Details

• Norway
• MASIMC-17
• Graduate
• WS 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

After receiving confirmation for my exchange spot, I firstly looked at all the available courses and made a shortlist of those that interested me the most. With BI Oslo, it is great that you can usually see the list of courses also with the dates when they usually end which in winter semester can be from end October to end December. Some courses last only half of the semester, some have in-person exam, some only paper submission form of exam or some have both or other assignments too. This is great for being able to plan your semester and travels well, so I advise you to spend some time researching this. Since the prices for European flights do not fluctuate much, I was able to book my flight only about 2/3 months before my trip. I suggest to read the guides for exchange students provided by BI in terms of tips like what to bring in terms of winter clothes, accommodation information, sports opportunities and everything to make the most out of your exchange semester at BI.

2. Accommodation

Oslo is in general very expensive city, especially when it comes to accommodation. However, with BI, you are fortunate enough to get an option to book your stay through university. These are way ore affordable than other accommodation options within the city and you live with other students, so you can get to know more people and live in student community. With a mandatory fee, you even get guaranteed that the university will secure you a spot in one of the student houses. You can always choose one of the provider of accommodation (out of 4 or 5) and within this provider, you can sign up for several student houses and rank them according to your priority. Most of the students I knew stayed in Bjolsen or BSN. Those 2 are the closest ones to the university. I preferred to stay closer to the city centre, so I chose Sio and KanslerenStudenthaus with them. Sio was a bit less "fancy" than the other two but still very nice and cheaper than them. Retrospectively, I think there were even better options close to the centre than Kanslerenstudenthus - close to Gronland which is not considered as the best part of Oslo but I never found it dangerous or anything.

3. Academic life at host university

On BI campus there are similar facilities to WU, such as printer, student support, ... Library works very similarly too - there are multiple floors, some silent areas, you can borrow books, book a study room and find several places for studying. In terms of classes, the workload is in my opinion lower compared to WU. There are often 2-3 assignments per class (or even one worth 100%), mostly towards the end of semester, so the first weeks are quite relaxing and ideal for travels or exploring the city. BI publishes schedule of the classes, including the exam date prior to the binding registration for the courses, so I definitely recommend looking for the list and plan your semester accordingly. Some courses last only half of semester or some have exams a month sooner than the others, so it will also help you to be able to plan your travels or way back home. As I said, I found the workload lower compared to WU, however, it was more difficult to get a 1 as the grading was more strict. My favorite class was energy in green transition - we discussed a lot of topics in energy, sustainability in the Norwegian context which I found really interesting.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transport in Oslo is relatively easy and convenient - there are buses, metros, trams, sometimes you unexpectedly need to do a circle around the city to get from 1 place to another, metro is not going every 3 minutes but every 12 min but otherwise very convenient and easy to navigate. I felt safe in the city, even in the so called "the worst part of Oslo" - Gronland, which I was crossing quite often was in my opinion very alright. Then the BI campus is great. There is a canteen with hot and cold meal options (both meet and vegetarian always) for reasonable prices, especially compared to prices for meals elsewhere in Oslo. There are also numerous cafes with other snacks in the building too. Our favorite thing was Kroa Tuesdays and Thursdays where in certain hours, they were giving away free coffee and typical chocolate buns. Kroa was a place/bar on campus where Biso (equivalent to OH at WU) organized various events during the semester. With Biso, you could join many other events, especially in the intro week, there was something every day. Probably the best thing is the gym direct in the university building. For about 30 euros/month, you have unlimited access to the gym, as well as numerous group sport classes - HIIT workouts, yoga, pilates, ball sports, anything you can think of. There are even other locations within the city you can access as well and book any class easily through an app. This is what I enjoyed the most and had a super active semester thanks to that too! I also joined running club from time to time - the options were great and everyone could find there something for themselves!

6. Testimonial

For me my exchange in Norway was a relaxing time. Doing lot of sports, taking endless walks in the most beautiful part of Oslo ( Grunnerlokka, Bjorvika, Frogner, Majorstuen), enjoying studying in cafes. Scandinavia is special for its calm and aesthetic vibe, as well as for beautiful nature everywhere around. If you want to want to have an active semester with lot of nature, peace and great architecture, it is the right choice for you!