Norwegian School of Economics: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:45, 14 September 2005

Revision as of 02:55, 14 September 2005

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In his opening speech at the inauguration of NHH in 1936 [[Kristofer Lehmkuhl]] impressed on the students the importance of business ethics and morals. "It is not unusual", he said, "to hear merchants characterised as unnecessary intermediaries and as a class of people with different concepts of right and wrong. In view of my long and varied experience, I feel I have the right to say that the world cannot dispense with merchants; furthermore the morals, the concepts of honesty, uprightness and the duty of the merchant world are more than equal to those of other groups of people. This is only natural. Trade can only flourish in openness and honesty. A merchant is a man of his word, whether written or oral."

Lehmkuhl concluded his speech with inspiring word for the new students, "You shall create you own station in life, but at the same time the high endeavours behind your work shall serve the country and society where you live. Civic spirit and civic duty shall lead your work and your life." Kristofer Lehmkuhl was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of St Olav for his efforts.

When NHH first opened, the academic staff consisted of less than ten people and sixty students were enrolled each year. The first degree course offered was the Handelsdiplom (business diploma) and graduates received the title Handelskandidat (business graduate). This was initially a two-year course and, starting in 1938, a one-year additional course was offered to candidates who wanted to become teachers. As with all the business schools in Scandinavia at the time, the curriculum was very influenced by the German business education model. Business administration and economics were central to the curriculum, and in addition students had to study a language (English, German and French were taught, from the beginning and Spanish from 1952) and to study one of law, economic geography or economic history. In 1946 the Handelsdiplom course was extended to three years.

After the Second World War, American influence became more important in the teaching of economics and business administration. Graduates and staff began to go to the US to continue their studies and work for a period, a trend that greatly increased in the 1960's and 1970's. By the early 1950's the need for a doctorial programme at NHH had grown. In 1956 NHH received permission from the Norwegian government to award doctorates and in 1957 Ole Myrvoll (later Mayor of Bergen and Minister of Finance) became the first doctorial candidate to graduategraduated from NHH.

The need for further and continuing education was also identified as an area that NHH should play a leading role in. In 1959 NHH Kurskirsomhet (NHHK - NHH Foundation for Lifelong Learning) was founded to develop competence in the economic and business administration. The target group was initially Handelsdiplom (and later Siviløkonom) graduates who required further education, but people with other academic backgrounds and people without higher education quickly became important target groups as well. NHHK establish a series of both courses and specialist seminars that would grow and develop with the needs of the business community and public administration.

===1963-1980: A new campus and rapid growth===

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By the late 1950's NHH had outgrown its original premises and work began on developing a new campus for NHH at Breiviken, just outside the city centre. In 1963 the school moved to the new campus, an event which in many ways marked the transition to a new period which was characterised by a rapid increase in the number of students as well as teachers. The new campus provided a huge increase in capacity and the annual intake of students increased from 60 to over 200. In total there were now 304 students and 67 staff.

An important feature of this period was the growth and development of the faculty. The new facilities made it possible to employ many new, talented people and the importance of research as well as teaching was strengthened. Many successful graduates went to the US to study for doctorates and came back to NHH with international experience and a more research based focus. Many faculty members took advantage of sabbaticals to study and continue their research overseas, many textbooks were published and the volume of publications in international journals increased significantly. A driving force behind this expansion and internationalisation of research was Professor [[Karl Borch]].

Foreningnen for NHH i Bergen helped facilitate this boom in research with significant contributions to the costs involved in attending conferences and seminars and in taking overseas sabbaticals. It was during this time that Professor [[Jan Mossin]]'s seminal paper "Equilibrium in a Capital Asset Market" was published in [[Econometrica]], contributing significantly to the development of the [[Capital Asset Pricing Model]] (CAPM), and that [[Nobel laureate]] [[Finn E. Kydland]] went from NHH to [[Carnegie MellomMellon]] in the US to study for his doctorate. Most of the US educated doctorialdoctoral graduates came back to NHH to teach and continue their research, but some stayed in the US and a few (like Kydland) returned to NHH only to later go back to the US to continue their work.

As the faculty grew and developed so did the academic offerings, with several advanced level courses established. In 1963 the name of the Handelsdiplom degree was changed to Siviløkonom''[[siviløkonom]]'', with graduate receiving the same title. A master level programme, Høyere avdelingstudium (HAS), was introduced in 1972 as a preparation for Siviløkonom''siviløkonom'' students wishing to continue on to doctorial studies; and in 1973 Professor [[Dag Coward]] established a master level programme for students wishing to specialise in auditing, accounting and the financial management of firms, the Høyere revisorstudium (HRS). The HRS degree also provides graduates with official qualification to work as an auditor in Norway. In 1975 the Siviløkonom''siviløkonom'' degree course was extended to a four-year programme. NHHK also expanded its offerings with evening courses introduced in 1963.

As well as continuing to develop the education programmes offered to students, research has remained a central part of NHH. In 1973 Senter for anvedt forskning (SAF - Centre for Applied Research) was established and in 1975 Industriøkonomisk institutt (IØI - Institute of Industrial Economics, subsequently the Institute of Business Economics) was established as a research unit under the Ministry of Industry.