Today Torodd Helle, CEO of Helle Fabrikke (Knife Factory) in Holmedal came and gave a presentation to the first years as part of their Nordic Life Skills course. He gave the students an introduction to craftsmanship handed down generation to generation, branding and the essential core values which underpin the Helle brand, international marketing and his aspirations for the HAFs regions to be a ‘torch to the future’ – all of this was very much in line with our Nordic Pillar and our connection to our local community. His presentation was followed by a highly stimulating Q & A session – Torodd finished the session with an invitation for students to visit the factory in Holmedal at a later point in the academic year. For more information on the company, please click here.

Helle Fabrikke is one of the local companies which has sponsored the creation of the IB Dale places – for three Sogn og Fjordane students to student here at RCN. After the presentation he met with our first cohort of students on this programme – Thea, Louise and Jakob. We are hugely grateful to Helle Fabrikker and other local companies for their investment in international educational opportunities for local students.

On Tuesday 3rd November, Marianne Andresen kindly hosted a drinks reception at her house in Bygdøy as part of RCN’s 2015 Jubilee celebrations. The hosting team consisted of Marianne, Larry (Rektor), Tove (Chair of RCN’s Board), Arne (Director of Development), Elisabeth (UWC Norge) and three students: Balder (Norway), Bassie (Sierra Leone) and Emma (the Netherlands). Over 50 guests gathered at Smedbraaten for this wonderful occasion – from committed supporters to Oslo-based ambassadors, from representatives of the Storting to fellow educators, from members of UWC Norge and the wider UWC community to our partners in the Norwegian Red Cross. Guests from the Storting included Olemic Thommesen (President of Parliament) and Elisabeth Aspaker (Minister for Nordic Cooperation), Laila Bokhari (State Secretary for Security and Terrorism), Liv Signe Navarsete from the Centre Party. It was a very special evening with a series of short speeches by Tove, Larry, Arne and Elizabeth and a song by Bassie.

Please click to read the speeches from Larry and Arne.