NITO Students' Politics
NITO Students adopt their overall policy at their annual national meeting, where all the local branches are represented. The organization has its own board consisting of eight students, who adopt hearings and political input based on the national meeting's decisions.
The Norwegian model promotes competitiveness, social partnership and democratic participation in the workplace. Engineers and technologists need an organised working life to ensure security in working life, rights and participation. An organised labour market of both employers and employees is important for the individual and the most important part of the Norwegian social model.
The security policy situation, the climate and environmental crisis and digitalisation create a great need to educate more engineers and technologists. It must be ensured that newly qualified engineers and technologists have the right expertise to solve the major societal challenges. For this reason, Norway must launch a comprehensive science and technology initiative to solve these societal challenges. The trade unions have an important role in shaping the development of society and taking ownership of their members' expertise.
Science is the solution
Norway will be a leading nation in science and technology. This must be reflected in primary and secondary education. NITO Students want the teaching of natural sciences to be strengthened. It is crucial that all pupils achieve greater learning outcomes in the natural sciences. This must be done by faster progression and by ensuring that the highest-achieving pupils receive instruction adapted to their needs. Accelerated teaching is an important offer for talented students.
Mathematics is a skill of great benefit to society and which promotes social understanding and learning in other disciplines. The knowledge you gain is a key part of other subjects, and it is therefore important that everyone gets a good foundation in mathematics at an early age. Already in primary and secondary education, many pupils have failing basic digital and mathematical skills. It is a problem that many teachers lack in-depth knowledge and competence in key subject areas in the natural sciences.
Science should be divided into the subject's disciplines from 8th grade onwards, and the number of hours must be increased by at least one hour per week in lower secondary school. A new subject in technology and programming should be introduced in primary and lower secondary school, with a particular focus on grades 8-10. More students must choose science mathematics and physics in upper secondary education to qualify for engineering and technology studies. The recruitment of science teachers and the teachers' competence in technology and science must be strengthened. The grading system must attach greater importance to the natural sciences.
Pupils must be introduced to the natural sciences at an early age as an important part of recruitment to engineering and technology subjects. Knowledge about and opportunities in science must be informed about on an equal basis to everyone, without discrimination. It is crucial to have a good gender balance and diversity in order to get different perspectives to create the solutions of the future.
NITO Students believe:
- Learning in science subjects must be strengthened in primary and secondary education.
- All students on specialization lines in general studies must be offered full specialization in natural sciences.
- Science points are an important tool for getting pupils in upper secondary education to choose the science subjects. Up to four science credits should be awarded from upper secondary education.
- Specialising in general studies should be the main route to engineering and technology studies and must focus on preparing students for higher education.
- Supplementary courses after vocational subjects must offer specialisation in natural sciences.
- Science teacher education, competence development for science teachers and practical43 pedagogical education (PPU) must be strengthened, particularly in the area of digital competence.
- Career guidance in primary and secondary education must have good information about the needs and opportunities of the labour market in engineering and technology subjects.
- Homework help is an important measure for equal opportunities in school, especially in the science subjects.
Competence for the future
It is important to increase the quality of higher education in order to give students the best possible learning outcomes and ensure good completion of their studies. Graduates from Norwegian higher education must generally have world-class expertise with a high level of relevance to working life. Universities and university colleges have an independent responsibility for the quality of their education. At the same time, there is a need for schemes that stimulate the quality of higher education.
Norway will have a world-class research-based engineering and technology education as part of a science and technology initiative. This requires increased funding of the educations, which include infrastructure, internships, teaching hours, equipment and highly competent teachers in all courses. All engineering and technology studies at bachelor's level should offer relevant credit-bearing practical training. Universities and university colleges must offer the internships.
In order to meet the future need for technology competence, society must focus on quality, learning outcomes and completion in engineering and technology education. This indicates a greater need for national governance, coordination and follow-up than for many other educations. There are currently many challenges in these programmes, including low teaching quality, vulnerable academic environments with low research competence, little use of student-active teaching methods and weak processes for quality development.
