Make Nelson your student exchange destination

 Jørgen Sovre, Jørgen Toftner and Jørgen Mosvold Salvesen studied Computing and Information Technology during the semester. Their study schedule included Cloud Services led by Mark Caukill, and Computer Systems Architecture led by Neil Benson.

“Mark Caukill is so passionate about the course,” says Toftner.

“I think I learned more on that course than anything else in my whole Bachelor!” adds Sovre. “Neil Benson’s class on Computer System Architecture was a great course everyone should have as a base to any Bachelor degree in computers.”

Mark and Neil gave each Jørgen a nickname as a way to personalise and inject a little fun into their experience. Sovre became "Best Jørgen”, Mosvold Salvesen “True Jørgen”, and Toftner “Original Jørgen”.

“We had great teachers at NMIT,” says Sovre. “They were friends as well as teachers which inspired us to work hard."

Studying at NMIT was affordable and inclusive. Mosvold Salvesen is a gym goer who trained at the gym near campus for only $7 for a week. Toftner was able to join the NMIT football team for the semester.

The trio were the first group of Norwegian students from NMIT’s new exchange partner, the University of Agder in the southern Norwegian city of Kristiansand.

Each found the small class sizes a refreshing change from the large lecture theatres at their home university. They said it allowed them to learn faster, provided more discussion and interaction, and was motivating and helped build a good work ethic.

As for the destination, Nelson received a Best, True and Original stamp of approval.

“Nelson is a really clean city,” says Sovre.

“I like how in Nelson you can go from town straight into the woods in five minutes’ walk,” adds Toftner. “The Black Hole swimming hole in the Maitai River is heaps of fun, it is only 15 minutes’ walk along a river path from NMIT’s campus.”

Nelson is famous for its beautiful natural landscapes. There are mountains, lakes, native bush and rivers aplenty. It is a friendly destination for young and old with a thriving cafe culture and art scene. In many ways, say the trio, Nelson felt familiar to Kristiansand. In other ways it was an entirely new experience.

“New Zealand has great diversity of natural environments, some parts are like Norway and then places near Nelson like Kaiteriteri and Abel Tasman National Park are like tropical places,” says Sovre.

Keen to study abroad?

NMIT has partnerships with more than 80 different universities in the USA, Germany, Norway, Netherlands, France, Japan and Denmark. Students who go on exchange pay their standard fees and are still eligible to receive a student allowance.

NMIT is funding travel grants to assist New Zealand domestic students with the price of flights. For information on NMIT's student exchange programme, please email the International Development team: studentexchange@nmit.ac.nz