Alumni make 560-mile journey from Norway to Newcastle to celebrate 50 years since student days

On 18 October, we welcomed 11 Norwegian Newcastle University graduates back to campus to mark 50 years since they first arrived in Newcastle as Engineering and Naval Architecture students.

We caught up with the group ahead of their visit to find out more about what Newcastle University was like as an international student in the 1970s, and where life has taken them since they graduated.

Hi everyone, welcome back to Newcastle! Can you tell us a little about yourself and your time at Newcastle University?

Stein Thorsager (ST): I graduated from Newcastle University in 1975 with a BSc degree in Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding. I had three great years in Newcastle and remember fondly my teachers and student colleagues – mainly from the UK, Greece and Norway.

My first year was spent in Halls before I moved into one of the many terraced houses in Newcastle for my final two years. Alongside my studies, I was part of the Handball team and we toured around the UK playing against other universities. We even played against the UK Olympic team in a training match!

Tor Rønning Hansen (TRH): I studied Marine Engineering for 4 years, starting in 1976, and spent the full 4 years living in Sandyford just a short walk from the University. During my student days, I was part of the Norwegian Society and was their accountant for a couple of years, but sadly wasn’t involved in any other clubs or societies like Stein!  

Eirik Gustavsen (EG): I completed by Civil Engineering degree in 1976, specialising in Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering in my final year. To be honest, I spent most of my time within the Norwegian student community in those 4 years - I must have missed out on a lot!

Hans Gunnar Edwardsen (HGC): Like Stein, I was part of the Handball team during my student days. We ended up placing second in the national league! I graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in the summer of 1976.

Hans Peter Christophersen (HPC): Like Tor, I was part of NogSoc during my time at Newcastle, and was actually the group’s President between 1975-77, alongside my studies in Civil Engineering.

Jan Hagen (JH): I arrived in Newcastle to study Naval Architecture in the autumn of 1975. I already had an HND equivalent from Norway and a year experience from the Aker yard in Oslo, so for me it was to progress to a University-level graduation and return to Norway where the offshore industry had taken off a few years previously.

I spent 3 great years in Newcastle under the tuition of Dr Arnold Emerson of the Emerson propeller efficiency formula and the Guardian of the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel. Like some of my fellow interviewees, I was President of the Norwegian Society in my second year too.

Helge Bjørnestad (HB): I started my studies at Newcastle University at the Civil Engineering Department in 1973 and graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor's Degree (2:1). I still recall some of the staff members there, namely Mr. Moffat, Mr. and Mrs. Evison and Mr. Carmody from the Surveying Department.

I spent the first 6 months staying in Leazes Hall of Residence before I moved into a house in Gosforth together with two of my Norwegian co-students.

Tor Svensen (TR): I started my undergraduate course in Naval Architecture in 1974. I stayed about 4 weeks in Castle Leazes, but then three of us decided to rent a house instead and we moved into a modern house in South West Denton. After two years, I moved into a flat in Heaton sharing this with Jan Hagen who is also attending this reunion.

After graduating in 1978, I was offered to stay on and continue with my PhD which I completed early 1983. My PhD supervisor was Dr R. L. Townsin. We had great lecturers: Prof John Caldwell was an excellent head of department and also a very good lecturer. Dr. Ian Buxton was an example for all in terms of great lecture notes that were updated every year and my own tutor Mr. Chilton was probably not the greatest academic, but he was very caring about students and made sure that especially the foreign students settled in well.

It’s lovely to meet you all! What is your stand-out memory from your student days?

HPC: So much. Good friends, weekend trips in northern England and Scotland, Christmas parties, Norwegian Constitution day parties.... 

ST: Back in `72- `75, we were in the beginning of the computer age, and oil and gas exploration and production in both UK and in Norway were in their early days. I remember that we still used slide ruler and punched out our computer cards for night running!

EG: I’ll never forget the feeling of going under the Arches in June each year to find out how you had done in your exams. The relief when you found your name on the pass list!  

