"Perfect" exchange experience for Norwegian students

Lakeland College’s Student-Managed Farm (SMF) – Powered by New Holland is making headlines in Norway thanks to Tore Glaerum.

He and three other students – Camilla Bye, Andreas Myki Beachell and Ole Jakob Ulberg – are studying at the Vermilion campus on exchange from Hedmark University College. All are completing the final semester of their bachelor degree program, which ranges from engineering to agronomy. And Glaerum’s sharing this learning opportunity with everyone back home with his articles in Traktor, a Norwegian magazine.

“The first article I wrote about featured the SMF, the college and why we’re here,” he says, adding two other articles will feature machinery and equipment. “We talked about doing an exchange program and we wanted to go to North America. Lakeland is one of the colleges our college has an agreement with and here we are.“It’s been fun to learn about Canadian agriculture and see the differences.”

According to Glaerum, the average farm in Norway is 70 acres, whereas the average Canadian farm is 778 acres (2011 Stats Canada).

“Everything is smaller back home,” says Bye. “I had never heard of a swather before I came here.”

“We’re dreaming of bringing a swather back home with us,” adds Ulberg, with a laugh.

“We also don’t have GMOs, so that’s a big difference,” notes Beachell. “As well, we do a lot of tillage.” The exchange students had the opportunity to visit a few local farms, thanks to their classmates. They’ve also travelled to Banff, Jasper, Vancouver and Calgary.

“And New Norway,” says Ulberg with a laugh, of the town close to Camrose. “It’s been really enjoyable to meet new people and spend time with Canadians,” says Bye.

The exchange students are completing several courses in the crop technology program, including diversified crop production, integrated crop management and financial management – while they complete their bachelor thesis, which is a requirement of their degree program.

Living on campus, the students have participated in a number of college activities including Greenspiel, Little Royal and a visit to Farm Tech.

“I really like Lakeland. The instructors are really welcoming and they know their subjects,” says Glaerum. “I also like that it’s located in a smaller town. Compared to being in a larger place like Edmonton, for example, I like a smaller place. For me, it’s perfect. The people are nice and there are good teachers. Now hopefully we can get some Canadians to go to Norway as well.”

“We’d definitely recommend this exchange to other students,” adds Ulberg. 

Photos: Top from left, Ole Jakob Ulberg, Tore Glaerum, Camilla Bye and Andreas Myki Beachell left Norway to complete the final semester of their degree programs at Lakeland College. While taking three crop technology courses, they are writing their thesis for Hedmark University College. Bottom, photos from Glaerum's first article  - titled "Enterprising exchange in Canada" - for the Norwegian magazine Traktor.