute Wednesday time-out.

- A great way to meet colleagues for a chat and a good laugh, says Morten Magelssen, the faculty IT purchasing manager.

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Academic fact?

Coffee can help protect your skin! Your skin is constantly exposed to harmful external factors such as UV light, which can affect the health of your cells and cause cell damage. But with the antioxidant-rich properties of coffee, you can help your skin fight the damaging effects of the sun and prevent wrinkles as well.

Brain Teaser Thinking outside the box, stepping out of his comfort zone, and challenging every fact known to man are characteristics of a true rebel. Professor Andreas Prinz isn’t really that rebellious. He just enjoys teasing his brain.

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people understand, stresses the professor.

He is very concerned about not wasting his students’ time. If they don’t master the problems given to them, they will most likely lose interest and even drop out. If there isn’t enough challenge, they might also lose interest or drop out, claims Prinz.

- It is a delicate balance keeping everybody ambitious and dedicated, says the professor.

Thinking outside the Box Professor Prinz enjoys giving lectures at high schools. When addressing high school students he usually asks the following question: «What does it mean to think outside the box?»

- First of all, there is nothing wrong with thinking inside the box, reassures Prinz.

- The brain’s natural behavior is to categorize everything in boxes, and this helps us to stay afloat in a world that is continuously changing. However, we must be made aware that thinking inside the box might not necessarily take you where you want to go, forcing you to choose a different path, explains Prinz.

- It’s not always necessary to leave the box, but sometimes you should, and it’s good to be prepared.

I present quite a few problems to high school students. They have to solve them, and after a while they understand that they won’t be able to solve them unless they start thinking differently.

Counter-clockwise Prinz’ reasoning for having a clock in his office that tells time counter-clockwise instead of clockwise is consistently related to his research and his general approach to life.

- There are different ways of presenting the same information.

Why do you consider the direction of your traditional clock to be

the correct one? In the northern hemisphere, the clock follows the course of the sun, i.e. clockwise. However, the clock following the course of the sun in the southern hemisphere would logically be counter-clockwise. Which one is correct? Prinz asks.

- I challenge the limits, not taking anything for granted. If you say something is impossible, it’s often just an excuse not to do it. You can accomplish whatever you put your mind to. I have run marathons, taken a shot at skydiving, learned how to snowboard.

It really just boils down to stepping out of your comfort zone and being dedicated.

- The skydiving experience was the most radical thing I have ever done. It was crazy. For me, exploring new ground is a way of life or an approach to life. I don’t live a boring life, not at all.

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The German born professor was headhunted to Grimstad from Berlin in 2003 to help the Faculty of Technology earn the right to award the PhD degree in Information and Communication Technology, ultimately resulting in Agder University College being granted its university status in 2007.

Prinz has a master’s degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Informatics from Humboldt University of Berlin. Modeling of domains and modeling of information are hot topics at the moment, and Prinz takes great pleasure and interest in this area of research.

- We need to understand the flow of information and its relation to the flow of goods and other objects. Information is the real currency of the 21st century. I became a part of the university Intranet project for this reason. Being a specialist in modeling, I am always interested in applying my knowledge to new areas. Industry is also starting to understand that. It’s exciting that the NODE and DIGIN clusters are looking for information architecture know-how and modeling competence, my areas of research.

Andreas Prinz applied modeling in a large project in Germany before coming to Norway. Responsible for the formal semantics of the SDL language, Prinz transformed the mathematical description of the language standard into a computer program that performs the actual description.

- I have turned a description into a program, so to speak. I am very interested in turning descriptions into real functional software, says Prinz.

Awake at Night Teaching difficult classes, Prinz is always working to improve them and make them easier to understand.

- When I presented my PhD thesis, I designed the lecture so that even my mother would understand most of it. It’s important that

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«Presenting my PhD thesis I designed the lecture so that even my mother would understand most of it. It’s important that people understand.»

Rubik’s Cube Aged 17 Andreas Prinz was introduced to the Rubik’s Cube, the mother of all brain teasers.

- Solving it the first time took me a fair amount of time, but it has become easier and easier. I have even made a solution that applies to other «twisty puzzles» out there. It’s an algorithm generating an algorithm that solves them, reveals Prinz.

Interested in all kinds of brain teasers, Prinz has picked up the classic Chinese board game Go. - The rules can be explained in half an hour, but the actual game will take you a lifetime to master. It involves strategy and tactics - a version of life in a way. You can approach the game from countless angles, just like you approach life, says Prinz.

- The game Go gives me a lot of practice in trying to see how things are linked. This is an image of how I think in general. I find pleasure in thinking a lot – brain exercises make me think.

I don’t watch TV. There is no time!

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It’s impossible to solve problems without making mistakes. Your mistakes enable you to ask the right questions, leading you to the right solutions.

Professor Jose Julio Gonzalez has been making mistakes for decades. Lately he has been devoting his time to offering students advice on subject matters like project management, security and crisis management.

Director of the Center for Integrated Emergency Management, CIEM, Gonzalez also teaches system dynamics, modeling, and simulations, with emphasis on security and crisis management in companies, organizations and research institutions.

- To better understand what could happen when doing project management, for example in terms of security in an organization or 48

a company, we create a model. The reality is too complex to predict outcomes. One can only make assumptions regarding certain scenarios and use those assumptions to understand how things can develop over time, simplifies the professor.

Asking Good Questions Earning his first PhD in Mathematical Physics from the University of Kiel, Gonzalez started as a lecturer at Southern Norway Technical School in 1977. Shortly afterwards he was awarded a second PhD in Polymer Science from NTH in Trondheim.

You are known to push your students to excel?

- That is probably correct. Most students work too many hours, I try to teach them that a change of habits and routines will result in less work, and definitely not more work than necessary. When given a challenging project, it is important to manage your time, working intelligently. I provide a guide which enables students to use the right method to solve their problems, by making a self-evaluation and a justified grade suggestion. This leads to both great results and a steep learning curve, which proves useful later in their careers.

About the EU Author of a book critical of Norway joining the EU published in 1990, Gonzalez is still opposed to EU membership.

- I am still critical of the EU. I think the EU has been badly designed. Reading the book today, you will discover that we addressed some issues back then that have become so abundantly obvious to people today. Having an ambitious vision is simply not enough, says Gonzalez.

- If an engineer designs an ambitious bridge, but he doesn’t choose the right materials and the right dimensions, the bridge will collapse. Unfortunately the EU is likely to collapse because the politicians have ignored the European «materials» – the tremendous differences among the countries in Europe.

It’s impossible to change society that much in only two generations.

The main problem is that they’ve been moving ahead too quickly and closed their eyes to the formidable challenges they have been facing. Besides, introducing the Euro made matters much worse, maintains Gonzalez.

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Asking Well

Working Intelligently He wants to strip his students of the fear of making mistakes.

- We have to realize that everybody makes mistakes, myself included. In fact, my first profound experience as a scientist was discovering a mistake that had gone undetected and had confused the Nobel Prize winners Einstein, Heisenberg and Born.

Rumors have it you are multilingual?

- Well, I can make mistakes in eight languages, but I get by in four.

Describe your favorite student?

- We are all so different, but the students I value the most are independent, inspirational, and a bit challenging. These are the students that keep we supervisors on our toes, so to speak.

What is your passion?

- I enjoy researching, teaching, and contributing to job creation. I also appreciate opportunities to connect with people from all walks of life.

Originally from the north of Spain, Gonzalez left his home town at 17.

- I have changed a bit over the years, says Gonzalez.

- The environment affects you tremendously.

Spending ten years in big cities in Germany, and 41 years in Norway, all «my» countries have made an impact on me. But I prefer Norway, stresses the Spaniard.

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What subject matter do you enjoy teaching the most?

- My academic interest keeps changing as new challenges arise.

My main efforts are currently geared towards crisis management.

I try to give students a foundation for mastering certain questions and problems. I offer my PhD students advice, and I encourage everybody to thoroughly think through what they want to ask me. If they ask general questions they will receive vague answers. A part of the secret to becoming a good scientist or researcher is to ask good questions. If you do, you’re halfway to the solution already.

What’s your footprint at UiA? - I hope and believe that the Center for Integrated Crisis Management (CIEM) will earn its status as a Center of Excellence within the next five years.

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iFrank Launching the world’s first touch screen pad is, contrary to popular belief, not Apple’s claim to fame. Dean Frank Reichert and his research team will never forget the passionate response when they unveiled the Ericsson «iPad» prototype at the CeBit conference back in 2000.

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- It was a touch screen device just like the iPad. People actually thought it was an Apple product, says the 55-year-old professor and adds.

- I will never forget the Alcatel engineer that stopped to chat at our booth at the CeBit conference.

- He swung by to share his passionate dream of building a similar device. He nearly cried when we showed him our «iPad» prototype, recalls Reichert and adds.

- By the way, The iPad technology is out of this world. Apple should charge more than 3,000 kroner for their state-of-the-art device, you have to believe me, emphasizes the Apple fan.

Good vibrations Whether Reichert and his team were actually ahead of Apple is a matter of speculation, but Reichert’s team was definitely the first to publicly launch the prototype.

