Finally, the time we had waited for was here – the CHANGE Training School Norway. Four months had passed since last time the CHANGE family was gathered in Paris. Now it was time to check whether the same nice atmosphere of Paris could re-emerge – this time in Norway in Gjøvik. Would the small city of Gjøvik, founded as late as in 1861, arouse the curiosity of cultural heritage for our Early Stage Researchers (ESR)?
Indeed, it did. It was probably not the city itself that triggered the curiosity, however the people of CHANGE that came together sharing knowledge, skills and different perspective to find solutions to the same challenge – how to monitor change of cultural heritage objects over time?
The ESRs had all prepared a presentation of their project and their short introduction was inspiring and motivating for the rest of the group. Visiting experts from the higher education as well as the private sector provided different perspectives and fostered interesting discussions. Ramamoorthy Luxman, ESR 8 in CHANGE, is very pleased with the training event –“Carefully picked guest lectures and the presentations by ESRs were inspiring; giving a big picture and helped in finding where my research work fits like in a jigsaw puzzle” he says.
Together with NTNU in Gjøvik, the University of Oslo served as host for the Early Stage Researchers of CHANGE. During the weekend, they all visited the University Aula, the National Gallery and the Science of Cultural Heritage lab in Oslo. The University Aula with its Munch paintings served as a great framework for discussions on change in paintings over time.
When hosting an event in Gjøvik during February, there was of course possibilities to try the Norwegian national sport cross-country skiing. Despite the icy conditions all over Gjøvik at that time, most ESRs were not afraid to take on the thin skis and experience even more unstable ground. Very sporty, some of them tried skiing for the very first time in their life – impressive!
– “The whole event including dinners, skiing, and the visits to museums were organized so well and we had a fantastic opportunity to network” says Ramamoorthy Luxman, ESR8.
You can read more about the scientific content of the Training School here.