Norway’s popular International Summer School (ISS) at the University of Oslo has become another casualty of the Corona virus crisis. It’s been cancelled this year for students traveling to Oslo from abroad, for the first since its founding in 1947.
ISS officials cited concerns over the health and security of both university employees and summer school students, but the cancellaton was mostly prompted by all the Corona-related uncertainty and practical problems. Not only can it now be difficult for some of the foreign students to obtain visas to Norway, uncertainty is also flying around international air travel to Oslo.
“We saw so many practical and health-related hindrances that we decided to cancel the program for students traveling in from abroad,” summer school director Nita Kapoor told news bureau NTB. ISS also became suddenly unable to provide housing for any students in Oslo this summer.
Hopes remained that ISS may be able to offer a digital alternative of its curriculum that provides foreigners with a broad introduction to Norway and its language. This year’s session was due to run from June 20 to July 31, and ISS officials were also hoping to still be able to offer classroom instruction in Norwegian as a foreign language for English-speaking foreign students already residing in Norway.
ISS has long served as a gateway to Norway for foreigners moving to the country for professional or personal reasons. More than 30,000 students from at least 150 countries have attended since its first session was held following the end of World War II.
For more information, click here (external link to ISS’ own website).
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