Step Aside, America, Norway’s Free Education Draws Indian Students

As people rethink going to study in Donald Trump’s America, maybe Norway will become the new land of dreams.

If you ask Indian students and researchers in Norway’s northern city of Tromsø what they miss most about India, you’ll get a lot of the same answers. The food and the cricket.

But though it can be difficult to find the right masalas in the Arctic, the Norwegian system has many appeals.

Balpreet Singh Ahluwalia began conducting his research in Norway about a decade ago. At the time, Ahluwalia joked to his mother that the only Indians in the Arctic city were him and a statue of Gandhi at the university.

But things have changed. Ahluwalia started the city’s first and only cricket club. Now, around 30 Indian citizens are working or studying in Tromsø.

I think there is one opportunity for Indian students that is not properly addressed by Indian media and that is free education. As long as you can get any admission into Norwegian universities, it’s free. A lot of students tend to go to the US or UK or Australia, where education is not free. They have to pay 20-30 thousand dollars or more per year. 

Balpreet Ahluwalia 

When Rajwinder Singh, a master’s student at the University of Tromsø, first made his way to Norway in 2015, he was nervous. He wasn't sure whether he would be able to communicate with fellow students or locals.

He was quickly reassured when, on the flight between Oslo and Tromsø, a passenger next to him reassured him that most people would speak English, and his classes would all be in English too.

Since then, Singh has become president of the International Students Union at his university. And he loves living in Norway.

On weekends, when there is time, Singh says he likes to make butter chicken and chicken curry for his friends.

But life there is expensive. Even though education is free, the cost of food and basic necessities is high.

There are options though, says Singh. Master’s students are allowed to work for around 20 hours a week and that usually earns them enough to get by.

And life in the Arctic has been good for Singh. He hopes to stay on for his PhD.

At a time when people across the world are rethinking the idea of going to study or do research in Donald Trump's America and post-Brexit UK, maybe Norway will become the new land of dreams.