Sport Management student Dominic Buchan was the first BU Sport & Physical Activity student to benefit from the fantastic study and internship opportunity a new partnership with the internationally renowned Norwegian School of Sports Sciences offers. Read his brief account:

“Studying abroad at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences (NSSS) was a fantastic decision and an experience I will have for the rest of my life. Based 20 minutes from the city center of Oslo via the metro system, NSSS offered everything I needed; from the sand volleyball courts to the local hiking trials NSSS had it all.

The programme I opted for was divided into two parts. The first part was simply studying abroad for the first semester, and the second part is being positioned in a sporting body undertaking an internship.

S1) Study Abroad

This was divided into three topics: sports marketing, event marketing and volunteerism in sport. These topics were international courses therefore we conducted in English. In these classes were a range of nationalities: Norwegian, Canadian, German, Polish and English. The majority of my classmates were also international students with whom I got very friendly and will forever stay in contact with. These topics were interesting topics and were relevant to my internship. An added bonus was the fact that as a class we got to work at the Cross Country Ski World Cup in Lillehammer which was a great couple of days. Also, staff and pupils were very friendly and welcoming even though Norwegians are very introverted. I think being part of the ‘fadder week’ (Freshers week) helped with this a lot, since the school has a small amount of pupils getting to know everyone is very easy.

S2) Internship

I was lucky enough to have my internship at the Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (LYOGOC). This enabled me to witness and take part in the professional business environment and witness first hand how an international event starts from nothing to evolve into something. With this internship I was able to take part in all of the ski events taking place in Oslo and Lillehammer, which was absolutely brilliant. Also had a hand in developing ideas for LYOGOC campaigns themselves such their ‘1 Year to Go’ campaign that was televised across Norway and the Torch Tour.

All in all this was an absolutely incredible year away and I would recommend doing this or something like this. I have learnt so much individually and professionally I didn’t want it to end. However I would also say it’s all about what you put in, because if you get involved with the school, the pupils and other international students you will certainly have a terrific time!”

Originally published on the School of Tourism Blog.