Artificial intelligence is an important tool for creating personalised learning environments, testing hypotheses and enhancing learning. It is important that students are given access to artificial intelligence by the educational institution and appropriate training adapted to the subjects. Rules for the use of artificial intelligence, ethical use and what is considered cheating must be predictable and clearly communicated to the students.
The education programmes need more student-active and research-based teaching and more variation in both teaching and assessment methods. Students are entitled to a good learning environment that safeguards the student's mental and physical health in the study situation. Anyone who completes a degree in Norway must be able to assess sustainability and ethics in their field of study.
NITO Students believe:
- The quality of Norwegian higher education must be strengthened. There must be great variation in teaching and assessment methods.
- Quality challenges with exams and grading must be addressed.
- Funding for engineering and technology education must be increased. Extraordinary funds should be allocated for equipment and infrastructure in engineering and technology education.
- There is a need for a national quality assurance scheme for higher education that is largely geared towards technology education.
- Alternative admission pathways and adapted engineering programmes must remain as important sources of recruitment. This applies to pre-courses, science courses, y-paths and three-semester schemes, which must be fully funded.
- Good transitional arrangements must be developed from tertiary vocational education to higher education.
- Vocational vocational school qualifications are important, but should not be built up at the expense of engineering and technology studies in higher education.
- A national partial examination in engineering and technology education should be introduced.
- Rules for cheating must be carefully coordinated and equally practiced nationally. Students must receive adequate training in what is considered to be various forms of cheating, including plagiarism and the use of artificial intelligence.
- Universities and university colleges have an independent responsibility for adapting their distribution of study places and funding between disciplines and degree levels according to regional and national competence needs.
- Universities and university colleges must be given a greater role as providers of continuing and further education.
- A reduction in student debt for completed degrees in fields such as engineering and technology education should be introduced on the basis of the need for competence.
Equal right to education
Everyone must have the same right to higher education in Norway, and the principle of free education must be restored. In many engineering and technology programmes, foreign students constitute an important recruitment basis. The tuition fee for students from countries outside the EU/EEA must be reversed. It is particularly important that higher education continues to be free for Norwegian students.
All Norwegian students should have the opportunity to take parts of their education abroad. The authorities must turn student mobility towards world-leading academic environments and facilitate the retention of foreign students in Norway after completing their degrees. This will also be an important instrument for increasing the quality of engineering and technology education.
All students should have the opportunity to study full-time. To achieve this, student support must be tied to the National Insurance basic amount in order to be more predictable. Students with disabilities and students with children need higher financial aid. Students with children will be entitled to a parental grant, a provider grant and parental benefit from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund, regardless of their partner's financial situation.
The state has a responsibility for funding and good framework conditions for the development of the student welfare organisations. The operation of the student welfare organisations must be resource-efficient to ensure that students receive the best possible offer. The student welfare organisations must always act as professional landlords and safeguard the students' rights as tenants.
NITO Students believe:
- Student support must be increased to at least 1.5 G and the grant share increased to at least 50 percent. Students with disabilities should receive a support amount of 2.5G.
- A flat payment model should be offered as an alternative for disbursement of student support.
- Students must receive pension accrual based on student support.
- The state has an overall responsibility for realising more student housing. The coverage rate should be at least 20 per cent nationally, with a focus on development in the pressure areas.
- The Student Welfare Organisation's housing offer should be the best offer for students compared to the private market.
- Conscription should not affect their studies or the students' transition to working life.
- The dental health service for students should as a minimum correspond to that for young people between the ages of 19 and 20.
- The student welfare organisations have an important role in student health through a supplementary health service for physical and mental health.
- The student discount on state-funded public transport schemes will be increased to 50 per cent on all journeys and ticket types, with no set age limit.
Good transition to working life
A well-organised working life by both employers and employees is important for the individual and the most important part of the Norwegian social model. The cooperation between the social partners provides good solutions to conflicts between the social partners and strengthens trust in society.
A working life that sees opportunities rather than limitations in people is a better working life. Everyone has a responsibility to work systematically to prevent discrimination. Discrimination based on trade unions must be counteracted.
Permanent employment should be the main rule in working life. Graduates must have better access to society's safety net after the transition to working life and have good employment conditions in suitable positions with the associated rights. In the hiring process, applicants should be treated with respect, and everyone should be notified of rejection. Group interviews, large unpaid case papers and personality tests must be avoided.
