Emilie Margrethe Skogvang
Masters program: TIK
Graduation year: 2018
What was your thesis about?
I conducted a case study of the UN Women Blockchain Project to Empower Women and Girls in Humanitarian Settings. The thesis focuses on how the collaborative relationship between UN Women and blockchain companies evolves in a radical, high-tech innovation process, and what factors supports and constrains collaboration between the UN and the private sector in innovation.
What is your current occupation, and how do you use your background from TIK?
During the course of my masters I worked part time at Innovation Norway in a unit called NOREPS, which works with humanitarian innovation. After submitting my thesis I will start working full time in the Innovation Norway communications department. I will use my TIK background to communicate how
Innovation Norway can assist Norwegian start-ups and growth companies in innovation and development.
What is your best advice for new of
prospective students at TIK?
Apply for relevant internships and part-time jobs! I had an internship in the environmental foundation ZERO, and a part time job at Innovation Norway, which made the theories we learned much more applicable and understandable for me. The work experiences also helped me decide what I wanted to write about in my thesis. Writing for Teknovatøren is also valuable to get more writing experience. Oh, and also.. enjoy the ride!
Gard Nordby
Masters program: ESST
Graduation year: 1999
What was your thesis about?
I wrote about Innovation practices within the Norwegian Cluster for Oil and Gas. Basically, all innovation theory and literature on innovation at the time focused on product and technological innovation. I applied acknowledged innovation theory on three different cases within the Oil & Gas cluster: A pure helicopter service provider to the industry, a public regulator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) and a leading technology solution/product provider. Even though the innovation process differed a lot, the theories were still quite applicable.
What is your current occupation, and how do you use your background from TIK?
I work as a management consultant within strategy and restructuring for Capgemini Consulting. My background from TIK/ESST is more of a foundation and perspective than being empirical know-how I can use on a daily basis. I do however work a bit in the interface between politics, public management and business performance, and the background from TIK and UiO proves valuable.
What is your best advice for new and prospective students at TIK?
Be curious and open. Raise critical questions and challenge conventional thinking. I sense that many students today (generally speaking) are too oriented of absorbing information, information that they believe will be useful know-how on the day of the exam. I would like to see more critical thinking, challenge of beliefs and creation of discourse. TIK/ESST should provide the set up for it – and it will improve learning and understanding for you and others.
Ingrid Paaske Gulbrandsen
Masters program: TIK
Graduation year: 2018
What was your thesis about?
In my thesis I used a combination of two theories/methodologies from the field of impact studies to examine the process where scientific knowledge is made applicable (and therefore enable social impact). My twist to the methodologies was to relocate focus from the interactions between researchers and stakeholders, onto investigating the importance of interactions between different
stakeholders in applying scientific knowledge to their practices. In my thesis I identified communication structures and tools for spreading knowledge effectively used by stakeholders to enable the usage of new knowledge. My case was the implementation of Individual Placement and Support in NAV, a scientific methodology for supported employment for people with severe mental illness.
What is your current occupation, and how do you use your background from
TIK?
I work as a consultant at Rambøll Management Consulting in the department of Social and Economic impact. My background from TIK combined with my former education has provided me with interdisciplinary perspectives and tools as well as a deeper understanding of innovation processes.
What is your best advice for new of prospective students at TIK?
Find a relevant job while studying. Remember that relevance in this case could be more important than salary in the long run. Other than that; build your CV – engage in Teknovatøren!