- Apple was probably working on their iPad at the time, but they didn’t showcase anything at the CeBit conference; the world’s largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions, explains Reichert.

- With four months to complete the project, we put together a team of designers, business and software people, and made the prototype in just three months. When assembling the device for the very first time, all the various stakeholders met up in Boston. We were anticipating problems, but the device worked instantaneously and flawlessly.

- Nothing gives me more energy than working together with people that aim outrageously high and actually manage to pull it off.

At the Faculty of Engineering and Science I am very fortunate because I feel those good vibrations every day, emphasizes Reichert.

The Human Touch Always looking toward the future, Reichert is continuously on the hunt for the next cool gadget.

- I’ve always focused on the «the human touch» and the interaction between people, says professor Reichert and adds.

- Generally, you cannot escape ethics when discussing technology. Could future technology get so advanced that it could actually get us into serious trouble some day? It is a hypothetical question that we might encounter someday, adds the professor.

- I believe that technology should help people. First we have to find out what people need. Then we develop the technology needed to help, concludes Reichert.

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Impatiently Driven Associate Professor Rune Fensli’s passion for interdisciplinary research started in college. Making an electronic simulation model of the bloodstream in the brain in 1975 left Fensli more inquisitive than ever, convincing a young engineer to embark on an impatient journey to improve technology-assisted healthcare.

I am in the business of consumer-driven research to improve people’s lives, says Fensli. However, there are hurdles to overcome along the way, I assure you.

- For one, access to medical information is strictly regulated in Norway. Our research faces rather large stumbling blocks when applying technology to health care. It is your typical technology versus law and ethics case, says Fensli, but we are on the way to finding new solutions with shared access to medical information for the doctors and nurses involved.

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Improving People’s Lives Completing his PhD on wireless EKG in 2008, Fensli’s patient-driven approach to remote care has placed him in the driver’s seat of medical technological advances in Norway.

- The potential for developing technology in Norway is formidable, says Rune. We have unique competence in this country that enables us to be world-leading.

Today’s technology-driven innovation has a fair share of controversy attached to it though, claims Fensli.

- I will not allow technology-driven progress to put the actual ca-

retaking of human beings at risk. First of all, technology needs to be developed with the sole purpose of helping patients, improving the daily of people with illnesses and elderly people at risk. There are, however, advances being made in this field as we speak that will spark off discussions. Is it ethical to have robotic pets that look like adorable seals take over physical and verbal interaction with a disadvantaged elderly person? asks Fensli.

- These pets respond like the real thing to human contact: wagging their tails, making cuddly noises when coming into physical contact with patients. I don’t know if it is right to introduce this technology at the expense of a mentally challenged elderly person’s dignity, he says.

Virtual care through modern technology offers communication platforms that provide affection and proximity remotely. This could be useful when family members are located all over the country and are unable to be in the same room with the patient. Video conferencing on hand-held devices is a great way for people to see how their loved ones are actually coping at home, with the great bonus effect of leaving the disadvantaged elderly person feeling less lonely, says Fensli. He also believes that remotely operated smart house facilities can be of substantial help for elderly people who

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«The potential for developing technology in Norway is formidable» are supposed to live in their own home as long as possible, but he is hard at work trying to come up with easy-to-use technology solutions that are also genuinely useful.

Hospital 2030 Rune Fensli’s internationally acclaimed research is recognized all over the country. He is currently making a substantial contribution to a project initiated by Sørlandet Hospital.

- Their innovative project «Hospital 2030» really looks into the future, says Fensli.

Happy to make a contribution, Fensli has recently written a report claiming that the general practitioner will eventually take over the hospital’s role as the physical point of contact.

- Additionally, virtual health care and online consultations will be a part of the future, making the patient’s home an important point of care, stresses Fensli.

- Modern technology allows hospitals to offer its services to patients wherever they are. Our job as researchers is to apply modern technology in a reasonable way, ensuring the wellbeing of the patient, concludes Fensli.

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And a Smooth Operator

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE When Professors Tor Oskar Sætre and Torstein Våland launched the renewable energy program in 1995 it was nothing short of a pioneering undertaking.

- Starting a program in renewable energy was a strategic decision and a step in the right direction, explains Sætre.

- Well underway to becoming a university, we needed a «footprint» that separated us from the competition, says the professor.

Ahead of his time, Sætre also played an active role in creating awareness of hydrogen as a fuel. Rallying Norwegian universities, industrial partners like Statoil, Statkraft, Hydro and research institutions, Sætre founded «Norwegian Hydrogen Forum» – a nationwide organization he kept running for a decade.

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A Pioneering Professor

- In retrospect, it became too difficult for the industry to fully immerse itself in the concept of hydrogen, says Sætre.

Thanks to regional industrial partners like Elkem and Agder Energi, the University of Agder now has a solar cell research team consisting of 10 faculty members and PhD students.

- We produce a significant number of publications and journal papers giving UiA tremendous exposure at conferences worldwide. Of course we are proud of our accomplishments, reveals the pioneering professor.

Referred to as a «HAM» or an OM, amateur radio operator Tor Oskar Sætre enjoys his hobby more than most people.

- HAM is refreshing for the brain; engaging in two-way personal communication like morse code demands focus and concentration. I feel rested after a session in the basement, It’s a great hobby, says Sætre.

Started in the 1970s Sætre started transmitting his first messages back in high school in the 70s, using radio equipment he bought with his first summer job earnings.

- I still have my first transmitter, made in Japan in the 1960s.

Thanks to the internet and eBay I was able to buy new radio tubes, so the machine still works, he says.

Sætre spends as much time as he can, averaging around five hours a week in high season.

- I tend to retreat to the basement more frequently in the winter, so

it’s more of a winter hobby, he says.

Thanks to modern technology, telegraphy is outdated. However, back in the 1970s you had to be a radio amateur to be able to connect with ordinary people worldwide.

- I used to get annoyed when I discovered that German amateur radio operators knew more about Norwegian geography than I did. The German operators managed to connect with Norwegians all over the place. It’s a very educational hobby. You learn a lot of geography and history connecting with far corners of the world, says Sætre and adds.

- Have you ever heard of Norfolk Island?

- Located off the coast of New Zealand it is an old colony with an amazing history. I love connecting with people living in all corners of the world.

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Indian sugarcane bagasse is more like a nuisance than a waste. Turning bagasse ash into a substitute for cement is a solution to a global environmental problem that shouldn’t go to waste.

Global cement production alone represents approximately 8% of CO2 emissions created by humans every year.

- This is a huge problem on so many levels, says UiA Associate Professor Henrik Kofoed Nielsen.

- However, we have investigated a way to find an upside to this giant energy problem; by creating the ultimate cement substitute from the use of sugarcane bagasse ash.

When sugarcane is brought to a plant and squeezed for its juice, the leftover fibers and materials (the so-called bagasse) has traditionally been discarded or used as fuel to power the sugarcane facilities.

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- Using the ash to replace cement is one aspect of our research.

Utilizing the actual bagasse to produce electricity is another.

Finding the substitute UiA started collaborating with Elkem materials and SINTEF Byggforsk two years ago to do research on sugarcane bagasse. Highly motivated to find out how bagasse can be used as energy and the bagasse ash as a construction material, they started by bringing in 1.3 tonne of sugarcane bagasse from India.

- UiA research on Indian sugarcane bagasse clearly indicates

that the strength of the concrete isn’t diminished when replacing portions of the cement with bagasse ash, confirms the Danish associate professor.

- Furthermore, burning bagasse for electricity production could be a great power option, especially in parts of the world where sugarcane production is a big industry accompanied by equally large waste problems.

Bioenergy – A Solution Providing energy for everybody is a complicated task, and bioenergy could very well be a part of the solution we’re looking for, stresses Kofoed Nielsen.

- It can be used as a solid, a liquid or a gas, and a lot of this energy can be generated from numerous waste products. It will become

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Ash – Don’t Waste It!

«Generally, I am happy to see that Norwegians are becoming more and more interested in bioenergy» more and more important heading into the future, predicts Kofoed Nielsen.

The University of Agder’s bio-lab has modern facilities for biomass combustion and gasification, and Nielsen’s students and colleagues do research on everything that burns. Wood, dung, grass, and energy crops are a part of Kofoed Nielsen’s energy solution.

- Our lab is almost used on a daily basis, and not only by renewable engineering students, reassures the enthusiastic lecturer.

- Generally, I am happy to see that Norwegians are becoming more and more interested in bioenergy. It has finally reached a satisfactory level of awareness and it’s become more than just the burning of wood logs, concludes Kofoed Nielsen.

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A House a Day...

Developing a fully insulated and earthquake resistant house to be assembled in one day is a great innovation by any stretch of the imagination. Just imagine – one house a day.

After 30 years of humanitarian work in disaster areas, the Norwegian priest Sigurd Fossland came up with the idea of constructing a sturdy, yet inexpensive house for use in slum and disaster areas worldwide.

Bringing the idea to the University of Agder’s civil engineering department was Fossland’s first step in the right direction.

- At the civil engineering department we investigated the idea thoroughly, says the Department Chair Rein Terje Thorstensen.

