PUPILS AND TEACHERS GATHERED FOR KONGSBERG'S FIFTH ANNUAL TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR

TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR

The annual seminar is now on its 5th year, and pupils, teachers and councillors from secondary schools from the local school district participated in the event. The seminar is part of the annual Kongsberg Technology Days and is arranged by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace in collaboration with the local Kongsbergskolen (a collaboration between the Kongsberg school district, the Kongsberg Chamber of Commerce and local industry).

Previously, school districts from the surrounding municipalities took part in the event, but because of local health restrictions due to the current pandemic only the local school district could participate.

“As one of Norway's largest technology companies, and partly owned by the Norwegian state, we have a social responsibility to increase student’s interest in science and technology. Through our annual Technology Seminar, we provide students with information about vocational subjects, preparation for education programs and future career opportunities. We hope that the seminar can be of help for pupils who soon will make important choices for their further education,” said Ørjan Stengelsrud, Executive Vice President Business Support at KONGSBERG.

It was a varied program this year and the students learned about everything from electric race cars and student led rocket launches, to robots, programming and production. The pupils also got to meet apprentices, skilled workers and engineers from the tech industry.

 “Our goal is that the seminar will contribute in increasing students interest in technology and science, and gain an understanding of what kind of jobs exist in the field of technology. It is important to show the entire value chain - from apprentices and skilled workers to engineers. We want the students to leave the seminar knowing more about their possibilities. We also hope that teachers and councillors see the value of such a seminar and use it as part of the Education Choice-course,” said Vidar Lande, Senior HR Advisor at KONGSBERG.

KimePlays

The audience also got a surprise visit from the famous Norwegian Fortnite gamer Elias Rådlund, known as KimePlays. He has participated in previous seminars and enjoys taking part of the annual event. KimePlays has previously visited KONGSBERG at the production and assembly facility Arsenalet, where he had a titanium and polymer composite figure specially made for himself.

KimePlays participated in the national Select TIP campaign for Norwegian technology industry. A campaign targeting youth with the goal to increase the amount of applications to Technology and Industrial Production programs at secondary school. The campaign saw an application increase of 13% increase. The number of girls applying to the program increased by a whopping 35% in two years.

"It is fun to arouse curiosity in those who are figuring out what choice to make. I am very curious and love to learn new things,” said KimePlays during an interview on stage with apprentices from the education centre K-Tech.

STUDENT PROJECTS

Students from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) impressed both students and teachers when they presented their student projects Propulse NTNU and Revolve NTNU. Both projects are student-run - with KONGSBERG as a proud sponsor - and consists of members from many different studies.

The Propulse NTNU team, and with their rocket capable of reaching thousands of kilometres in a matter of seconds, won the 9000m SOLID class in the university rocket launch competition European Rocketry Challenge, and the 30K feet COTS class at Spaceport America Cup 2021.

Revolve NTNU, who showed their car on stage, design, develop and build a new four-wheel drive electric race car by themselves. Their purpose: participating in Formula Student, a cup which is held every summer. Revolve NTNU participates in the competitions Formula Student UK, Formula Student Germany, and Formula Student Austria. Their goal is to develop and build a one-seater race car for the non-commercial market.

The fifth annual Technology Seminar was a success yet again, and several students agreed that this was informative and an exciting event that made it easier to understand what engineering really is about. KONGSBERG is already looking forward to next year’s Technology Seminar.