It is crucial that students can concentrate as much as possible on their studies. Work alongside your studies should be relevant for your future career. The private and public sectors need to hire more students for summer jobs. Internship schemes must be paid and/or credit-giving. Significantly more internship positions are needed in the public sector. Internships must provide real training and interns must receive adequate follow-up.
Students must have better access to society's safety net and good transitions to working life. NAV's welfare services must be changed to make a better safety net available to students, especially in the transition to working life. Graduates who are not in work must qualify for unemployment benefits equivalent to the minimum income. The unemployment benefit scheme must also be designed in a way that captures students' work to a greater extent.
Career counselling at universities and university colleges must be strengthened and available at all campuses. It must be clarified what the career services offer, and students need more information about their transition to working life. Students should be introduced to career services early in their studies.
NITO Students believe:
- Direct and indirect discrimination is prohibited and shall not take place. All people must be included in working life.
- In order to strengthen the transition to working life, more summer jobs and positions are needed for recent graduates.
- Testing of abilities, personality and intelligence in employment should be limited as much as possible.
- Internships and internships that do not offer credits must be paid.
- The use of particularly independent positions must be reduced, especially in relation to recent graduates.
- Positions intended for recent graduates must always be with overtime pay.
World-class research
A proactive research policy is important for understanding and solving the societal challenges we face. Norwegian society needs a unified and coordinated education and research policy to create more world-class academic environments. Full participation in Horizon Europe and the Research Council of Norway are key instruments for achieving these goals.
Academic freedom is a fundamental value in all academic activity at universities, university colleges and research institutes. A career in academia should be attractive to all disciplines. To ensure good recruitment of talented researchers, the institutions must offer safer and more attractive working conditions. Students should be part of the academic community and are important in researcher recruitment. Research must be introduced early in the education programmes to strengthen its quality. Publicly funded research must be openly published.
All companies that conduct research have a responsibility to ensure that research ethics is practised responsibly. It is crucial to have a broad and continuous dialogue about, and training in, research ethics in the academic communities.
NITO Students believe:
- Students must receive good training in finding, assessing and applying research. Universities and university colleges must make arrangements for all students to be offered the opportunity to participate in research and development work during the course of their studies.
- Participation in Horizon Europe is crucial for Norwegian research and higher education. It is important that the authorities mobilise participation and ensure framework conditions that make it attractive to compete for European research funding.
- There is a need for more research programmes, PhDs and research schools in technological subjects. The quality of research education must be strengthened.
- The proportion of doctoral degrees in collaboration with the business sector should be increased, and schemes for obtaining doctoral degrees in the private and public sectors must be scaled up and made visible.
- There is a need for increased basic funding for technical and green institutes to strengthen their role in the green transition and promote a more knowledge-intensive business sector.
- Universities, university colleges and research institutes have a primary responsibility for ensuring academic freedom and research ethics.
- The research and research results must be independent of those who fund it.
- International collaboration and researcher mobility are important for increasing the quality of research and higher education globally.
- Cooperation between educational institutions, academic communities and the business community must be increased.
The future of society
Norway must take the lead as a low-emission society and in the production of renewable energy. Significantly more renewable energy production must be developed in Norway. Decisions must be made with regard to future generations and the environment, and the Paris Agreement will form the basis for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Norway is well positioned to be a leading industrial nation and supplier of new green technology. The Norwegian model and the cooperation between the parties are crucial to ensuring a just transition.
Society must limit major environmental interventions and ensure sustainable utilisation of resources such as forests, oceans and mountains. It is important to safeguard biodiversity. Norwegian companies must not engage in environmental and climate dumping in other countries.
Norway must increase the pace of development and application of new energy technology. We must invest in development, research and investment in climate-neutral and environmentally friendly energy. Greater funding must be set aside for energy research to ensure secure access to affordable energy, including nuclear power. There is also a need to stimulate increased energy efficiency.
The role of engineers and technologists in society is increasingly characterized by ethical challenges related to privacy and artificial intelligence. The ability to ask critical questions and assess the long-term consequences of technology becomes important.
