A New Era of System Dynamics at the University of Bergen

This past year has been a difficult one for several master’s programs here at the University of Bergen. While I can only provide insight from my perspective, this year has presented many challenges including for the System Dynamics Group. During the application process for the graduating master’s class of 2025, the Norwegian Parliament passed new legislation requiring students from nations outside of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) to pay tuition fees. Previously, Norway followed “gratisprinsippet”, or the free principle, for all students regardless of their nationality. This meant that there were no tuition fees for any student entering higher education at a public university.

The reasons behind the tuition introduction centered around economics. International students from outside of the EU/EEA were not seen as providing a large enough benefit given the expenses they generated for the Norwegian government. These expenses were deemed significant given the global environment. The world was, and still is, recovering from the economic impacts of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine had taken effect on the global economy. Norway was not immune to these impacts.

While this post is not meant to be an analysis on the effectiveness of these tuition fees, it does mark a new era for the System Dynamics Group at the University of Bergen. The System Dynamics Group leads one of the few english-language master’s programs at the University and it brings students from all over the world to Bergen. With tuition fees, it has created a new barrier preventing many students from participating due to the large expenses that are now required in order to study in Norway. If too few students enroll in the program, the System Dynamics master’s program would quickly face uncertainty in regard to its survival.

In response to this challenge, our Director of the System Dynamics Group, Dr. Birgit Kopainsky, has led an immense effort to spread awareness for this master’s program to help increase applications to this program. This has included reaching out to the System Dynamics Society, connecting with professors across Europe, and creating a small team of students, including myself, to help find new pathways for potential students to learn about the System Dynamics program at the University of Bergen.

In our efforts this past academic year, we have generated new content with the help of Film and TV Production students at the University. We have developed a new video that provides an overview on why students should study System Dynamics in Bergen. At the time of writing, this video now has over 39,000 views in a span of six-months. This effort has proved to be effective in reaching a larger audience that we did not directly speak to previously.

This has also proved to be a fun process to explore why I wanted to come here. While I explain in more detail in previous posts, I can now say at the end of my first academic year that I truly have found an attachment both to the program and to the University. I do love the international environment. I appreciate the challenge of changing the way I perceive problems from new perspectives. I am encouraged by the support found in the System Dynamics community both here in Bergen and worldwide.

While the video was developed in the Fall, the Spring has also led to new ventures in which we have helped build a Master’s night for the english-language programs at the University. It was a unique way to build connection with the international community in Bergen while also recognizing the resilience found in our programs. We as a collective have a determination to make an impact. We are forced to innovate to build new ideas that reflect the needs of students and of society. We are bridging ideas within sustainability, equity, and systems thinking to ensure that society has the people with the skill sets needed to handle the arising dynamic and complex problems.

Moving forward, there is hope that this desire for systems thinking and system dynamics can be strengthened across academic and cultural backgrounds. A positive sign of things to come can be found in the latest cohort where students present interests in sustainability, business, media, and psychology to name a few. These same students help to maintain an international community as they represent many countries from across the world such as Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Finland, Norway, and the United States. While this year has been a challenge, it has proved that the System Dynamics Group is resilient and maintains a strong pull among a diverse range of students.