Pianist and singer Ingrid Olava rounded off Statoil’s Kick-off event in Trondheim with a mini concert. (Photo: Geir Otto Johansen)
The festival proper gets underway on 6 October, but students were given an appetiser on 19 September with a guest appearance by Norwegian TV celebrity and talk-show host Harald Rønneberg. True to form – alternatively humorous and serious – and combining video clips and pranks, he presented Statoil’s festival programme together with employees of the company.
As main sponsoring partner, Statoil will be maintain an active presence throughout UKA, which is Norway’s biggest cultural and student festival.
Competition
A mobile phone text competition will lead students to 12 October and “company of the day”. On that day Statoil will present itself as a leading, innovative technology company in a series of lectures, a panel discussion and stands. The winner will be treated to an especially planned trip to Hammerfest and Statoil’s Melkøya plant.
In the course of festival Statoil will visit several faculties, holding presentations and speed interviews for the recruitment of new employees. Tournaments, featuring simulated oil strategy games and robot technology, should spark students’ interest in Statoil.
An attractive company
UKA in Trondheim is Norway’s biggest student-run arrangement and an important arena for the company.
Excited atmosphere amongst the students attending Statoil’s Kick-off event in at NTNU in Trondheim 19 September. (Photo: Geir Otto Johansen)
“At this important student venue we wish to profile Statoil as an attractive and exciting employer. That’s why we’re working with UKA,” says Anne-Lise Crogh, project manager for UKA in Statoil.
“For 15 years in succession, natural science and engineering students in Norway have voted Statoil their top employer. We intend to maintain this position.”
Financial backing and security
UKA supremo Tore Lie Falkenberg is delighted to have the backing of Norway’s biggest company.
“It gives us the financial backing and security to stage a festival with a broad cultural basis and international artists, ranging from Snoop Dogg to David Guetta. In addition, we are able to increase our competence through coaching and courses that include media training and health, safety and the environment.”
Students also gained an insight into what it is like to work for Statoil when Rønneberg interviewed two relatively recent Statoil employees, Marta N Bjørkestrand of Marketing, Processing & Renewable Energy and Frode Støylen of Technology, Projects & Drilling.
A mini concert featuring pianist and singer Ingrid Olava, one of the Statoil-sponsored Heroes of Tomorrow, rounded off the kick-off arrangement.
Statoil’s UKA event
– 19 September: Kick-off for Statoil’s programme
– 12 October: Company of the Day in Trondheim, as well as
company presentations at the universities of Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen
and Tromsø
– 17 – 18 October: Faculty visits
– 21 October: OilSim tournament
– 26 October: Robot challenge
– 26 – 27 October: Assessment Centre (employment interviews for students)
Facts about UKA:
– Norway’s biggest student and cultural festival
– Arranged every other year in Trondheim
– First held in 1917
– UKA-11 to run from 6 – 30 October
– Staged and run by the students themselves
– Statoil has collaborated with UKA since 2003
– Part of the Heroes of Tomorrow sponsorship that encompasses culture,
education and sport