The number of Norwegian students going to Bali fell dramatically after two bombs hit Kuta, Bali in 2002, but the last years there have been a steadily increase in number of students going to Bali for pre-university education. The tropical climate, beautiful beaches and good learning environment have attracted 533 Norwegian students to Bali this spring.
Four Norwegian institutions are well established in Bali and this semester Gateway College sent 312 students, Go Study sent 97 students, Active Education sent 88 students, and Kulturakademiet sent 36 students. It is expected that the same number of students will study in Bali this fall, which results in more than 1000 Norwegian students in Bali this year.
In addition to offer the pre-university course, the four institutions offers studies in philosophy, psychology, cross-cultural communication, cultural psychology, social anthropology, social environment, journalism, tourism management, sport and Indonesian language.
Before the students departed for Bali, the Indonesian Embassy in Oslo organized a farewell gathering in Oslo. The Gateway College and Active Education students together with the lecturers and the operational staff of the two institutions came to the event. Yukie Mansyur and Ossy Ivarson from the Indonesian Children Group presented the Bajidor Kahot dance. Besides, there was also some Indonesian food such as sate ayam, bakmi goreng, lumpia, bakwan, rempeyek, kembang goyang and kerupuk ikan.
On that occasion, the Chargé d’Affaires Ad-Interim of Indonesian Embassy in Oslo, Mansyur Pangeran, explained about Indonesia and Bali as well as Indonesia-Norway bilateral relations. He said that Indonesia is a right place to study due to its various culture and beautiful nature. Besides, Indonesia has more than 240 million population, 17,000 islands of more than 300 ethnics inhabitants, 600 languages, high religion tolerance, and many natural resources.
The four Norwegian institutions; Gateway College, Gostudy, Active Education, and Kulturakademiet were honoured with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Indonesian Embassy as a result of their work to boost closer people-to-people relation between our two countries.
At GoStudy in Bali, Agnes Rostrup Van Deun is the General Manager. She explains that some representatives from Nesna College are currently visiting to look at the campus and prepare the new sports program, which will start next semester. Involved in the new sports program is also Steinar Hoen, European Champion in high jump. GoStudy has just signed agreements for the use of a modern sports centre and a second hotel for accommodation for students, and they hope to double the number of students for the next semester.
While waiting for lunch, after a lecture in examine facultatum, a student says: “Our lecturer is great, and it is so much to do here. I have finished a surfing course and I have just started the Open Water Diving Course “. Another student continues, “I agree, but it was a lot of hard work to earn the money for the school fee. I had three jobs last semester, but it was worth it. The days here are so much fun. We study for 2 hours and then we have the rest of the day to do what we want”.
