International Students Union

Contact:

International Students' Union of Norway, Lakkegata 3, 0187 Oslo, office: +47-98225998
open: 09:00 - 14:00
email: nationalsecretary {replace with @-sign}

isu-norway.no

org.nr: 892 438 072

On this site, you will find information related to our National Assembly, our member organizations and our national board. There are also links to relevant information for international students in Norway.

ISU joins hands with SAIH on their campaign Scholars at Risk


		ISU is taking part in global movement for equal access to education. For this purpose ISU joins and supports SAIH’s (Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance) campaign for this year. SAIH campaign for this year is about "Scholars at Risk", which focuses on the students who have been suppressed by their governments due to their view points. The annual Spring Gathering of SAIH was held between April 13-15th this year, and Ashish Singh, the First Vice President of ISU Norway, represented ISU in this gathering to show ISU’s support on SAIH’s work towards the rights of students from all over the world. The gathering was also attended by representatives from different local chapters of SAIH, from Spire and NSO. For more information and links to relevant sites, please see Ashish's report. May 1st, 2012.

National President's Speech at SPIRE Annual GENERAL Meeting


		ISU has been invited to the Annual General Meeting of Spire that took place on the weekend April 21^st - 22^nd at Miljøhuset in Oslo. More than 40 members from the whole country assembled for an inspiring weekend with discussions on different topics and meetings. The program included a workshop on Fairtrade, voting of a topic for campaign for the next year, and board elections. Spire is an important partner for ISU since we can support each others' campaigns and work together towards both better conditions of International students in Norway and better harmony between trade and sustainable society. Read more about the meeting in Norwegian, or see the agenda in English and related resources at Spire website spireorg.no. The speech of the ISU National President, John Ganyo at the meeting is available here. April 30th, 2012.

Letter to Ministry of Education and Research


		Norway is one of the few countries with no tuition fees for foreign students. A discussion whether this status can be sustained arose recently in public media. Recent introduction of fees for foreign students in Denmark and Sweden let into a dramatic decline in the number of foreign students applications. The no fee principle relates not only to the moral responsibility of building knowledge independently of the country borders, it is also a clear answer to solidarity, development and cooperation at the global level. An article (in Norwegian) from Camilla Hermansen, leader of the student parliament of NLA University College and Ashish Singh, the First Vice-President of ISU-Norway has been published in universitas.no and a letter has been dispatched to the Ministry of Education and Research. April 25th, 2012.
Update, April 29th 2012: The letter to the Ministry by Ashish Singh, the first Vice President and Camilla Hermansen, leader of the student parliament of NLA University College received some attention. Utropia newspaper also published the same letter, Utropia - Debatt, Leserinnlegg - 26. April 2012 and this issue has been raised in the NSO meeting, see NSO's website. Furthermore, an article at Daniel's blog, read it here. Valuably, on the blog of NTNU Professor- Stig A. Slørdahl (Dekanus, Det medisinske fakultet, NTNU)- the same letter is also posted. Thank you very much, this raises some hopes for the international students in Norway!

ISU branch at Nord-Trøndelag University College waking up


		Recently, ISU-Norway has initiated several new branches at university colleges across the country. We are happy to see that they are getting more active and strong. A new article about the branch at HiNT has been published. We congratulate the new leaders elected at the first meeting of ISU Steinkjer: Andreza Lisboa, Chris Hanga, Sergey Kozhin, Maria Tselikova, Victoria Guryeva, and wish them a great start in their ISU season. For more, read the article at HiNT website. April, 22nd 2012.

ISU raises a debate over current financial crisis


		A European youth conference will be held in Oslo this September. The goal is to form a platform where young people can discuss the situation in Europe, says the driving force Ashish Singh - leader of the International Students' Union of Norway (ISU). The topic of discussion this time, like so many times before, is the current situation both in Europe and the rest of the world. The opinions and solutions are diverse. Viewpoints shaped by the fact that they come from different countries, are studying different subjects and thus have different knowledge and solving. Read the full article, Tidskrift for Samfunnsviterne 1/2012, and an English translation. April 2nd, 2012.

ISU goes global: Channelizing Sustainable Development through Empowered Youths


		ISU gets into involving the available skill-set into make change happen in the developing parts of the world. To gain some expertise and exposure, ISU joined hands with one community based organization (CBO) Uttranchal Youth and Rural Development Center (UYRDC) in the Himalayan region of India. UYRDC is active in the Uttranchal province of India for more than two decades, and has been doing activities to provide sustainable opportunities to the youths and rural communities detached from the mainland. ISU's representatives will visit India in the summer of 2012. ISU as an organization will get benefited by having a knowledge working in a totally different geographical region. The project is funded by LNU under their scheme ‘global north-south project’. See the full article. March 30th, 2012.

ISU LMi12 HELD in OSLO


		As part of the annual agenda, ISU Norway, in coordination with the ISU HIOA, organised a leadership meeting, LMi12, on a broad range of topics. It was held at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Pilestredet campus, Oslo, from 27-29 January 2012, with contributions from honourable guests. See the full report. See also leadership meeting website February 14th, 2012.

