Students to Teach

Rector Arild Underdal hopes that increased teaching of undergraduates by postgraduate students will facilitate implementation of the long-awaited Quality Reform in Higher Education. Although the reform requires closer contact between tutors and students, it has not budgeted with significant increases in academic staff. This problem may be partially resolved by employing postgraduates to tutor groups of undergraduate students. Gunnar Handal, Professor of Pedagogy at the University of Oslo, expresses hopes that the University will offer courses to qualify postgraduate students for teaching along the lines of courses currently offered by NTNU, Norways Technical and Natural Sciences\' University.

Hesitant Solidarity to Iraquis

When NATO initiated its bombing in what was formerly known as Yugoslavia the University Senate, now re-christened the University Board, voted for a resolution expressing the University\'s support for academic staff of former Yugoslavia. Little was done to assist these in practical terms, however, rector Arild Underdal points out. Today, the University management is hesitant with regard to developing concrete plans to assist the academic community in Iraq. – It is difficult to assess how the situation will develop, says Underdal, adding that the University has gained useful experience through a series of co-operation agreements with Palestinian universities since 1999.