- We decided to turn it into several thesis projects for 14 students, and upon completing all the necessary calculations and executing a series of destructive tests in the laboratories, we developed a house design.

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South Africa Invited by the South African authorities to submit the concept to a worldwide competition, Thorstensen feels proud of the students who completed the project.

The test results were so positive that the parties involved decided to turn it into a business venture.

- The idea was developed into a complete building concept, including an effective production line. As part of the process, a miniature house was built in the UiA laboratory to carry out tests which supplemented the theoretical analysis, explains Thorstensen.

- The miniature (2mx2m) was finally loaded on to a truck and dri-

ven 1 kilometer. This was done to get an indication of how the construction would endure an earthquake. No sign of demolition was subsequently observed on the house, reassures Thorstensen.

from Pretoria came on site to observe, and they were impressed by the low-cost house from Norway.

Eight Workers – One House Erection work is executed by teams of unskilled workers after a short period of instruction, enabling prospective occupants to participate in building their own houses. A team of eight workers assemble several houses simultaneously, commissioning one house per day, describes the institute leader.

- They must have really liked our house in South Africa because we were invited to Pretoria to watch the local contractors build the house.

South African authorities and international civil engineering students

EPS Bygg AS is a Norwegian company offering a solution Our solution includes a mobile production unit (MPU), to be set in production at the building site. The MPU produces blocks of the main building material only from minimized granules and local water, thus severely reducing the need for transportation. A team of unskilled laborers works at the MPU under the guidance of one trained operator producing a pre-cut building kit for each house. The rest of the construction is done by local labor and traditional craftsmanship.

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Philosophical Physicist Have you ever wondered why the world’s most expensive painting portrays anxiety?

- This is a question that really makes me think, says quantum physicist and philosopher Professor Hans Grelland.

Edvard Munch understood anxiety or «angst», and he did a great job expressing it through the painting «Scream». Anxiety is an emotion that everybody can relate to, making «Scream» well known all over the world. Anxiety is related to a sense of freedom, as pointed out by philosophers like Søren Kierkegaard and JeanPaul Sartre. Thus, it relates very much to the present time. We’ll move on though, because we’re going to need a lot more time to discuss a topic of this magnitude, says Grelland.

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The Meaning of Life?

Grelland embraces the beauty of quantum physics, as do most of his peers and colleagues. As a philosopher, however, he wants to understand humans.

- Trying to understand the human being is the essence of my approach to philosophy. Part of it is trying to understand the strange world humans live in, as we discover it through the most basic of all science, quantum physics. The aspect of beauty is incorporated into my approach, adding a whole new dimension to physics.

So what is the meaning of life, Professor Grelland?

Good At Heart?

Grelland has basic faith in the human being, and he is confident that people are genuinely good at heart. Nevertheless, people can behave indifferently to other people’s suffering.

- What makes people commit heinous crimes, for example? asks the professor.

- I am convinced that people have to suppress their natural empathy. This can happen when people actually start believing that they have enemies that need to be defeated. In a real, genuine, I-you relation you will not be able to be evil towards the other, claims Grelland.

- What made the July 22 terrorist attack in Norway extraordinary was the extremity of the crime. All of a sudden people from all corners of the world were showing empathy towards us; there were no borders between nati-

ons and peoples, due to the extremity of one man’s heinous crime.

Despite all the evil out there, Grelland believes that the human being is generally good at heart.

- Life’s struggle teaches us to suppress spontaneous tendencies of openness, empathy and love. We learn to hide ourselves, and identify others as strangers and enemies in order to protect ourselves and survive. Norwegians seem to be divided in their view on human beings. When I ask people, it turns out that roughly half of them think that we are born selfish and have to be taught to be considerate of others, while the rest think that we basically are good at heart. Don’t you find that interesting? asks Grelland.

Grelland likes to stimulate people to think, and he illustrates by comparing the philosopher to the psychologist.

- I prefer the philosopher’s approach. A philosopher is likely to do years of thinking, trying to answer a problem, ending up writing comprehensive works which are still relevant after hundreds of years. My favorite physicist Paul Dirac used to say «One Must Think A Lot». I believe in taking time to think things through. It is time consuming, but worth it, concludes Grelland.

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- That’s simply not possible for me to answer. All human beings, religious or not, have moments in their lives that are meaningful. The good thing about philosophy is that everybody can join the same «think tank». My father, who was a missionary in China, developed a profound interest in Chinese philosophy, which shows how philosophy can bridge the gap between religions. I don’t believe that life has a certain or specific meaning to it, but it can be meaningful, for instance through genuine relationships with other people – or, if you believe in it, with God.

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«Anxiety is an emotion that everybody can relate to, making Scream well known all over the world»

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Photo: Eva W. N.

- My interest for wave research started in 1977. It is based on an idea I got when I was sitting near the sea observing waves. I have been hooked on waves ever since, admits the popular associate professor.

- In the research that I have performed over the years, mathematical models are adopted to explain some of the processes that go on when wind creates waves. This is basic research performed to get a better understanding of nature. In addition to scientific papers I have published five popular science articles on the topic in the magazine «Kysten» this year.

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SINTEF Spending nine years at the internationally renowned research institute SINTEF in Trondheim, Næser played a major part in constructing the large ocean basin laboratory. There the ocean environment including wind, current and waves can be simulated.

Another project was a series of model tests of the fiords at Tromsø where the recipient’s quality was investigated.

Originally from Kristiansand, Næser came to Grimstad to work in the Ugland shipping company in 1982. After 12 years in shipping, he took up his academic career when he was engaged at Agder Re-

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE The applied mathematician Harald Næser has devoted a lot of his time to figuring out how the wind creates the waves that develop across the oceans. - It’s a windy business making waves, says the associate professor.

The Caribbean Project Like many of his faculty peers, Næser collaborates closely with industry. Four times he has taken students to The Dominican Republic to design hydroelectric power plants for a village and transfer know-how to the community.

- This project is a part of Xstrata Nickel’s outreach program to help the countries where they do mining, explains Næser.

After nearly 20 years as a faculty member, Næser will retire next summer.

- Until then I will supervise students on their bachelor thesis projects and hand over my different courses to those who are going to teach them in the following years. With a new bachelor’s program it’s time for me to step down and ensure a smooth exit, so to speak, says Harald Næser.

Going into retirement Næser is optimistic about the future of both his own study program and the faculty he has been a part of, and he hopes to have time to stay in contact with the faculty and continue the wave research in years to come.

- You don’t stop thinking about problems you have worked on for decades just because you retire, he says.

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Making Waves

gional College of Technology in 1993.

- Research, teaching, the Energy Park at Dømmesmoen, supervision of a PhD candidate and conduction of bachelor studies on energy kept me busy for many years, says Næser and adds: - We were on a tight budget when the renewable energy laboratory at the old campus was established and were admired for our creative ability to get our hands on various pieces of equipment, Næser remembers.

- For wind turbine experiments we used a Lego windmill and an old VW Golf radiator fan as the wind source. The latter was left over from crash tests performed by colleagues at Lista Airport. We basically used whatever we could get a hold of as long as it was free.

I would like to emphasize, however, that the windmill and the fan have been replaced since then, says Næser and laughs.

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Tarald Peersen

Igniting the Spark Look up into the winter sky. What do you see? Venus, a comet, Orion? Man has always wondered at the stars, but few look up and see what Assistant Professor and astrophysicist Tarald Peersen sees: History. People. Stories.

- You can gaze at the stars, see something, begin to wonder what exactly it is that you are seeing, and then you take that a little step further. That is when physics comes into play, and the good stories.

Peersen guide his students through the universe, and he uses his stories to trigger their interest.

He’s got a lot of competition with today’s technology. He lifts up an iPad, points it at the sky and shows how it uses its GPS to instantly trace constellations on the screen. The average student is 64

pretty well-equipped for star gazing. Technically.

Peersen’s job is to equip them with knowledge.

- Even though we have a pretty good telescope, you can’t compete with the Hubble, he says. The secret to igniting a spark in the student is priming them to understand what they are about to see before they look through the telescope. Everything in the sky is fascinating, but you have to know a little bit about what you are seeing to understand the excitement of what it really is.

The Tycho Brahe Observatory on the top of Building J is not just a popular destination for science students at UiA. Peersen cooperates with several high schools in the region, and hosts groups of elementary school students throughout the year. He says that astronomy is for everyone. It is a fun, visual way to apply physics.

His own interest in astronomy was triggered when he read the new curriculum for teacher education in 1994. There was a spark that ignited inside me, he says. Peersen shifted from teaching military technology to future soldiers at the Norwegian Defense College to astronomy to future teachers at UiA. Peersen’s fascination with astronomy has increased ever since.

He studies the stars, teaches the legacy of Tycho Brahe, Johannes

Kepler and Isaac Newton and shows how the great astronomers used physics to explain what they saw.

When Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun in June, he could tell the full story behind the event. It is only possible to see Venus pass the Sun like this twice in a century. Usually, the planet transits above or below the Sun. Unfortunately, instead of watching the transit from the observatory himself, he had to settle for live streaming, guiding his students from a hospital bed.

He keeps a constant eye on the sky for a chance to give his students their next great experience.

- Just last month, they caught a glimpse of a comet. I still believe that when they see this live, it really is something special.

