NITO's Executive Board has identified four priority policy areas:
- Working life and competitiveness for the future
- Competence and the Science Boost
- Digitalization and artificial intelligence
- National and local preparedness
These will be the common thread throughout the conference.
What you get out of participating
As a union representative, you will:
- get updated insight into NITO's political positioning towards 2026
- strengthen your role in restructuring, with input from NITO's legal environment on, among other things, travel time, restructuring and especially independent/senior positions
- gain an increased understanding of digitalisation and AI – and what this means for members, the working environment and co-determination
- get concrete ideas on how you can contribute to competence development and science recruitment locally
- be challenged on how engineers can contribute to better emergency preparedness, both nationally and in their own business
- become familiar with NITO's professional network and course offerings, and how these can be used as tools in departments and clubs
The conference is practically organized, with short professional presentations, table assignments and a departmental "workshop" where you develop up to three specific measures for your own department for the period 2026–2027.
Program at a glance
Day 1 – Politics, working life and the skills of the future
On Thursday, we start with NITO's political priorities and take a closer look at:
- working life and competitiveness
- Competence and science boost
- Digitalisation and artificial intelligence – how this changes the role of the engineer and what union representatives should be aware of
- An introductory section on national and local preparedness
Between the sessions, you work at the tables with short, specific tasks related to your own everyday life, and the input is used further in the further work in NITO South.
After the professional part, there will be finger food, social activity and a joint dinner – a good arena for making contacts across departments, industries and businesses.
Day 2 – Emergency preparedness, tools and local plans
On Friday, we will delve deeper into the topic of emergency preparedness with a local angle, before we:
- works by department to design prioritised measures for Buskerud, Vestfold, Telemark and Agder
- get a toolbox session about NITO's professional network and courses, and how these can be used to realize the measures
- concludes with a panel on how NITO South will follow up the ambitions further
We round off at 15:00 at the latest.
Program Southern Norway Engineering Conference 2026
Who should attend?
- Union representatives at all levels in NITO South
- Directors of departmental boards and corporate groups
- Other committed members who work with restructuring, expertise, digitalisation or emergency preparedness locally
The goal is a minimum of 20 participants from each department (Buskerud, Vestfold, Telemark, Agder), so that we get broad representation and good discussions. Members with active positions as union representatives in company groups will be given priority. This may mean that you will be placed on a waiting list when you sign up. We will have a final list of participants by August 21.
Practical information
- Start-up: Thursday 17 September – registration from 10:00, program start at 10:30
- Conclusion: Friday 18 September – no later than 15:00
- Location: Grand Hotel, Larvik
- Dining: Lunch both days, finger food on Thursday afternoon and joint dinner on Thursday evening
Travel and participation conditions follow NITO's ordinary guidelines for union representatives.
Registration
Enroll by May 31, 2026.
Karl-Fredrik Sandelin Velle
Senior Adviser NITO Telemark