The government’s package of measures designed to counteract the financial crisis will have a beneficial effect on the University of Oslo.

2009-01-28 På norsk

Of approximately 20 billion kroner to be spent on extraordinary crisis measures, around 480 million will be allotted to research and higher education. Minister of Research and Higher Education, Tora Aasland, is very satisfied with the funds allotted to her sector.

-I am happy that we have managed to get such a solid investment in higher education and research. This is something much more long-term than more immediate action such as tax relief measures, and this sort of measure is not really a natural part of such a short-term crisis package. I am therefore pleased that we have put in place preventative measures to avoid the crisis growing, and a rise in unemployment within the fields of research and higher education, Aasland says.

The University of Oslo (UiO) alone will receive a grant of 60 million kroner. 50 of these have been earmarked for maintenance and rehabilitation of the tower blocks housing the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Domus Medica. Technical director Frode Meinich says that there are many concrete projects waiting.

Stopping leaks

- At Domus Medica, we will fix the roof, as we have experienced major leaks there. In addition to this, we will repair windows and put extra insulation into the sixties-era buildings in the upper area of Blindern. There is also a lot that needs doing when it comes to ventilation and lifts, so we have enough to spend the money on, Meinich says.

UiO is between four and five billion kroner behind on the maintenance of existing buildings and investments in new buildings. Even though the government’s aim with the crisis package is to lessen unemployment in the building trade, the university has only been given a grant of approximately one percent of the funds needed for maintenance. Meinich still thinks that this goes beyond all expectations.

- This is like manna from heaven. I thought that UiO would receive somewhere between 20 and 40 million kroner for maintenance, so we are incredibly pleased. It will probably take a few months before the builders get started, but this will definitely be keeping people in work, and it will be a source of joy to people who will no longer have to have water dripping on their heads at Domus Medica, Meinich says.

Student politicians applaud measures

The measures for research and higher education have also been applauded by student politicians across the country. They think it is a good thing that the crisis package aims to make Norway better equipped to face future crises, as well as making an immediate impact.

-Funds for renovation and new buildings are a longed-for measure that will improve everyday life for many students. This is a crisis package with knowledge as its focus that will also help us avoid future trouble. If we are to have anything to live off when the oil runs out, then we must invest heavily in higher education, the leaders of the Norwegian Association of Students and National Union of Students in Norway, Øistein Svelle and Ingvild Reymert, stated in a joint press release.

Anders R. Christensen • Andreas Slettholm • Translated by Anna Young