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What Makes her Tick?

n Ticks can only crawl. n They cannot jump or fly. n They can be active on winter days with a ground temperature of about 45 degrees F. n They don’t have eyes. n The tick is activated by scent molecules and CO2 we discharge. n The tick normally only eats once a year, but it may even be two or three years between blood meals. n A hungry tick leaps onto just about anything that walks by. n Tick and mosquito repellents provide effective protection against tick bites.

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Fast Facts about Ticks:

Creating a network of scientists in Scandinavia trying to try to figure out what makes ticks tick, molecular biologist Vivian Kjelland gets just as carried away when she teaches children the wonders of nature.

- Natural science has all the right ingredients for a great time, says the enthusiastic researcher.

- The kids need to be made aware of all the fun and educational ingredients as early as possible. That is why I always get involved in the university outreach programs, like workshops and recruitment campaigns, says Kjelland.

Setting up a Hollywood style «CSI chemistry lab», where the kids investigate a simulated crime scene and a DNA workshop where the children’s DNA is extracted from their mouths, Kjelland has cracked the code as far as promoting natural sciences goes.

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- We invite students from elementary schools to our workshops to spark their interest in the subject. All children are inquisitive and curious about nature and everything around us. As teachers we have to take advantage of this, says Kjelland.

Tick Research A scholar of molecular biology and genetic technology, Vivian Kjelland has been at the University of Agder for six years now, and for the past two years also at the hospital in Kristiansand (Sørlandet Hospital Health Enterprise, SSHF). At the university I work closely 67

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More Ticks in Norway There are more than 900 different tick species in the world, only some of which are dangerous to humans and animals. Among the most efficient carriers of disease, ticks feed slowly and may go unnoticed for a considerable length of time while feeding. According to research, there are more ticks now than there used to be 20-30 years ago in Norway.

- 13 species of ticks have been found in Norway. Ixodes ricinus is the most common and has many different names depending on where you are in Norway, says Kjelland.

The tick itself isn’t dangerous, but it may carry bacteria, viruses or parasites in its system that can be transmitted during feeding. Requiring humidity of 80% or higher, ticks are found in specific geographic areas along the coast of southern Norway. However, recent research indicates a spread in tick distribution further north and even inland.

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- The Agder region represents the geographical area of Norway with the highest number of Lyme borreliosis cases. We have a few ideas as to why, adds Kjelland.

- Most likely it is due to a higher number of ticks in this region, and the risk of acquiring tick-borne disease increases with increased exposure. Also, it is possible that people in Agder might spend more time outdoors during the lovely summer months when tick activity peaks, thus making themselves easy targets for tick bites. Adding the increased temperature due to climate changes there are plenty of reasons for the general growth of ticks and tick-borne infections in Norway. If it keeps getting warmer and more humid, the tick will be able to thrive in more places than today, claims the researcher.

Kjelland has been bitten by ticks many times, but like she says, it comes with the job.

- Yes, doing research on ticks means that I have to locate areas with lots of ticks and find them. In deciduous woods or high straw grass along the southern coast of Agder you are guaranteed to find ticks, says Kjelland.

In the summer the researcher receives at least one phone call every day from people concerned they might have a Borrelia-infection. The bacteria is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks belonging to a few species of the genus Ixodes («hard ticks»).

- Many people call me because they need advice and information regarding tick-borne diseases, and hopefully rule out bad news, she says.

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with my great colleagues Audun Slettan and Lars Korslund. SSHF is known for its research on tick-borne disease, and is a reference laboratory in Lyme borreliosis diagnostics, says Kjelland. She was hired to take tick research to the next level, creating a research network in Norway and internationally, to develop cross-institutional projects like the EU-funded «ScandTick».

- It’s a joint venture among several partners in Scandinavia collaborating to create a knowledge hub and an interdisciplinary center for research on ticks and tick-borne diseases in Scandinavia, says Kjelland.

Tapping into Water Even though you can safely drink the water straight out of most streams in Norway, people prefer their water with the brown stuff removed. That’s where Department Chair Professor Dr. philos Dag Olav Andersen’s research comes in.

-Water is the most important nutrient we have. Life would not exist without it, he says.

- Globally, lack of water is a great challenge. Especially in Africa, there is an enormous lack of water, which creates a lack of vegeta-

tion which again dries out the soil. It is a vicious cycle. In Norway, we are in a unique situation with so much precipitation, but we use an enormous amount of resources on water processing.

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and soil to streams and rivers, collecting organic matter on its way.

Surrounded by bottles of water in his lab in Building J, Andersen talks about projects underway at the Department of Natural Sciences.

The department has recently acquired a new liquid chromatograph with mass spectrometer (LC-MS) to separate and identify tiny molecules in the water, making the measurements even more precise. The smaller the undesired molecules are, the more difficult they become to remove from the water. This machine will assist Andersen in mapping the particular characteristics of organic matter in local waterways in order to see its effects on the water quality.

250 Liters a Day It is not the brown stuff itself that poses a danger to people, he explains. The problem is that substances like heavy metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) can bind to this matter and seep into the water supply. PAH is a carcinogen, and has been 70

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«The average Norwegian uses about 250 liters of water per day. Pollution contributes to the problem.

The more polluted the water is, the more intensive and expensive it is to clean»

found to occur in areas where there have been forest fires. Andersen and his team are studying one such area in Mykland, Aust-Agder to check the concentration of PAHs which not only affect the water, but also the fish.

- The average Norwegian uses about 250 liters of water per day, he says. -Pollution contributes to the problem. The more polluted the water is, the more intensive and expensive it is to clean.

Andersen says that most man-made pollution is still caused by heavy industry, but not all nuisances are manmade. In Terjevannet, Andersen is studying a plant which is taking over parts of several rivers in the area including the Otra. – In places, there’s so much growth that you can almost walk on the water, he says. He is trying to figure out what has caused the tremendous growth and explain the variation of growth on the water. The culprit is a rush called Juncus bulbosus, and it is a plague to fishermen, swimmers and kayakers. The next time you enjoy a paddle down the river, a glass of ice cold water, or even a walk in the rain, try not to take it for granted. There is research behind every glass.

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Collaborating for Africa Students fill the corridor outside Senior Engineer Vigdis Landsverk’s office in Building J. They have come to express their interest in going to Tanzania in spring 2014 in the hope that it is first come, first served.

Landsverk launched a student exchange program with Haydom Lutheran Hospital six years ago, and competition is hot for the eight available spots.

From her first tour of the hospital, she remembers a little boy with a large bandage around his head. He had been seriously injured by an ox and undergone complicated surgery which had saved his life. The hospital beds overflowed with men, women and children from different tribes dressed in colorful clothes and traditional jewelry.

- It all made a very strong impression, especially the smiles, friendliness and the enormous hospitality. Everything was so vibrant.

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And we realized we have so much to give and to share.

HIV Screening That was in 2003 while Landsverk was working at Sørlandet Hospital. She stayed for three months to train laboratory workers in HIV screening and bacteriology and has returned almost every year since. On her first visit, she was struck by how much had been done with so little.

- It was very touching. We did not cry because of the poverty and hunger, but we were moved to tears by what they had accomplished so far from civilization.

The hospital is located 80 km from the district capital Mbulu and 300 km from Arusha. It is equipped with 350 beds serving 400,000 people in the surrounding districts. When Landsverk was hired as study program coordinator for the Bachelor of Biomedical Laboratory Science Program in 2005, she saw Haydom as an opportunity to internationalize the curriculum.

Bachelor Project The first students traveled to Haydom in 2006 to work on their bachelor projects. Landsverk accompanies the students to Haydom, gets them started on their labwork and then leaves after about a week.

Most of the projects are undertaken in cooperation with the local hospital with the goal of improving tests, analyses or diagnoses. It is also possible for students to take part of their practicum at Haydom.

Haydom welcomes healthcare personnel from all over the world, so students learn about practices and attitudes in the healthcare profession in many different cultures. The students are also exposed to more wards at Haydom than would be possible at a traditional Norwegian hospital.

- Personally, I have also learned very much just by seeing what

goes on in other areas of the hospital, Landsverk says.

- It’s amazing for our students to see what a hospital like Haydom manages to do with so few resources. They work very closely together with the personnel, and it is a very short way from the lab to the patients.

African Bush She says it is quite a taxing experience for the students, as Haydom is very isolated, deep in the African bush.

- No matter how well-prepared they are, most people experience frustration during their stay. But the more information I give them, the better.

To ease them in, Landsverk arranges a safari the weekend before arrival in Haydom. She says that just being a tourist for a weekend helps get the students used to being in Africa.

- They get a glimpse of a different outlook on life and death. When a patient finally gets to the hospital, he is usually very, very sick, she says.

- The students really see how privileged we are in Norway when they see how simply people live there. They get a new perspective.

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Plagued by civil war and famine, Sudan is perhaps not the first country that comes to mind when it comes to oil and petroleum refining. In fact, it is a rapidly growing industry and accounts for 80% of Sudan’s exports and 40% of public revenue. In 2010, it was considered the 17th fastest growing economy in the world.

