Say hi to…

As a several months long recruitment process comes to an end we are ready to present one of two marketing professors that will be joining the Shift team – Tobias Otterbring.

With his background in both psychology and consumer marketing Tobias will have a lot to contribute when it comes to enabling Shift students to gain customer insight and conduct effective marketing.

Tobias conducts studies that are often based on field data from actual retail and service settings, such as retail banks, grocery stores, petrol stations, telecommunication stores, furniture stores, sporting goods stores or restaurants – he has even done research on beer. His research focuses on the effects that nonverbal cues (e.g., smiling, physical appearance, interpersonal touch) and physical factors (e.g., height, muscularity, digit ratio) have on customers’ emotions, attitudes, and purchase behavior.

Tobias is an excellent researcher and his work has appeared in top journals such as Journal of Marketing ResearchJournal of Business Research, and Psychology & Marketing. His work has also been featured in outlets including but not restricted to Harvard Business ReviewForbes, and BBC News.

We are beyond excited to welcome Tobias to the Shift faculty team!

Say hi to…

… Stine – Head of Shift!

Stine has worked with Shift since it was a vague idea three years ago. Her responsibilities include developing the program, teaching several courses, and following the students from application to graduation.

«Making Shift happen has required tireless work, disregarding rules and changing the status quo – much like any entrepreneurial endeavor. I firmly believe that with the right mindset – including the ability to think differently, see solutions where others see problems, and proactively address emerging issues – you can achieve anything. The purpose of Shift is to equip students with this ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ along with valuable experience, network and skills. Those able to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset and combine it with good values and hard work are the ones that will be able to change the world for the better.»

Stine has a PhD in international entrepreneurship and years of experience teaching entrepreneurship to students from different backgrounds. She has also lived and worked in several countries – including Israel, USA, and Belgium – been through the Trainee Sør program, had several board positions, and started her own consultancy firm. In addition to her work as head of Shift she teaches entrepreneurship to bachelor students and conducts research on internationalizing startups and entrepreneurship education.

Say hi to….

…Christina – Shift´s student adviser!

Christina has long experience with student follow-up and advising student entrepreneurs. She is very much looking forward to welcoming the first class of Shift students: 

“What I look forward to the most is to watch the students grow, and to see what amazing businesses and change agents that will come out at the other end. I also look forward to being there for the students, supporting them with whatever they need. 

One of the reasons why I love my job is I find that there is hope in entrepreneurship. Hope for new businesses that can make a positive contribution to the UNs sustainability goals and hope for change agents to change existing businesses to the better. I feel that by offering my professional and personal support to the Shift students, I give them a good foundation to become impactful business developers and entrepreneurs.”

Christina N Larsen Student adviser | Shift entrepreneurship

How to choose the right master´s program

Today it´s one week until application deadline! Did you know that there is currently about 710 different Master programs to choose from in Norway? It can be quite difficult deciding what is most important to you when considering which master´s program you want to apply for. It´s a jungle out there, so here´s a few tips that may help you make the right choice.

  1. Do your research

Good research is important, and the first thing to do is to narrow down your options to which programs you qualify for and which you are really interested in. Then you should take a look at your job opportunities after finishing the program. You should also check out the location, facility and student life of the university, and what kind of connection the university and particular program have to the industry.

  1. Stay updated

Normally we would recommend attending education fairs, but obviously that´s out of the question these days, due to Covid-19. Most universities have stepped up their social media game by now, so make sure to stay updated by following their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Some master´s programs even have their own accounts on social media.

  1. Ask questions

We´re sure you have a lot of questions. The threshold for contacting the universities, and team working on the relevant master´s program, is very low. Write yourself a list of questions and give us a call, write us an e-mail, or invite us to a video meeting to get your questions regarding the master answered.

  1. Follow your interests

This is our most important tip, so do some good thinking on this one. Which master´s program gives you the opportunity to work with what YOU are passionate about? What motivates you? Remember – what you like to do, you will do best.

UiA Nyskaping💡

Student entrepreneurs Emma and Robin together with Muris Letic

The university has a department that helps employees and students with their ideas. This department is UiA Nyskaping. Students get counseling, get access to the incubator, and becomes part of the community of student entrepreneurs at the university.

What differentiates Nyskaping from other actors in the innovation ecosystem is that we want to make the threshold to entrepreneurship as low as possible. We offer counseling in the early stages and try to cater to your needs when you start your business. You receive counseling from our student mentor, which are students with experience and knowledge from founding their own startup or working with startups. Student mentors can also help with applications to Innovation Norway, registering your company, etc. Student mentoring is thus both a grat service for student entrepreneurs AND a fun part time job. Together with Shift, we also organize mentoring events where mentors from industry give advice to our student entrepreneurs.