HGC: A trip to Lindisfarne monastery ruins with a local guide gave me the historical perspective from the first Viking attack in year 793 and the following centuries of peace and development between our nations.

JH: Upon graduation, Dr Emerson asked me if I was taking an English girl back to Norway with me. The answer was yes, and we are now in our 45th year of marriage having raised 3 wonderful children! We moved back to the UK in 1994 and now live in Surrey.

TR: My best memories are related to social life and always feeling included. We were probably drinking and having more parties than what is normal today, but I also very much enjoyed the lectures and the learning. The compact campus and proximity to everything was one of the elements that made student life easy at Newcastle.

HB: My favourite memories of my student days must be the social life I had. The Norwegian Society used to have meetings and arrange things like sightseeing, skiing trips, travel to football matches. We often used to meet at the Cochrane Bar in Students’ Union in the evenings. Overall, I have always thought of my time in Newcastle as the "vintage years of my life".

The journey from Norway to Newcastle is no small feat! Why did you choose to come to Newcastle to study?

ST: My main motivation for coming to Newcastle was to see more of the world outside of Norway. As Norwegian students, we were very welcomed amongst the student community and wider community in Newcastle, and as a sign of gratitude we tried to give something back each year by organising charity fundraisers.

TRH: I wanted to study in UK to learn the language properly and to get international experience and a new perspective. I was offered several university places, but only Newcastle University offered Marine Engineering which was my preference coming from a town with long shipping and ship building traditions.

HGC: My ancestors had been working in the Norwegian merchant navy and piloting for decades, and Newcastle had close ties with the Norwegian maritime business.

EG: I arrived in Newcastle quite by chance. I met an old neighbour one day who had just finished his BSc in Sunderland (Newcastle-external I think that course was called) and he strongly recommended that I applied there as well. I would have ignored his advice if I had got a place in the first team squad at my local football club as I hoped, but sadly it wasn’t meant to be. I changed my passion from playing football to watching football, and in the early 70s English football was much admired in Norway.

TR: I was active in competitive dinghy sailing at the time and spent the summer of 1973 living in Newcastle and doing competitions around together with my crew. I applied to NTNU in Trondheim and to Newcastle, received a place in both, but decided in the end that it would be more fun going abroad to Newcastle.

HPC: I knew I wanted to study abroad and chose Newcastle as it is a historic city in many ways and had close relations with Norway, with the shipbuilding links.

HB: I chose to study at Newcastle University because I had a good friend already studying there who recommended the university. There was a direct ferry connection between my hometown of Bergen and Newcastle. I could board in Bergen in the afternoon, spend the night in a sleeping chair and then the next morning we docked in North Shields!

Where has life taken you all since you graduated?

ST: I’m nearing retirement now after 48 years of working. My career has taken me all over the world – working in the oil and gas and maritime industry across France, the UK, Singapore, Houston and Norway.

TRH: I have had a very interesting career primarily working with North Sea oil field developments. I soon specialised within hook-up and commissioning and was initially working with technical aspects, but more recently have been part of the management of multiple development projects.

JH: I have spent my whole career in the Oil and Gas industry, mainly in the North Sea and West Africa, but also in Lithuania and Russia. For 26 years I was Managing Director of Svenska Petroleum Exploration UK and SPE Group Executive Vice President located in London until I retired in 2020.

HGC: It has taken me worldwide in the oil and gas industries over the past 40 years. I’ve worked in a variety of organisations, spanning from oil production platforms to power stations in China.

HB: After graduation I returned to my hometown of Bergen and got a job as a junior engineer in a civil engineering consulting company. My next role after this one saw me and my family spend over a year living in West Africa, where I was a field engineer on a tourist development project.

For 34 years of my career, I have worked for the Norwegian industrial (and later oil and gas) company Norsk Hydro and Statoil. During my years at Norsk Hydro, my family and I spent two years living in Montreal, Canada, and I have been lucky enough to travel to a lot of different parts of the world (mostly in Africa and the Middle East) to participate in oil and gas projects.