Christy was approached by the Central Petroleum Lab in Khartoum after he had turned up on a Google search. He was one of a few candidates asked to send their CVs for consideration to teach a course on instrumental analysis. He sent his CV, and was selected.

He says he was a bit reluctant at first since the news does not exactly give a positive impression of Sudan.

What he met surprised him.

- Things were completely different than the picture people gave me.

I was completely free to move around – even going out late at night. People were friendly, and I had no problems.

The course participants were not quite what Christy had expected either. They all had Bachelor’s degrees in science but worked as technicians at the Central Petroleum Lab. Christy’s task was to upgrade their knowledge and make them competent researchers.

– What surprised me most was the number of women on the co-

urse. On the first day, I didn’t know I would meet so many women in hijabs. When teaching, you have to interact with the students and look them in the eyes. I was uncertain about how this would go. But they started speaking very freely and asking questions, and I felt very safe.

-There are a lot of women involved, and I did not expect this in Sudan. Women had much more independence than I expected. They had education, drove cars and were out and about.

Still, Christy is quick to point out that there is an enormous gap between the rich and poor. Sudan is still largely agricultural, and much of the population is nomadic. The price of a meal at a five-star hotel is enough to support a poor family of five for one week, he says.

While in Sudan, Christy also met with the head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Khartoum (UK). Discussions are underway about a three-party collaboration among UK, the center and UiA in the field of ecology.

Christy hopes to return to Khartoum to continue with competence building and possibly student exchange.

-We became very close during the course, and at the end, the participants said that they thought time had gone by too fast.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Professor Alfred Christy has just returned from Khartoum where he has been enlisted to help the Sudanese Ministry of Petroleum with the ambitious goal of transforming its Central Petroleum Lab into a research institute.

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

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Building Competence in Khartoum

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Still at the Top of his Game With a talent for strategy, former AUC President Knut Brautaset has dedicated nearly four decades of his life and career to building Norway’s southernmost university. Taking time out from retirement to teach amidst lab equipment he designed back in the 1970s and 80s keeps the oil hydraulics specialist at the top of his game.

- It was stashed away somewhere for a while, but moving into the new campus was a good move for the old equipment, says Brautaset.

- Oil hydraulics and servo technology have always been my 76

areas of research and teaching, states the professor, and adds: - However, I have a good recollection of how we managed to introduce the brand new concept of mechatronics to the Grimstad campus back in the mid-80s.

Brautaset’s first encounter with mechatronics was at the SEFI (European Society for Engineering Education) conference in 1984 where he heard a lecture given by a faculty member from the University of Dundee in Scotland. They had started mechatronics as an integrated part of the mechanical engineering program.

- Back home I immediately sent an application to the Research Council asking for funds to send a faculty delegation to Scotland to get the information and inspiration to start our own courses in mechatronics as a part of the mechanical platform. This was while I was president of Agder Regional Engineering College (AiD) from 1982-1988, reminisces Brautaset.

Introducing Research Brautaset’s efforts also resulted in launching the Bachelor’s Program in Computer Science and the Bachelor’s Program in Industrial Engineering, originally a joint effort with Linköping University in Sweden, a model that combines the technical engineering disciplines with financial and management skills. It remains a popular master’s degree delivering 77

Mechatronics At this point Brautaset was a force within the community of higher education in Norway. A household name in academic circles in Oslo, he became a board member of the Norwegian Engineering Education Council.

- I was also chairman of the board of the Norwegian College Council, adds Brautaset.

- I was fortunate to be a member of several important boards and committees which gave me invaluable insight, particularly in regard to political and academic decision making. I was informed before decisions were made, giving me and the university time to position ourselves and make the right moves at the right time.

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

highly competent candidates to management positions in the various engineering industries.

The former president of Agder Regional College of Engineering and Agder University College had to pull all of his political strings to reel in the first master’s degree.

- Yes, the Master of Science came as a result of numerous meetings with various ministers and industry. Furthermore it was important to motivate faculty members to start focusing on research in addition to teaching, developing the two building blocks necessary to offer any master or PhD programs at a university.

Introducing academic excellence and a culture of conducting good research as well as teaching became important strategically when the Faculty of Engineering and Science needed to establish a PhD program in order to meet the requirements to obtain university accreditation, explains Brautaset.

International Driving Force Brautaset was also chairman of the board of the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU), a Norwegian public agency promoting international cooperation in education and research.

- Good universities in the States and Australia, such as The University of Minnesota and The University of New South Wales in Sydney are still partners that we collaborate with, says Purdue University graduate Brautaset.

The US, where Brautaset spent quality time in industrial R&D

in the sixties, has always been close to his heart. He was therefore happy to open yet another door for his dear faculty when he led a delegation of engineering professors to the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis in 2008.

- I ran into the University of Minnesota Associate Vice President for International Programs C. Eugene Allen at an international convention in 2007. He was more than happy to have our two universities join forces. The University of Minnesota is an internationally renowned top-notch research university, stresses Brautaset.

Campus Grimstad Rumors have it that you are the one that convinced The J.B. Ugland Corporation to build a new campus?

- The idea did come up in a conversation I had with some key stakeholders a few years ago, and after the idea was anchored with Johan Benad Ugland they started moving the process forward at record speed, very much to everybody’s appreciation.

University of Agder Director Tor Aagedal then did a tremendous job of making the Grimstad campus a success, concludes Brautaset.

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RESEARCH

RESEARCH

In the 1950s, Docent Emeritus Per Tveit had an idea for the Network Arch Bridge.

More than 100 bridges constructed in more than 20 countries proves that it was an excellent idea. The fact that the 82-year-old still travels the world giving lectures about the world’s most slender Arch Bridge pays tribute to a scholar of extraordinary persistence and dedication.

Tveit started as a docent at the computer science and civil engineering department at the old Agder Regional College in 1985.

Fifteen years after retirement, Tveit goes to work seven days a week. Peers and colleagues in more than 50 countries have had the pleasure of listening to Tveit’s lectures, making him an internationally renowned academic.

The Network Arch Bridge The construction concept is called Network Arch, an English name chosen by Tveit himself. Accepted by his peers, it is a term that indicates the concept of the bridge.

- The principle of crossing hangers enables a better weight distribution when traffic is heavy.

Moreover, the construction requires less steel

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and concrete, making it cost-efficient.

Tveit’s office on campus reveals a long history of research and commitment to his Network Arch Bridge. Sitting amongst stacks of literature and collections of documents accumulated over the decades, Tveit spends most of his time in front of the computer planning his next lecture on the increasingly popular bridge. He is currently preparing a lecture for architect and engineering students at NTNU. He is a busy man.

- Yes, I have a lot on my plate, and I’m not getting any younger, so I need to spend my time wisely. I used to work from 7:00 AM4:00 PM. Nowadays I go home a bit earlier.

On Saturdays and Sundays, he goes home around midday.

Slender During 15 years of retirement and full-time commitment to the Network Arch Bridge, Tveit has witnessed his bridge undergo changes.

- I have beaten my own record of designing the world’s most slender Arch Bridge three times.

The slenderness of an arch bridge is determined by the span divided by the sum of the cross-sectional height of the lower chord and the thickness of the arch, he explains.

The first network arch was constructed in Steinkjer and opened in 1963, followed by Bolstadstraumen Bridge the same year, which was the world record holder for a long time. A bridge in New Zealand then pushed Bolstadstraumen Bridge down to second place in 2008.

In 2010, the world record is yet again back in Norway, bridging the Brandangersund in Sogn, spanning 220 meters.

- A chief executive for a Chinese consultancy firm recently asked if the Brandanger Bridge was a footbridge.

- Tveit answered that it is a bridge for two Polish trailers with overload. Then Tveit was invited to China to give an in-depth presentation. I made that trip this past summer, and now we are going to write an article in Chinese to be published online, reveals Tveit.

It is extremely rewarding when my bridge proves useful to people.

The Germans have been very interested in network arches since 1997. In Japan, network arches are quite frequently used, and lately many network arches have been built in the U.S.A.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

A Scholar on a Narrow Path

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ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

A Mover and Shaker Former Faculty Director Gunnar Oftedahl’s networking skills and creativity have made a profound impact on how the entire Grimstad campus conducts its business today. He had «moving and shaking» down to a fine art.

Gunnar Oftedahl was the epitomy of the modern director. With an impressive overview of the Faculty, he always stressed the important details that made things run smoothly. Oftedahl was instrumental in working toward UiA becoming a university. He helped develop and transform the faculty, introducing new study programs and areas of research that ultimately accomplished the goal of becoming a university. He was central in the merging of the six stateowned university colleges in the Agder region in 1994, making the establishment of a university possible. He was also a driving force behind the new campus in Grimstad which was realized in 2010.

An important hurdle to overcome was establishment of the Master of Science Program in Information and Communication Technology 82

and Mechatronics. Oftedahl, along with the late Dean Morten Tveitereid, was an important player in making it all happen, systematically using his comprehensive network and contacts to ultimately bring the Faculty the necessary funding and the green light.

International mindset Oftedahl never stopped demonstrating his international mindset.

With a background in international business, he was convinced that internationalization was vital for the Faculty’s future. Thus he established an International office in Grimstad back in the late 1980s.

