General information

Living in Norway

Transport

Arriving at Gardermoen Airport (Oslo)

From the airport, Hamar is an hour’s train ride to the north. Elverum is a one and a half hour’s bus ride also to the north. Gardermoen is a small airport, with only one terminal, so it is quite easy to navigate. When you arrive and collect your bags, go through customs. This is normally very low key – go through the green “nothing to declare” (if this is the case) and through the doors into the main terminal section. There are signs telling you where to go for both buses and trains.

For those arriving a few days early and going to Oslo beforehand, there are several ways to get to the city. The easiest way is the airport train (Flytoget) that departs very frequently from the tracks one level below the terminal. You buy a ticket in the terminal, near the escalator and elevator that take you to the lower level. The cost is about 160 kroner (80 kroner with a student discount). This train stops at several stations in downtown Oslo. You will then need to take a taxi, tram or bus to your hostel or hotel.

Outside the terminal you can catch an airport bus. You buy the ticket on board. The bus stops at several locations downtown, including the main train station, and a number of hotels in the central downtown area. It is cheaper than the airport train. You can also take the local train, which is cheaper than the airport express. Follow the signs for the train platform to the right in the terminal. The main train station (Oslo S) is probably the easiest place to go off and find other transportation to where you plan to stay overnight. Suggestions for overnight stays:

Staying in Oslo
Haraldsheim Youth Hostel
Coch’s Pensjonat
Rønningen Youth Hostel
Information from the ski center at Trysil

Getting Around Hedmark

You will notice quite quickly that Norwegians are used to walking a good deal! With the right shoes and clothing, walking can be one way to enjoy the Norwegian lifestyle and your surroundings. Your walk from campus to the residence halls at Hamar and Elverum is approximately 1.5 kilometres, or 10-15 minutes. Downtown shops, restaurants, banks, the post office and the train station are located a short few blocks from campus. Hamar, Elverum and Rena Campus have a bookstore on campus.
Buses and trains serve the area of Hedmark, and are convenient for students. Timetables for travel between campuses are easily found on buses and in stations in Hedmark. Look for student discounts and other low “green” fares on the trains. You will be introduced to public transportation during your orientation.

Trains and buses also serve the connection between Hedmark campuses and Oslo, or Hedmark campuses and points north including Trondheim. Oslo is the hub for all train services to other points in Norway, Scandinavia and Europe. Oslo Gardermoen airport is on the train line to Oslo, with departures many times during the day. If you are travelling longer distances, it may be wise to investigate airline prices for inexpensive tickets. Norwegian and Ryanair are airlines to check for lower prices.

Public transportation between the campuses is either by train or bus

Approximate times of train travel from Hamar to the other main campus sites are as follows:

Campus Hamar – Campus Elverum 22 minutes

Campus Hamar – Campus Rena 44 minutes

Campus Hamar – Campus Evenstad 1 hour 8 minutes

IT-systems and support

Hedmark University College can offer its students the following IT-systems during the academic year 2010-2011:

Fronter

Fronter is a web-based e-learning system used both for professional and administrative purposes. In Fronter you will typically find lecture notes, timetables, hand-ins, information from the administration and lots more.

StudentWeb

StudentWeb is a web-based gateway where you can administer your personal information (change your address, e-mail, telephone number and so on), approve your education plan, register for or cancel an examination, and last but not least, this is where you go to see your examination grades.

E-mail

All students are assigned an e-mail address connected to Hedmark University College. This address will be used by the college when information is distributed via e-mail.

Local Area Network

All the campuses have stationary computers for the use of their students. Here you can access the Internet, Microsoft Office and printers. Everybody gets a personal area on the server for saving their own work. At most campuses there are wireless network access zones where students can go online with their own laptops.

Click here for links to Fronter, StudentWeb and e-mail.

Activation Gateway

In order to gain access to these systems everyone needs their own username and password. The same username and password are used on all systems. The international coordinator/study administration at your campus will help you to register in the activation gateway in order to receive a username and password. Please note that you have to have paid the semester fee before you can register in the gateway (exchange students from partner institutions are exempted from the semester fee).

Support

IT-support is a service that processes all inquiries regarding IT –systems, both reports on errors and other related questions. Whatever your question, IT-support can either help you with the problem or direct you to the correct person. You can contact support either by e-mail: brukerstotte@hihm.no or by phone at the number +47 62430499. Opening hours are weekdays 08:00 to 15:30. You can of course send e-mails at any time but they will mainly be answered during opening hours.

Printouts

The computer rooms at the campuses provide opportunities for printing out your documents. Every student gets a printout quota (a set number of pages) at the start of the term. If necessary, refills for the quota can be purchased. Consult the reception for more information on this subject.

Student ID

Student IDs are issued the first weeks after the beginning of the semester.

Other resources

On our web pages our students will find a lot of other information and resources. The library’s search engine is one of those in which you will receive special tuition