Statoil is to be the main sponsor of the UKA-07 cultural festival in Trondheim. Most festival visitors study at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) which makes the event an important recruitment arena for Statoil.
"UKA is a key meeting place for students with expertise that is important for Statoil," says Morten Loktu who heads research and commercialisation in Technology & Projects (T&P).
"As main sponsor, we're first in line for forging important contacts. Statoil needs the brightest brains, so this partnership is important."
The tradition-steeped student festival is arranged every second year and lasts three weeks. Kick-off for UKA-07 is on 4 October 2007. During these weeks several national and international artists and bands will perform.
But UKA is more than just fun and frolics - it's also a gathering of expertise.
"Our partnership with UKA-07 is a good opportunity for Statoil to promote itself as an attractive employer to the experts of tomorrow," Mr Loktu says.
"Just under 30,000 students visit the festival, many of them representing the most important natural science communities in Norway."
Statoil will collaborate with UKA-07 throughout the whole of the coming year. The group will also offer UKA officials courses in manager development and project management. The partnership is part of Statoil's long-term recruitment work.
This is the third time Statoil is supporting UKA and the first as sole sponsor. Several sponsors shared the task previously.