This proved to be a great asset when the European Union opened for student and teacher exchange through the ERASMUS programs.

Oftedahl’s unique ability to connect and make friends opened doors and opportunities all over the world, and his motto «First we make friends, then we do business», resulted in long-term commitments to university partners enabling faculty members and students to collaborate and go on student exchange abroad.

Always looking for new and improved exchange opportunities for students, he constructed double degree programs at a very early stage back in 1995. Agreements with important partners such as the Universities of Applied Science in Kiel and Stralsund made it possible for students to get a BSc Degree in Engineering from both Agder University College and Kiel or Stralsund.

China Oftedahl also contributed to establishing partnerships with Chinese universities, offering students from UiA a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study at universities in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province.

Recruiting many Chinese students from our Chinese partners, Oftedahl and the late Dean Morten Tveitereid made a tremendous contribution to internationalizing the Grimstad campus. More importantly, recruiting Chinese students to the ICT master’s program, they were ensuring the future of the PhD program, a necessary milestone for university accreditation.

With a background in shipping from both South America and Asia, Oftedahl was on home turf, and at the top of his game entering into collaboration with foreign universities. He easily and naturally negotiated and socialized with top management and presidents of big universities and became very close and remained always on friendly terms with his international contacts. A few years into his retirement, Oftedahl remains as active as ever. He is adviser to the industry in the region on international and educational matters. Pursuing his great interest in history, he travels to historical places around the world - making new friends, no doubt.

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The U.S. Ambassador to Norway, Barry B. White, is impressed by the innovative mindset and entrepreneurial spirit in Agder.

Ambassador White was taken aback by his first visit to the Grimstad Campus in 2010. The campus owner, Johan Benad Ugland’s commitment to building a university campus made quite an impression.

- Building Norway’s only privately owned university campus is really an act of philanthropy. It’s not very often you see that in Norway. I am happy to see that the American model works in Norway, says White.

Visiting the Career Fair, Ambassador White took his time talking to employees representing nearly 100 companies.

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- It is interesting to learn how the industry in the region collaborates with the university, creating commercial value for everybody.

- Being risk oriented and innovative have made America great, and I am very excited to see the risk taking and innovation going on in the Agder region, says Ambassador White.

Having visited all the universities in Norway, he is under the impression that they all conduct good research. However, commercialization of research is necessary for value creation, and there is still room for improvement in Norway when it comes to commercializing research, believes Ambassador White.

FACULTY RELATIONS

FACULTY RELATIONS

The Agder Spirit

A True Visionary Building Norway’s only privately owned university campus captures the essence of farmer and philanthropist Johan Benad Ugland’s vision.

- The integration of science and research with industry supported by the public and private sectors is a combination we find so exciting here in Agder, especially with the integration between Sørlandet’s Technology Park and Campus Grimstad, says Carina Ugland, Managing Director of the J.B. Ugland power company developing small-scale hydropower.

- In my father’s eyes, the university is the biggest «tree that has been planted» for establishing sustainable development and growth in the Agder region, says Ugland.

Creating a Meeting Place Dedicated to the transfer of competence, innovation and value creation, the corporation J.B. Ugland Holding AS has recently moved into their new headquarters in close proximity to the university, making the new JBU Building the latest addition to a continuously expanding Grimstad campus.

Ugland will be using his comprehensive collection of vintage cars

as a backdrop for an alternative and creative meeting place. The car collection in the basement of the new building captures his vision in a historical context that he wants to share with students, partners, business associates, and the local community.

Under one gigantic roof of 2500 m2, he will showcase local agriculture, industry, and electronics, all integrated with the vintage cars. Thematically segmented, there will be eight gathering points scattered around the facility so people can get together to throw ideas across the table.

- It’s a venue designed to inspire inquisitive and innovative people to do great things, explains Johan Benad Ugland.

- We want all the young, creative talents in the region to visit us, join forces and possibly transfer some of their positive and creative energy to today’s 50-60-year-olds. There are challenges and hurdles ahead that we need to overcome with the assistance of the next generation, stresses Ugland.

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from Scratch

FACULTY RELATIONS

FACULTY RELATIONS

Campus

Developing a university campus from scratch is extremely visible in a small town of 20,000 people.

- As long as we continue to blast, excavate and build, Campus Grimstad will continue to grow.

Bjørn Vedal, CEO of J.B. Ugland’s real estate division is a visionary. Masterminding Norway’s only privately owned university campus has topped his agenda for several years. And will continue to do so in years to come.

- We started the planning back in 2004/2005, and Campus Grimstad is on track, reassures Vedal.

- You see, we do things differently down south, he says.

- The public and private sector collaborate well in order to develop the entire re86

gion. The new freeway between Kristiansand and Grimstad, and the Grimstad campus are two projects we are extremely proud of. 5000 people on campus every day is a substantial number of people considering Grimstad’s total population is only 20,000. The campus will continue to grow, as will Grimstad, claims Vedal.

- UiA attracts more industry and business to the area. The new JBU office building offering an additional 10,000 m2 office space is being built to meet marketplace demand, explains Vedal.

At the moment Vedal and his team are busy designing yet another landmark building in the heart of campus.

- The University needs industrial partners in close proximity on campus. This will help the research efforts conducted by UiA faculty and industry tremendously, concludes the CEO. 87

FACULTY RELATIONS

Campus Live Whenever Elisabeth Rasmussen gets that busy look you know there is an event about to unfold on the Grimstad campus. The event organizer is on a constant state of high alert.

- I believe in staging events that leave participants wanting more.

That means getting everything right, down to the nitty-gritty details, explains Rasmussen.

Facilitating conferences, expos, events, or the annual graduation, Rasmussen is the one calling the shots and working out the details, ensuring the success of all campus events.

-Collaborating with students, faculty or industrial partners whose 88

only agenda is to create an event that makes us all look good is rewarding. I’m there to make sure they don’t run into any problems, explains Rasmussen.

A university renowned for its industry collaboration prides itself on campuses that attract a lot of attention from the outside world.

- Whenever we stage a successful event we develop a strong brand, invaluable in terms of marketing, says Rasmussen.

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CAMPUS LIVE

CAMPUS LIVE

Connection Day The annual Career Fair is the ultimate stage of opportunities. Young people’s dreams come true, and great connections are made. At the end of the day it’s all about students landing their first job.

The 2013 project manager Kim Røed is a fifth year master student eager to get his team ready for the highlight of the year.

- Our student organization has been organizing this event very professionally every year since 2005. 2013 is definitely no exception. The team is finally ready. We feel good about the new team, and we are excited about the 2013 event, says Røed.

Career fairs are organized all over the world, but we truly have something unique that separates us from the rest, says Røed.

- I doubt there is another university in Norway or anywhere else for that matter that produces a 60-page newspaper to promote the university and the event nationwide, adds Røed.

With a circulation of 400,000 copies, the paper definitely helps 90

our Career Fair stand out from the crowd, giving the companies great exposure and adding extra value to their participation.

CERN To Return The Career Fair is our opportunity to connect with our future employers, says Røed.

- An extremely successful oil and gas industry keeps providing our students with career opportunities right here in the vicinity.

Originally from Bergen, Røed came to the south coast to get his engineering degree. Born and raised in Bergen, he’ll remain a patriot of Norway’s number one city, but he is in no rush to return to Bergen after graduation.

- I am pretty confident there will be plenty of opportunities in store for me on the south coast. Besides, I like it here, and the weather is better, adds Røed.

One of the largest expos in the country, the Career Fair attracts nearly 100 companies to campus every year. Røed is confident they keep coming back because UiA engineering students have a good reputation.

Last year CERN came to the Career Fair looking for students to

join the world’s leading research institute in Switzerland.

- They said that our students matched all their needs and criteria, and that they would definitely return in 2013. What a vote of confidence, maintains Røed.

Many of the large Norwegian engineering corporations are present. Alongside the more regional and local companies, it’s the right blend of opportunities, concludes Røed.

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Girls, Girls, Girls – In Record Numbers

CAMPUS LIVE

CAMPUS LIVE

- Our recruitment project «Girls&Technology» was originally a part of an overall recruitment strategy based on the following assumption: «More girls will attract more boys, and more boys will attract more girls». Aiming to recruit more students regardless of gender, we began our campaign to attract both girls and boys collaborating with industrial partners and various organizations, says student adviser Geir Kløkstad, the initiator of the award-winning recruitment campaign.

Photo: Nina Nakling

UiA’s Faculty of Engineering and Science is recognized in Norway for its ability to recruit female students to engineering programs. In record numbers!

Inspired by the «Lamborghini Girl» Lisa The actual project «Jenter og teknologi» is an annual event on campus where the Faculty of Engineering and Science invites up to 500 high school girls to a high-tech event hosted by faculty, students, industry, and UiA alumni. The stage is set to inspire rather than to inform, providing the girls with a hands-on encounter with the latest technology and gadgets. Moreover, they get to meet female engineers, role models that show the way, so to speak. The 2011 event was the highlight so far, claims Kløkstad.

- 500 girls aged 15-18 listening in awe to 14-year-old Lisa Nakling Furvann sharing her dream of becoming a designer at the Lamborghini factory in Italy makes a lasting impression, assures the adviser.

