The Welfare Council has been working since autumn 2017 on a new meeting place for students in Oslo, in close collaboration with SiO. The project was commissioned by the students and is now jointly owned with SiO. The project's main goals are included as objectives in both the City of Oslo's Campus Strategy and in the current City Council Declaration, as well as having the support of Oslo's four largest educational institutions.
Oslo has over 70,000 students, but is perceived to a small extent as a student city. The student mobility survey from 2016 looks at Oslo as a student city and the results show that students think there is a lack of good common meeting places in the city, for all students. A majority of the students want a new meeting place. This is substantiated by the Students' health and well-being survey from 2018, where it appears that only half of Oslo's students are satisfied with the city's study environment. In addition, the same survey shows that every fourth student was lonely before the corona, and a new additional survey from April 2020 shows that now every third student feels alienated, isolated or lonely.
The student mobility survey
The survey "Student mobility Oslo as a student city" is published. It shows that the students either disagree or have no clear idea whether there are good common meeting places in the city for all students. A majority of the students want a new meeting place . The students believe that a student house should have a café , pub, concerts, outdoor dining, lectures and debates.First decision in The Welfare Council
The Welfare Council decides to add a point to the action plan stating that efforts will be made to create a new studyhouse in the centre of Oslo.
The project is anchored
The project is anchored in the Danish Welfare Board's political basic document and the Danish Welfare Board's action plan for 2018.
The work continues under the following mandate:
From the Norwegian Welfare Council's political foundation document: "We will work towards a student house in the city centre, which is accessible and free of charge to all students in Oslo and Akershus."
From the Welfare Council's action plan 2018: "The Welfare Council will carry out a preliminary project, ensure the implementation of the main project, ensure a plan for financing and clarify the content and ownership of a new student house in the city centre."
Preliminary project phase 1 is completed
The Norwegian Welfare Council's working committee starts and completes the first phase of a preliminary project, based on the mandate given in the Norwegian Welfare Council's political basic document and the Norwegian Welfare Council's action plan 2018. There is no formal report from the preliminary project's first phase, but the report from preliminary project phase 2 can be found here .
The students' health and well-being survey 2018 is presented
The survey shows that 1 in 4 students struggle with loneliness, alienation or isolation. Oslo also scores poorly on the students' sense of belonging to the study city.
Preliminary project phase 2 is initiated
The Welfare Council sets up a steering group and a project group, and launches the pilot project phase 2 in autumn 2018. The Welfare Council is the client and the Welfare Council's working committee is the project owner. A steering group will be set up to act on behalf of the project owner.
Oslo Municipality's Campus Strategy is adopted
A new student house in the city center is relevant for a number of actors, and Oslo municipality is an important provider of premises and has the role of host municipality for many students. In the spring of 2019, the city council unanimously adopted Campus Oslo – Strategy for the development of the knowledge capital , which emphasizes the municipality's ambitions for the city's further development as a leading and attractive knowledge city and business region.
Preliminary project phase 2 is completed
Preliminary project phase 2 is completed and results in a longer final report .
The Welfare Council evaluates the pre-projects and decides to continue the project
The goal of a new student house is included in the city council declaration to Oslo Municipality
"The city council will contribute to the establishment of a new student house in the city center with an emphasis on innovation and development... "
From the city council declaration 2019-2023
The Welfare Council adopt a list of desired contents and functions of a potential new student house
This list has later been revised and updated, autumn 2021.
The Welfare Council adopts the desired structure of a potential operating organisation
The Welfare Council adopted the following framework for operational organisation:
- The house's highest body is a body consisting of representatives from the organizations in the house.
- Subordinate to the association body is a paid administration consisting of a daily manager, booking and association coordinator and marketing manager. The administration is responsible for keeping operations running, following instructions from the association body.
- The Welfare Council acts as the House's controlling body and approves the House's joint accounts and budget.
- SiO is the owner of the building and makes the house available according to the principle of freedom
- SiO Food and Drink is responsible for serving in the building during the day in the first few years.
Work on putting together an operating organization was initiated in the spring of 2022.
Awaiting clarification on construction
Work with the corona pandemic has priority and there is little new happening in the project. There is a big focus on the need for social gathering places when society opens up again.