It is important that the questions of who should take the moral, ethical and legal responsibility for artificial intelligence are given a prominent place on the political agenda and in the public debate. Everyone should own their own personal data and biological data. The individual must have the opportunity to consent to the use or disclosure of their personal data, including health information. Ethical norms for artificial intelligence must be defined, and a system for assessing responsibility and assigning responsibility is needed.
The development of technology increases the problems with false and misleading information, and creates more echo chambers in society. We must ensure society's resilience to development, as this
undermines trust in democratic institutions, influences elections and creates divisions in society. This is done, among other things, by teaching young people source criticism and creating an understanding of how false information arises, spreads and is exploited.
The current security policy situation with accelerating technology development, digitalisation and threats such as hybrid warfare and cyber attacks is putting pressure on Norwegian society. Well-known contingency plans, securing critical infrastructure and strengthening national security and emergency preparedness expertise increase resilience and make Norwegian society better prepared in the face of future crises. Student housing must ensure that tenants have space for emergency storage.
NITO Students believe:
- Norway will be a stable energy supplier with the lowest possible greenhouse gas emissions.
- Electricity costs for households and businesses can be reduced through technology and energy efficiency schemes.
- Student housing must have access to schemes for energy development, efficiency and price schemes like similar other housing.
- Norway must be closely linked to the EU's goals and commitment to industrial partnerships, innovation and competitiveness. The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a fundamental measure to reduce emissions.
- The EEA Agreement provides a predictable framework and equal competitive conditions for Norwegian industry, business and industry.
- Economic instruments such as taxes and duties must be designed to promote the development and use of products and new technology that contribute to emission reductions and energy efficiency.
- Norway must be a leader in the circular economy when developing products that are designed for durability, reuse, repair and recycling.
- Targeted measures must be invested in energy saving measures in industry, buildings, households and general consumption. Energy efficiency in the existing building stock must be stimulated to a greater extent.
- The power grid must be expanded to fit with new needs, climate goals and restructuring of industry.
- Technologies other than electrification alone, such as biofuels and district heating, should be facilitated to promote various sustainable energy technologies.
- Research efforts on renewable and future-oriented energy technologies must be increased, including in nuclear power.
- Carbon capture and storage must be scaled up in Norway and Europe.
- To ensure digital sovereignty, Norway and Europe must invest in their own models for artificial intelligence, digital services, data centres and data storage.
- It must be ensured that artificial intelligence is not developed and trained on skewed data sets, and standards must be established for this. Datasets used to train algorithms must be documented.
- Companies must risk assess their solutions based on artificial intelligence and report any policy violations. They must also be liable for damage caused by their systems, including liability.
- Norway will oppose the development and use of fully autonomous weapon systems where machines can make decisions without human control, and work for international
principles that ensure human responsibility in such decisions.
A strong student democracy
Universities and university colleges have a responsibility to finance and facilitate a well-functioning and visible student democracy. Engaged students are essential for developing study quality, student welfare, and the local community. The trade unions are important ambassadors for various disciplines, and must have access to the same benefits as other student associations. The studies must be adapted to a greater extent for students with positions of trust, and the culture of student volunteering must be actively maintained. This is done, for example, through organization time.
The student democracies must have resources and routines to carry out good elections, as well as promote these. All courses must have a class representative who must have a good dialogue with and follow-up from the lecturer. It is important that the students' union representatives receive good training, among other things to promote continuity in the work. Students shall be offered appropriate training for positions in the student democracy and at the educational institution.
The Student Welfare Organisation shall be governed by the students in order to offer suitable and desired services to the students, such as student housing, canteens and health services. The current rule of at least 20 per cent student representation and at least two student representatives in all bodies with decision-making authority must be maintained. Adequate training in the role of the board and appropriate involvement in operations must be provided for the students' board representatives.
NITO Students believe:
- The student welfare organisations must be student-controlled and subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
- The educational institutions and student organisations must facilitate a good student environment through, among other things, training in association management and suitable premises on campus for student activity.
- Educational institutions must make special arrangements for professional associations.
- All campuses should have plenty of activity offerings that are mainly offered by student organizations. There will also be a broad and inclusive welfare and sports offer.