- It was an inspirational meeting with a young girl who had an awesome plan. In order to reach your goals, you have to work hard along the way, but if you are willing to push the envelope and stop at nothing, you’ll be able to do whatever you put your mind to. The 14-year-old Lamborghini girl has carried her dream since she was eight years old. Last summer she had her first visit to the Lamborghini factory, giving a detailed presentation of her favorite Lamborghini «Countach» to the Italian-speaking staff on the assembly line.

She is definitely on her way, concludes Geir Kløkstad.

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PHD

Moving to Norway, Liping Mu has grown accustomed to taking the road less traveled; like exiting correctly at the airport upon arrival.

- When I finally reached my final destination, the Kristiansand airport, there were two exits, a green and a red. Since everybody was determined to stand in line for the green exit, I asked myself: «Why isn’t anybody choosing the red exit?» You can only imagine what happened when I took the «road less traveled», laughs Liping.

- This was obviously a scary experience for me, however, not as scary as walking out of the airport and into the darkness outside. I didn’t see any people, and there was this silence and darkness all around, remembers the Chinese PhD student.

15 Minutes of Fame Flying to Norway three years ago was Liping’s first time ever on an airplane, so she had no idea she was supposed to complete all of the boarding preparations hours in advance. Rushing through all the procedures at Beijing International Airport, Liping could hear her name broadcasted on the intercom several times.

- I was the last person to board the airplane, and thanks to multiple airport announcements I certainly got my 15 minutes of fame in Beijing.

Funny English Language In China Liping started to learn English early. However, daily exposure to the English language living abroad certainly comes with a fair share of challenges.

- I particularly remember walking to the office one morning shortly after I arrived. Meeting the cleaning lady in the corridor, I said «Hi» to her as usual. She replied «Hi» and added «Nice weather». I replied «Thank you» in a very friendly voice. She got confused and I immediately realized that she wasn’t saying «Nice

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First Friends – Then Business The «Grand Old Man» of internationalization, Tor Erik Christensen, means business when pursuing an international connection. But first he makes friends.

Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences in the Austrian town of Dornbirn is a partner university based on Christensen’s own recipe for success.

- First of all, it is a great school with outstanding teaching and research, says Christensen.

- Furthermore, it’s been a partnership that has developed over a long time, creating a strong partnership with great benefits to students and staff on both sides. sweater»! To make the story even more confusing, I wasn’t even wearing a sweater that morning, smiles Liping.

More and More Norwegian Comparing herself to the person she was three years ago, Liping is continuously changing her perspectives on life.

- I think I’m becoming more and more Norwegian, but I will always be different in this country. In Norway I represent a different way of thinking somehow, and I truly believe that diverse thinking will benefit Norway in the long run. It can inspire creativity and, of course, bring more fun to life.

Wide Range of Study Programs Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences offers a wide range of bachelor’s and master’s programs focusing on mechatronics, elec-

STUDENT EXCHANGE

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

The Road Less Traveled

trical and electronic engineering, computer science, interMedia, and energy. Research is organized as a research center with state-ofthe-art laboratory facilities at both students’ and professors’ disposal. In other words, this university is the perfect match for our own Faculty of Engineering and Science, stresses Christensen.

Ideal Erasmus Partner Offering many study programs in English, the university is an ideal Erasmus partner making it possible for students to do exchange for a semester, enjoying the experience of a life-time in the heart of Europe. Breathtaking nature and alpine landscape, Dornbirn is just a short distance from Germany, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Tyrol.

Dornbirn - Vorarlberg Fachhochschule Vorarlberg is located in the beautiful Austrian Alpine town of Dornbirn in the state of Vorarlberg. Dornbirn is the largest town and the economic center of the state of Vorarlberg.

Sharing borders with Germany, Switzerland and Lichtenstein, Austria’s western-most state is located in one of the wealthiest regions in the European Union.

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The South African way of saying hello is as diverse as its people.

With a lingo of their own the South Africans really know how to say welcome!

I wanted an experience I would remember for a lifetime. I wanted to see the nature I’ve seen in movies, magazines and on Animal Planet, where the mountains are so big, the flowers so colorful and where zebras and giraffes live free. I wanted to meet different people from all over the world, learn about the South African culture and improve my English. I wanted to challenge myself, travel alone, and be forced to do everything on my own. That’s why I chose Port Elizabeth, South Africa, for student exchange.

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This is Africa From the first day you arrive, the international staff at the university look after you like they are your second mother. You get all the information you need, and they help you with whatever you need to know the rest of the semester. Like your mother, there are certain rules they want you to follow, like «don’t walk outside when it’s dark», and «don’t bring home strangers». In general, South Africans are very friendly, but the people I’ve met in Port Elizabeth stand out.

If you visit a South African family, you can be sure that they will offer

STUDENT EXCHANGE

STUDENT EXCHANGE

Hello – Sawubona – Hoe gaan dit – Howzit!

«I wanted an experience I would remember for a lifetime» you coffee and food, and won’t take no for an answer. Sometimes it feels like we’re not doing anything else but eating.

Port Elizabeth PE is a great city to be a student for many reasons. What I like the most is all the different people living here. Not only are there international students from «overseas», but people from all over Africa too. In PE you have all kinds of races that interact together, which adds to the diversity that the city offers. Everyone is so helpful, and the South African people will always welcome you with open arms, especially the guys here. They are almost too polite. When I’m walking around with my classmates on campus, they insist on letting me through EVERY door first.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University The University, which is named after the great Nelson Mandela, is

built on a nature conservation site. A normal day at NMMU will consist of lectures and meeting up with friends, but also dealing with monkeys trying to steal your food and watching zebras just outside campus. And if you need a break from your books, the beach is a relaxing alternative only a 15 minute walk away.

As an engineering student I study on the North campus which is where all the nerds are gathered. It is not as nice as the South campus, but the cupcakes in the cafeteria almost make up for it.

Most people wonder if the modules here are harder than what we are used to in Norway. Of course it depends on what you study, but from what I have experienced it’s only the English that makes it more difficult. And don’t worry. Even though your English is really bad in the beginning (like mine was), I can ensure you that it will improve.

Janne Nilsen, civil engineering 97

Renewed at UiA

Hello Norway!

When looking back at the six weeks I have spent in the U.S., I can see that I’ve experienced many of the things that I wanted to; Big city life in New York City, a road trip, a lot of people, and learned more than ever before.

Minneapolis is really a great city for students. With more than 50,000 students, you’re guaranteed to see and meet new people every day. I even met eight UiA students that I’ve never seen before.

The campus is enormous, and I still find new buildings and get lost when pedaling around – because that’s how they get around here: they ride bikes. Luckily, it is very easy to get help with directions because Americans are very friendly and helpful. The school here is tough, but the learning curve is steeper than I’ve ever experienced before, which is something my friends can agree on. The professors at Carlson School of Management, where we have our classes, are great, and keep our motivation up with cases and teamwork.

After a long week, the weekends are perfect for charging our batteries and doing something else. As international exchange stu-

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dents, we get invited to parties that we only thought existed in Hollywood movies. A couple of the guys play on the university soccer team, which is just one of the many sport associations. Some of us are even going skydiving in a few weeks through one of these. The huge Mall of America is also suited for weekends, as it takes days (at least for me) to get through all of it.

I am looking forward to all the other things this semester will bring, and would strongly recommend taking a semester at the University of Minnesota.

Good luck with your exams! Take care!

Erlend Lütcherath Industrial Economy and Technology Management

Led by Professor Paul Imbertson of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the course consists of a three week tour of Iceland, Denmark, and Norway with visits to energy facilities and meetings with professionals in the energy field.

- The real reason that I began to take U.S. engineering students to Scandinavia, and the reason I will continue with another visit in May 2013, is to expose my students to the uniquely pragmatic yet optimistic attitudes and philosophies of the Scandinavian people towards their land and resources, and their vision of their energy future. Attitudes of US engineering students have been changed by this course. Engineers have gone to work in power industries with a bit of that Scandinavian attitude that says, «we should make the right choices, and we CAN make the right choices!»

STUDENT EXCHANGE

STUDENT EXCHANGE

For over ten years, the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering has sent engineering students to Scandinavia to study Energy Production Methods. Recent tours have included substantial activity at the University of Agder, which has added greatly to the content and effectiveness of the course.

Scandinavia – a Unique Showcase Fifty percent of electricity generated in the United States comes from coal. Twenty percent comes from nuclear power.

- My hoped-for outcome for this course is that US engineering students, the very people who will soon be running the US energy infrastructure, will come away with a fresh view and understanding of energy realities and possibilities, says Imbertson.

Why Scandinavia?

- Scandinavia is uniquely situated to be a showcase for alternative energy options. The combination of highly utilized geothermal, wind, and hydro resources is unparalleled anywhere in the world.

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UiA – Big Thumbs Up!

Why frozen pizza?

My stay in Grimstad was a lot of fun, meeting people, fishing and enjoying Norway’s beautiful nature. There is just one thing I never understood – why is it that Norwegians like frozen pizza so much?

Small is easy

Daniel Flucher, Austria

Brand new campus

Grimstad is a small and lovely town and has a small and very modern campus as well.