Just before the summer, it has been announced that St. Olavsgate 32, the students' preferred property up to this point, will be put on the open market. Efforts are being made to bring about a targeted sale, to the Students' Association SiO, but the work is not making progress.
Meetings with the largest educational institutions
The four largest educational institutions in Oslo have followed the project closely throughout. In the spring of 2021, meetings will be held to clarify the status and further process in the project.
St. Olavsgate 32 is sold to the highest bidder
The property St. Olavsgate 32 is put up for sale on the open market. At the request of The Welfare Council, Studentsamskipnaden SiO on the property St. Olavsgate 32. They lose the bidding round and the property is sold for 345 million kroner.
SiO is invited to bid for SO23, just around the corner from SO32
Shortly after Studentsamskipnaden SiO loses the bidding round at St. Olavsgate 32, they are made aware that another building just around the corner, St. Olavsgate 23, is also in the process of being sold. The area is located in the T t ullin area , which has been seen as a very relevant area, close to several educational institutions and public transport hubs.
The Welfare Council adopts a request for the purchase of SO23
The Welfare Council be made aware that the property St. Olavsgate 23 is to be sold. An extraordinary meeting is called where it is decideda desire to purchase the property, if possible. The decision is passed on to Studentsamskipnaden SiO.
SiO's executive board follows up the Welfare Board's decision with a separate decision on the desired purchase
The Executive Board of the Student Welfare Association SiO agrees with The Welfare Council and makes a separate decision giving SiO's administration authority to enter into a bidding round.
Advertising of purchases
On 30 June, SiO announced that the building had been purchased and that it now belongs to SiO and the students. SiO took over the building on 30 August. After the purchase, the focus from both SiO and The Welfare Council was to spread the message as well as possible about what the new student house was going to be and why it was bought.Management documents, project structure and cooperation agreement will be put in place.
The project structure and cooperation agreement have been signed. The cooperation agreement stipulates how The Welfare Council and SiO together will relate to the project and where the different areas of responsibility lie. Through the cooperation agreement, we have also agreed on the project structure. The project consists of the steering group, which makes financial and legal decisions and submits proposals to The Welfare Council and SiO's Executive Board. The steering group is chaired by the head of The Welfare Council and has a student majority. Under the steering group is the project group, which takes care of guidelines from the steering group and The Welfare Council, and ensures student involvement in the project through the deputy chair of The Welfare Council.Under the project group, there are three sub-project groups that are responsible for content, construction, and agreements and financing. Sub-project Content is led by the deputy chairman of the Norwegian Parliament and was the group that prepared the rooms and functional program for the building. Sub-project Bygg is responsible for real estate, financial and administrative expertise and has a separate contract with SiO. Sub-project financing and agreements consists of a group of employed students in collaboration with the consulting firm Svale who will find private financing from business for the project.
The room and function program is being finalised.
Rooms and functional program have been completed. Among other things, the building will contain offices for the student unions, meeting rooms, common areas for colloquium work and studying, a restaurant, a basement pub, a commercial kitchen, a workshop and much more. The entire room and function program can be found here
Anchoring of the project
A lot of work has gone into anchoring the project and getting it out to the educational institutions, the student democracies, student associations and organisations, politicians, and partly also the general students. The work to get associations in place that can run the house when it is one day finished is under way and structures are being looked at for how SiO and this organization will relate to each other.Careful use of the first floor of the house for events
After the implementation of Oslo Urban Week's events on the building's 1st floor, we have continued to hold smaller events there. This is something we will do right up until the construction of the house starts. This shows how important this meeting place is for both business, the municipality, the educational institutions and the students.Establishment of a student group
After the association days were held in the autumn of 2022, the work to set up a student group that will eventually form the basis of the student association that will run the student house was started. There is now a group of students who will work to spread the project out to the average student, gather knowledge about how to run a student house and create a progress plan for the student group. This is work that will last until the student union until the student house is founded.Establishment of the funding group consisting of students
During the work, we saw a need to set up a group of students who could work on bringing in funding from private business in order to obtain funding and partners for the project. This student group consists of four employed students and the consulting firm Svale.