Intro-week
The first step is what we call the Introduction Week, or shorter, the Intro-Week. The activities that take place during this week are designed to introduce you to the One World Institute community.
Our school is around 20 km away from Øyer (and 25 km from Lillehammer – a better known city) in a mountain area, at 883 m altitude, right next to Hornsjø Høyfjellshotel and Hornsjø Lake. So we are right in the middle of nature. Here you will meet the team that will be by your side throughout the program. There’s usually people from different countries, with different backgrounds, and lots of exciting stories to share!
What else will you do?
On the more serious side, you will receive general information about the program you’ve joined from the headmaster and the school staff. They will introduce the concepts that our school revolves around, so you will get a sense of how the school and the community work.
You will also meet people who have finished the program, or students who have started a program before you. They will present their travels around the world, or their volunteering experiences in a project in Africa or India. This way, you’ll be getting a glimpse into all the possibilities that our programs offer.
Pre-course
In case you have applied for the pre-course, it is also during this week when you will find out about the available jobs. By the end of the week, the jobs will be distributed among you and your team mates.
Now on to the fun part! There are many activities to help you and your teammates get to know each other: from team building games, all the way to exploring together the area around the school, or the facilities inside the school (ping-pong table, sauna, swimming pool, bikes, billiards, library, etc).
Usually, Intro-Week comes with the first “out-of-your-comfort-zone” experience! It may be a 1 or 2 days survival trip around Lillehammer, or around the school. Or it may be a task that you will have to accomplish with your team. It always varies. But it’s always fun! And by the end of this you might say, like many other students have said before you: “I can’t believe I did that!”.
By the end of this week, you will have received your job and you will either stay at the school, leave to Denmark, or to another part of Norway for the whole length of the pre-course. In the middle of the pre-course you will meet all your team for another week; this is called the Mid-Way Meeting. For the Mid-Way Meeting, all of you will gather back at the school from wherever you are around Scandinavia.
When are the teams starting?
We have new teams starting the Pre-course every March and every September. The Intro Week takes place right before the start of the Pre-course. The pictures in this post were taken during the Intro Week for the teams that started in March. You missed being a part of their team, but it’s just the right time to make an appointment, chat with us and apply for the next team.