That makes a lot of things much easier. For example, finding the right person for your questions and problems, and the most important thing: finding new friends easily amongst the Norwegians and other exchange students. The group of exchange students here is not too big so we were a closely knit group.

It is a great experience, meeting very nice people and making friends, experiencing a different culture, seeing a beautiful country, studying in a brand new campus, living close to the sea and having a lot of fun.

STUDENT EXCHANGE

STUDENT EXCHANGE

They came looking for the Norwegian adventure.

- They left wanting more. Five exchange students summarize their life-changing experiences at the University of Agder.

Stefanie Springer,Germany

Marcus Dehmel, Germany

Action-packed and life-changing

Stories for life Erasmus in Grimstad - something special! A small campus, an even smaller Erasmus group, but one big semester full of joy, nature and the opportunity to feel Norway! We truly made friends up here - international and Norwegian. Tromsø definitely topped our Norwegian adventure off! It was a perfect end to a semester full of new impressions and breathtaking adventures with my new friends.

There is this slogan that says Visit Norway - Stories for life - it’s true!

Benjamin Seifert, Germany

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Simple words could not truly summarize my whole experience in Norway. It was action-packed, breath-taking and life-changing.

The new facility in Grimstad was modern. The faculties and the ESN student leaders were helpful in submerging international students into Norwegian culture. We also had an amazing group of Erasmus students who bonded together so well this semester.

Time seems to fly by in four months. We were sightseeing in Oslo, challenging nature at «Preikestolen», chasing the northern light in Tromsø. During the exchange period, my conception of my own culture and other European cultures were reshaped entirely. This whole experience was rewarding and it has deeply impact my life.

Yvonne Li, USA 101

CONTINUING EDUCATION

CONTINUING EDUCATION

- There are about 50 different faculty members lecturing. Students enroll in two to eight modules, and everybody takes a basic class of five credits. Those with the highest number of courses have accumulated 90 credits upon completion of the program, adds Bratteland. These credits are equivalent to an annual sales volume of 8 million crowns, which indicates that we have managed to turn the program into a success also financially.

A Vehicle for Success Project Manager Kari Elin Bratteland is happily facilitating one of Norway’s largest continuing education programs. The «Vehicle and Control» study program offered to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has become a huge success.

- It’s exciting and challenging having NPRA as a customer. Their efforts in the continuing education segment are well-organized, and they clearly value their employees. UiA offers 12 different modules which contribute to increasing NPRA employees’ competence.

- Almost every week, there are two large groups of NPRA students taking classes on the Grimstad campus. Additionally, we conduct many sessions on the road and at the Kristiansand Department of 102

Motor Vehicles, says the project manager at the Faculty of Engineering and Science.

1000 Employees Since 2007, approximately 1000 NPRA employees have taken the course. We have taught more than 100 courses within that time frame, and in the 2012 fall semester alone we taught 12 creditawarding courses, says a very excited project manager.

Positive Feedback The feedback from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration management is both positive and optimistic. After the NPRA employees started this continuing education program they are more prepared and competent at enforcing laws, regulations and directions.

NPRA receives fewer complaints now than prior to establishing the continuing education program at UiA. Employees with similar job descriptions receive the same competence, providing good results for NPRA nationwide.

- Our interpretation of the NPRA feedback is that there is an improved level of service all over Norway as a result of the program, and UiA is proud to deliver that competence, maintains Bratteland.

Collaboration with NPRA has been exciting and innovative, but also challenging.

Offering continuing education to NPRA is a whole new way of conducting business for the faculty.

- Traditionally, we design a course that we sell, but NPRA is a customer with substantial prior knowledge and competence. Taking into account that NPRA is principal, customer, contributor and

supplier, some of the courses took longer to design than we anticipated at first, says Bratteland. However, over time we have built a solid collaborative platform that enables us to iron out any wrinkles that might appear.

The Future NPRA is renegotiating an option for four years, from 2013-2016.

Starting in January 2013, the program will undergo a name change. Moreover, we’ll be creating a whole new structure, offering 26 courses instead of 12. The NRPA vision is to create a new holistic continuing education plan, and we’ll do our share, Bratteland guarantees.

Bratteland speaks highly of all of the partners involved: dedicated NPRA students and close collaboration with NPRA management and faculty management contribute to the success.

- Support from the university director and faculty top management anchors the study program well within our university. I have great colleagues across the board working hard to please the students. Student evaluations are favorable. The students are very satisfied with the courses offered and the level of competence they obtain. They even cash in an extra bonus earning credits for coursework.

UiA has just submitted a bid to offer continuing education to new segments in the examiners’ section of the NPRA system.

- If we win this last part, we’ll be the sole provider of continuing education to the NPRA in traffic and vehicles, concludes Bratteland.

FACULTY RELATIONS

FACULTY RELATIONS

«Traditionally we design a course that we sell, but NPRA is a customer with substantial prior knowledge and competence»

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Multimedia students Øyvind, Kristoffer, Kari, and Amanda are the «Awesome Four» - taking media exposure to a whole new level. A copywriter, a photographer, a web designer, and a video journalist have joined forces to create «ACTIO», a student project bringing you all the good stories.

- We are proud to be covering all media platforms, says web designer Øyvind Bjerke.

Since August, he has been creating websites for important faculty projects in collaboration with faculty partners and Dean Frank Reichert.

-It’s a great learning experience for us. It’s the real thing, forcing us to deliver high quality products.

Committed and positive The students working at ACTIO are full-time students sharing one common goal.

– We want to show the rest of the world our awesome university, and we are all extremely motivated to do so, says Kari Helene A. Helgesen, the video journalist dedicated to getting everything on tape.

- The fact that I get to contribute to this book is incredible, says copywriter Amanda Johansen.

Gearing up for the 2013/2014 recruitment campaign, the four members of ACTIO are ready to get busy.

- Every Monday morning we meet face-to-face, says Kristoffer

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Pedersen, a trigger-happy photographer contributing his magnificent talent to this book.

- Despite his young age, he takes stunning photos, Johansen says.

«ACTIO will shoot it, write it, design it, and ultimately communicate it!»

FACULTY RELATIONS

FACULTY RELATIONS

Is there a great story unfolding on campus? Or are you just interested in getting your story out? Either way – Just bring in the Awesome Four, AKA «ACTIO.» They’ll shoot it, write it, design it, and ultimately communicate it!

STUDENT PROJECT

STUDENT PROJECT

ACTIO – «The Awesome Four» What’s next?

Heading into the spring semester of 2013, the table is set. Shooting, writing, programming, designing, portraying, and exposing every faculty, student, event, conference and laboratory on campus, says Helgesen.

- And if you know anybody else that needs media exposure, just contact The Awesome Four, AKA ACTIO. You’ll find us on Facebook.

Actio is a term in rhetoric which describes the delivery that is given to a speech. Hand gestures, voice variation, speaker-to-audience eye contact, and an engaging manner are all needed for effective actio.

Source: Wikipedia 105

Bachelor’s Programs

STUDY PROGRAMS

Aeronautical Engineering Biology Biomedical Laboratory Science Civil Engineering Computer Engineering Electronic and Electrical Engineering Mathematical Finance Mathematics and Physics Mechanical Engineering Multimedia Technology and Design Renewable Energy

Master’s Programs Civil Engineering Didactics of Mathematics, Joint Nordic Master’s Program Industrial Economics and Technology Management Information and Communication Technology Mathematics and Science Education Mechatronics Renewable Energy

Ph.D. Programs Applied Mathematics Information and Communication Technology Mathematics Education Mechatronics Renewable Energy

Other study programs Biology, 1-year program Computer Science, 1-year program Mathematics, 1-year program Mathematics 2 – bilingual program Physics, 1-year program Preliminary Course for Engineers Preliminary Course in Mathematics and Physics Programming and Multimedia, 1-year program

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STUDY PROGRAMS

Faculty of Engineering and Science

WWW.UIA.NO

It’s definitely our time Professor Peter Hugh Middleton

It’s impossible to solve problems without making mistakes. Your mistakes enable you to ask the right questions, which lead you to the right solutions Professor Jose Gonzalez

We must be made aware that thinking inside the box might not necessarily take you where you want to go, forcing you to choose a different path Professor Andreas Prinz

It’s a mystery how mathematics and physics enable us to describe and explain nature. Mathematics and physics have this inner beauty Professor Leiv Storesletten

Natural Science has all the right ingredients for a great time Molecular biologist Vivian Kjelland

Scientists are not born at the university. They start to think and be interested in research in school.

Professor Maria Luiza Cestari

Thanks to state-of-the-art technology you don’t actually have to go to school to learn - that’s the brilliant thing about distant learning Associate Professor Morten Brekke

U.S. engineering students have gone to work in power industries with a bit of that Scandinavian attitude that says, “We should make the right choices, and we CAN make the right choices!”

Professor Paul Imbertson, The University of Minnesota

Being risk-oriented and innovative have made America great, and I am very excited to see the risk taking and innovation going on in the Agder region The U.S. Ambassador to Norway, Barry B. White

Virtual health care and online consultations will be a part of the future, making the patient’s home an important point of care.

Associate Professor Rune Fensli