Heading North

“After two years confined to Switzerland, we were extremely happy to make the Course Abroad to Norway happen this year,” said Bastian Bergmann, Coordinator of the MAS MTEC programme. “Six exceptional company visits with more than 30 talks and presentations on topics such as digital transformation, sustainability, and additive manufacturing brought our students fresh insights and still left plenty of room for socialising and networking.”

Addressing the theme “Nordic Economies in Transition: From Traditional to Emerging Industries”, students delved into a broad spectrum of ventures. They got to know traditional corporations undergoing digital transformation processes, highly specialised medium-sized companies and young, innovative start-ups. Charlotte Meylan was one of the MAS MTEC students who was on the trip. “The presentations at Wilhelmsen were very insightful,” she said. “Their activities are very different from those in my own field of work, but our sectors share concerns that are common to all industries undergoing a digital evolution. It was very interesting to hear how they tackle issues such as the fostering and management of digital ecosystems, or change management with both internal and external stakeholders.”

Another highlight was the visit to Kongsberg Digital. “The decentralised learning platforms are highly innovative and trend-setting for digital teaching aids,” said Oliver Wälchli, another participant. Later that same day, the students visited the Universitetet i Sorost-Norge, where they experienced Kongsberg’s technology during simulations and demonstrations in which they appeared to be on the deck of a ship. “As an engineer, I was particularly impressed with the attention to detail implemented in these ship simulators,” Wälchli noted. “Seeing the Sydney Opera House during a motorboat cruise at night was one of the highlights of this study trip.”

Students also appreciated their visit to the Swiss Ambassador’s Residence, where they networked during a reception with Ambassador Bernard Jaggy and strolled through the extensive park surroundings of the beautiful residence. 

Further company visits were made to Norsk Titanium, Yara International, Rystad Energy and DNV.

Towards the end of the study trip, the students visited Oslo Science Park. Nicolay Bérard-Andersen, an ETH alumnus now working as an Innovation Advisor at the University of Oslo, set up a wonderful programme. He commented enthusiastically, “Our meeting with the MAS MTEC students was inspiring, and we are eager to interact more with ETH Zurich in the future. The MAS MTEC students showed great competence and provided visionary and experience-based comments that drove a good dialogue between them and our start-ups and employees.”

The Study Trip concluded with some sightseeing, including a walking tour through Oslo and a visit to the Holmenkollen Ski Museum.

The MAS MTEC students returned to Switzerland with unforgettable memories of new experiences and valuable knowledge for their private and professional lives.

Our heartfelt appreciation goes to the Norge Alumni chapter for their support in making this visit possible, and in particular to Hans Troye, MAS alumnus and President of the Norge Alumni chapter.

Takk Norge – Thank you Norway!