Griffith’s Graduate Business School Welcomes 37 Students From Kristiania University College
The Graduate Business School at Griffith College participated in their first short-term mobility programme with Kristiania University College, based in Oslo, Norway. Griffith College and Kristiania University College have a longstanding relationship, working together for approximately 15 years. In the past, Norwegian students from Kristiania University College have joined Griffith’s Interior Design, Film & TV, and Journalism & Media Communications programmes.
This week, the Graduate Business School at Griffith College welcomed 37 Norwegian students and their professor Hanne Stavelie. The visiting students are currently in the 3rd year of a Business degree and interacted with postgraduate Business students at Griffith College. They spent a week in Ireland, participating in intercultural communication classes, learning about Irish culture, and meeting representatives from national organizations.
Michael Bosonnet, Programme Director for International Business Management GBS at Griffith College, worked closely with Hanne Stavelie, Business Professor at Kristiania University College, to create an exciting, educational schedule for the Norwegian Business students when visiting Ireland.
Activities that took place on the visit
On Tuesday, the Norwegian students participated in a Digital visit to Meta (Facebook) where Wilhelm Bingsmark, Account Manager Nordics, spoke about his role as an Account Manager, Facebook news and roles available to these students. Later in the day, the students visited the Academy Plaza Hotel where Anastasia Mariussen, Head of Small Business Engagement at TikTok Dublin, shared her experience about working at TikTok.
The students attended the Griffith College Dublin campus on Wednesday where they participated in an International Business Management programme class alongside Griffith’s GBS students. Hanne informed the GBS students about Kristiania University College, while Aine McManus, the Head of the Graduate Business School Faculty, introduced Griffith College. Representatives from The Beauty Buddy were also present to brief GBS students about their business and an upcoming group project.
The students returned to the Griffith College Dublin Campus on Thursday where Cormac Phelan, Digital Campaigns Manager for Tourism Ireland, presented the international branding for Ireland. After lunch, a networking session was organised, giving the students from both colleges an opportunity to interact. They participated in a Belbin team building activity facilitated by Teaching Champion, Deborah Kirkland, and a member of the GBS Faculty team, James Goodman.
The visit was a great experience for both colleges
“It was a wonderful experience to meet our Norwegian visitors this week, the students are taking a variety of programmes and choose Intercultural Business Communication as an elective module. They are putting their learning into practice this week in Ireland. The ethos in Hanne’s class ties in very well with the multicultural atmosphere at Griffith College and our Norwegian colleagues blended in seamlessly into our classroom. On a personal note, collaborating so well with Hanne from the get-go ensured that we used our skills sets effectively and worked together to achieve the goal of this interactive event with many moving parts and multiple stakeholders involved. It has been successful for strengthening international relations, and we have been blessed with the great weather!!”
Michael Bosonnet, Programme Director for International Business Management GBS at Griffith College
“Maintaining and Developing our international university partners is very important to us at Griffith College. We were delighted to welcome our longstanding partner Kristiania University College to our Dublin campus this week. We hope the students had a wonderful experience and happy memories in Ireland.”
Claire Cox, Deputy Head of the International Department at Griffith College