As a student entrepreneur you also get access to Nyskaping’s incubator. This can, if you want, be your office when working on your idea. We have two free-seating offices, one at each campus. You also get access to a meeting room with videoconference equipment. But this is just the facilities. The social aspect of the incubator is even more important. You are surround by other student entrepreneurs going through the same challenges that you are, whom you can always turn to for support and ask for advice.

Muris Letic
Head of UiA Nyskaping Student

3 possible career paths after you graduate from Shift

What do I become when I graduate? Is Shift suitable only for those few individuals who would like to become entrepreneurs? Of course not. The competencies and skills you gain as a Shift student is equally valuable in both new and established businesses, and in both the private and public sectors. Today we suggest 3 career paths for you as a Shift graduate:

1) Business Developer

With rapid technological development and an increasing change rate the ability to innovate, develop and change is key for every company. More and more firms are thus bringing in “business developers” – either through hiring business developers or through using consultants with business development competencies. Business developers typically work on developing the firm’s products and services, preparing firms’ for the future by keeping track of trends, develop new solutions, and generally creating value for the firm’s customers – today and tomorrow. A wide range of sectors and industries are hiring business developers, which gives you as a Shift graduate the opportunity to find a job that combines your interests for innovation with the competencies you gained in your bachelor studies, or other possible interests you may have.

2) Startup supporter

Some graduates will work in the various agencies that encourages and enables entrepreneurship (in Norwegian “virkemiddelapparatet”). Examples include the Innovation Norway and local entrepreneurship promoters such as “Innoventus Sør” and “Ungt Entreprenørskap”. Working in these companies involve supporting entrepreneurs on areas such as financing, implementation capacity, value creation, growth potential, sustainability, business model – all of which you will have both practical and theoretical competency on based on your time as a Shift student.

3) Entrepreneur

And of course – if you want to continue developing your Shift start-up, we will continue to provide you with support also after the program has ended. There are several opportunities for continued collaboration and continued support with and from our network.

In conclusion, at Shift you will learn how to start and develop your own business. However, whether you want to use these skills to start your own business, help other startups, or change existing businesses is totally up to you.

Shift 💚 Information meeting

https://www.facebook.com/uiashift/videos/221051712595021/?t=19
The video is in Norwegian

Yesterday we were supposed to hold Shift information meetings on both the Kristiansand and Grimstad campuses. Due to the Corona-situation we had to think differently, and luckily a combination of Facebook livestream and Zoom made it possible to run the meeting straight out of our home offices . We were super sorry to miss out on the opportunity to meet potential applicants face to face, but happy to still be able to get the information out. If you missed out on the information meeting you can see the video here or on Shift’s facebook page.

Idea Day 💡

In order to come up with ideas, we organize a number of “Idea days” throughout the fall semester. On idea day Shift students and faculty meet up with researchers and businesses on alternate sites in the Agder region. The intention of the day is for everyone to work together on real problems in order to generate ideas, which the Shift students follow up with further testing and potential realization.

For fall 2020 we have 5 Idea days planned. These will be focused on different types of innovation such as problem based innovation, user based innovation, and research based innovation. Idea days will also have different foci such as the sustainability development goals, renewable energy, and health. Also, every idea day is organized together with one of our supporters such as UiA CoLAB and UiA Nyskaping.

So far, about 30 businesses have signed up for our idea days, enabling us to connect our students with experts and businesses from a wide range of sectors and industries. Want to join or host the next idea day? Let us know!

Mentor for 2 hours

Many start-ups benefit from having a mentor, and a mentor-student relationship can be inspiring for both parties.

Together with UiA Nyskaping we have developed the concept “Mentor for 2 hours”. Within two hours, our students will pitch their business ideas to a room full of potential mentors, followed by a “speed-date” between the students and mentors. The speed-date allows each mentor 10-15 minutes to share their knowledge, contacts and support with our aspiring entrepreneurs. We finish off with food and mingling – and hopefully some students and mentors will decide to continue the mentor-student relationship. 

So far, about 30 experienced mentors have signed up. Are you curious about becoming a mentor? Let us know.

“What, why and how”

Last week, head of Shift entrepreneurship Stine Øyna visited Innow‘s podcast “What, why and how” to talk about intrapreneurship – entrepreneurship within existing organizaitons. Innow is one of several excellent student ran businesses related to out student incubator – UiA Nyskaping.

Graduates from Shift has developed the competency required in order to start and develop new businesses, but also to innovate within established businesses. Companies across sectors and industries are facing challenges related to technology, globalization and sustainability and thus need people able to handle these changes. Several companies are now hiring business developers and innovation advisors able to work with renewing status quo. We anticipate that about half of our graduates will be employed by established organizations. In addition to companies aiming to innovate themselves, companies that aim to help their customers to meet the challenges of tomorrow (e.g. PWC or EY) or organizations aiming to help startups succeed (e.g. Innovation Norway) are likely employers of future Shift graduates.