SAM has organized its first conference for master's students

Nyhetportlet

Students and lecturers sitting around a table.

Students at SAM.

SAM has organized its first conference for master's students

On March 10, 2023, the Faculty of Social Sciences (SAM) piloted its first master's conference, Kløkt, inviting students from all four of its academic departments to participate.

The conference was created in response to concerns about the psychosocial student wellbeing highlighted by the master's students themselves in the SHoT22 survey.

– As teachers and mentors, we have experienced that many master's students struggle in their second year of study as much of the scheduled teaching is completed and they are left more to themselves and the task of completing their thesis," says Nathalie Hyde-Clarke, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

– To be alone with a big task can give both a feeling of loneliness and discouragement, and in the worst case, lead to dropping out completely towards the end of a master's degree. Here, they get the opportunity to think together with others who are in the same place in the master's program," says Associate Professor at the Department of Social Work, Åsmund Hermansen

The conference received funding from OsloMet's project, Den gode studentopplevelsen (DGS).

Is what I'm writing good enough?

The conference was held at a point in the master's student's learning process where they have the opportunity to improve their own research-based work. As Ellen Nygard, a university lecturer at Oslo Business School, points out:

– We have written and discarded and written again until we have submitted our theses with trembling hearts and of course, thought: Is this good enough? Do my findings make sense, says.

Work life is interdisciplinary

The long-term goal of the conference is to facilitate master's students meeting fellow students from other programs and professions, sharing research with each other, and building networks.

– The workplace is composed of people who have different skills and competencies that we must be able to understand and collaborate effectively with. We also know that people with one type of education often seek work across a range of sectors, says Hyde-Clarke.

The Kløkt conference allowed students not only to meet others whom they most likely would never have met otherwise, but also to present their own research in a way that people outside their immediate academic circles could understand and appreciate.

When is the next conference?

The next conference will be held on October 20, 2023.

Updates will be posted on the conference's new website (uni.oslomet.no).

Kontakt