TR: My first move after completing my PhD was down the river to Wallsend where I joined the British Ship Research Association, later to become BMT. After nearly 5 years there, I moved into engineering consultancy and ship design for a brief spell before moving to Trondheim in 1989 (after 15 years in Newcastle) joining SINTEF and heading the ship model testing facility there.

After that, I moved to the Oslo area and joined the Classification Society DNV where I stayed for 23 years, taking me to most parts of the world and living with family 4+ years in Singapore and more recently in Hamburg. I “retired” from DNV in 2016, but quite soon afterwards joined Royal Caribbean Group in Miami, the world’s 2^nd largest cruise ship company working with development of new cruise ships and in particular new technologies for safe and sustainable operation.

We’re so excited to have you back on campus to celebrate your 50-year anniversary. What have you got planned and what are you most looking forward to?

ST: It’s a great initiative from the reunion organiser and I’m looking forward to sharing good memories with good friends, lots of good conversations combined with good meals in memorable surroundings! We’ll be touring the campus and some of the buildings we studied in back in the 70s, as well as meeting current staff to find out more about what courses are available at Newcastle University now and academic life is like.

EG: I’m most looking forward to reuniting with the university and my fellow alumni, and hoping for nostalgic walks on campus, short trips to explore the local area and revisiting some of my favourite pubs if possible!  

TRH: Returning to Newcastle itself is not such a big deal for me as I have been back a number of times primarily to watch Newcastle United play. However, returning to campus to get and update of the development and meeting people I have not seen for many years (in most cases not since the 70s) is something I’m really looking forward to.

JH: My wife and I moved back to the UK from Norway in 1994 and have family in Newcastle, so I have regularly visited over the years and been able to see the marvellous transition of the city from the 70s to today. I have visited the university informally a few times over the years, but it will be interesting with a more formal visit. I’m sure The Cochrane Lounge looks very different Peggy and Bill will have long gone, but I hope the pints are still only 16 pence!

Like Tor, I’m a Newcastle United fan and have been a Season Ticket holder in the past, so I’m extending my trip to watch the Newcastle v Crystal Palace game on 21 October too!

HGC: It is a wonderful opportunity to look back and share the experiences of our lives.

HB: I travel to Newcastle yearly with a group of friends from Bergen and have taken the opportunity to stroll around in the university area and downtown to refresh memories. This time, I am particularly looking forward to meeting many of my student friends again who I haven't seen for 50 years! I also look forward to hearing how the university has developed since I graduated in 1977.

That sounds like so much fun! Finally, what one bit of advice would you give to a recent graduate?

TRH: You can accomplish what you set your mind to, but do acknowledge your desires including the balance between professional life and family/social life and choose your path accordingly.

ST: Really let your university experience shine in your job applications – celebrate what you have achieved and describe the quality of your degree from Newcastle University. Always make the most of good references from your School too!

HGC: I would recommend using the Career Service to help you figure out the best way of utilising your talents. After I graduated, I joined a 12-month training scheme with Browns and Root which gave my own career a flying start.

TS: Seize opportunities that you are interested in and do not think too much about career planning in your first year. Good opportunities will always come if you do a good job!

HPC: Maintain contact with your student friends!

Thank you for speaking with us. Enjoy your visit!

Special thanks to alumni Ken Hodcroft and Helge Bjornestad for coordinating the trip. 

Interested in organising your own reunion?

Your student days are a defining period in life, full of new and unforgettable experiences. Unfortunately, it’s easy for the connections and friendships to slip as time passes.

Well now’s your chance to reconnect with your old friends and course mates. Our reunion services do much of the work for you, making it easier to make contact and get people together.

We can help you organise your reunion by:

• Contacting your long-lost friends and former classmates
• Sending messages and invitations on your behalf
• Promoting your reunion through our web event listings and social media channels
• Recommending venues, accommodation and activities in Newcastle. 
• Where possible, treating you and your guests to a one-hour campus tour with a Student Ambassador

Get in touch to find out more