ISU Norway Establishes 6 new Local Branches


		Between April and October 2011, ISU Norway has made giant strides in expanding the local base of Norway’s Union of International Students studying in various universities and colleges across the country. For the first time since its inception, ISU has opened 6 new local branches in a period of about three months including one merger where a new local branch was merged with an existing one as a result of the two institutions becoming one. The new local branches include; ISU OIBC (Oslo International Bible College), ISU AHO (Oslo School of Architecture and Design), ISU HiOF (Østfold University College), ISU NVH (Norwegian School of Veterinary Science), ISU HiNT (North-Trøndelag University College) and ISU HLT (Norwegian School of Leadership and Theology). See the press release. See also a short notice published in Utropia (#13/2011) November 10th, 2011.

ISU Norway Elects New National Board 2011 - 2012


		The International Students’ Union of Norway elected a new National Board in a National Assembly. It took place in Bodø from 21st to 23rd October 2011 hosted by the International Students' Union of Nordland University, Bodø, Norway. Five new members were elected by the delegates to the National Board of ISU in line with sub-section 3.1.1 of the constitution. The new Board consists of John Ganyo from Ghana (studying at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences) as National President, Ashish Singh from India (studying at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences) as 1st Vice President, Isaac Wanasolo from Uganda (studying at Norwegian

University of Science and Technology) as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Welfare, Ahmet Oguz Tezel from Turkey (studying at Norwegian University of Science and Technology) as Vice President of Public Relations and Mashhood Ahmed Sheikh from Pakistan (studying at University of Tromsø) as Vice President of Union Development. See the full press release. October 25th, 2011.

Election of a National President and 4 Vice Presidents in Bodø October 21st - 23rd


		ISU is electing a National President and 4 Vice Presidents starting November 2011 and we want as many candidates as possible to run for the elections! National President The job as a National President for a national student organization is a rewarding one, offering both the honour of representing international students towards various Norwegian authorities, partners and organizations and the opportunity to work with people from all over the world. It is also an excellent opportunity to develop further your leader skills.

It is a 38% job position that will be available from November for a period of 13 months. The election is going to be held at our National Assembly in Bodø on Sunday 23rd, and we encourage all of you interested to apply! We are thankful for all the help we can get in circulating this announcement.

Information about what the position as a president of ISU requires, what tasks the president is expected to perform as well as information about the application process can be found if you click on this link: National President.

Vice Presidents

ISU will also elect 4 Vice Presidents at the National Assembly; one First Vice President, one Vice President of Public Relations, one Vice President of Union Development and one Vice President of Academic Affairs and Welfare. The Vice Presidents are elected for a period of one year. More information about the duties connected with the positions as well as about the application procedure can be found here: 4 Vice Presidents.
See you in Bodø! September 22nd, 2011

A new dawn of leadership at ISU Norway as Interim President takes office


		The outgoing president of ISU Norway, Karen Contreras Lisperguer handed over instruments of service to the 1st vice president, John Ganyo at a send-off dinner held on Thursday, 26th May, 2011 at Grünnerlokka Family Centre. This follows Karen’s resignation from the position at an Extraordinary National Assembly, which was held in Oslo from 8th to 10th April 2011. According to ISU’s Constitution, the First Vice President was elevated to the position of president on interim basis. The Vice President of Union Development also resigned at the same ENA. The Interim President will hold office until the next National Assembly to be held in October 2011, at which a new National Board comprising 5 members shall be elected. The current board now consists of three members including John Ganyo- Interim President, Mashhood Sheikh- Vice President of Academic Affairs and Welfare and Isaac Wanasolo – Vice President of Public Relations. Read full story. June 1st, 2011

Application and Tuition fees for International Students are NOT welcome


		In recent times, the press has carried reports about alleged proposals to introduce tuition fees and application charges on International Students intending to study in Norwegian Universities. This has been mainly due to the fact that, Sweden has introduced tuition fees for international students from 2011; a development to which the Vice-Chairman of the Swedish Student Union, Sveriges förenade studentkårer (SFS), Robin Moberg, stated the following, "We are upset. This is a step backwards for welfare, and it also dents the viewpoint that Scandinavia consists of knowledge nations where every person has the same opportunities and rights to educate themselves".
The International Students’ Union therefore calls on all Student Organisations, Partners and stake holders to support them to strongly oppose this move without compromise. Read the full press release here. May 9th, 2011

Scholarship for students in Norway from Eastern-Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America


		We have received information from the former president of our local branch in Narvik, Nemanja Trecakov, about a scholarship. The scholarship is for students in Norway from Eastern-Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The applicant needs to be able to understand English, Norwegian, and at least one other language. We want all our local branches to know about this so they have the opportunity to apply. The student who apply has an opportunity to receive 100 000 NOK for a two-years masters degree. The deadline for applying is 18. april 2011
You will get valuable experience A unique opportunity to build a new career Opportunity to work in one of the largest Norwegian companies. If you have any questions, please contact: Dilek Ayhan, Daglig leder, Alarga E-mail: dilek alarga.org. To get to the application form, follow this link. April 1st, 2011

Read more news about ISU in the news archive.