Tale Vik
International Coordinator at the University of Bergen, Faculty of Fine Arts, Music and Design
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?
I got my education at the University of Bergen, with studies in Russian language and culture, mass communication, visual communication and theatre history. I have lived in Bergen most of my life, now outside the center in a very old house together with my partner, my daughter and a spider-hunting cat. I have a passion for cinema, hiking in the mountains and gardening, which on the west coast of Norway for the most part implies chasing snails and protecting the plants from rain. This makes me think a lot about the global environment, and that resources are not equally distributed around the world.
WHAT IS YOUR PATH TO THE CURRENT POSITION?
As one can imagine, with my background, I did not have a very distinct goal for a future career, and I guess I’m still working to sort this out. When I finally got my master’s degree in Russian I went abroad and worked a few years as an assistant at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Moscow. I returned to Bergen and by coincidence came to be a study administration officer, first at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Bergen, then 5 years as international coordinator at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design. From 1 January 2017, due to a merge between the two institutions, I became IRC at the new Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design at the University of Bergen.
WHAT IS YOUR PASSION IN YOUR JOB?
I feel very lucky to be surrounded by creative people, and even though I’m not an artist myself I have a great passion for art and music. I enjoy the frequent contact with students and the academic staff. As a ‘one-person-international-office’ at the faculty I’m used to work independently as well as performing a lot of multi-tasking, which sometimes makes me crazy but still is quite interesting. Above all, my work is a fantastic opportunity to see students develop and mature. When they plan to go abroad, I feel privileged to help them make their dream come through.
