ISFiT: The Cost of Knowledge

The majority of the world’s leading universities are either private or have private interest and typically operate high tuition fees, such as Ivy League, Oxford and Cambridge. Are we running the risk that only the wealthy portion of the population can access high-quality education? Might this cause knowledge segregation and inequality in societies relying on this model? In this debate we will be discussing the role of the government in funding education, and how it affects knowledge creation and distribution.

Joining us to discuss this are:

Amir Sasson
Amir Sasson is the prorector at BI Norwegian Business School and head of externally financed research and innovation. As a person with an important leadership role at one of Norway’s most respected privately owned academic institutions, his insight on understanding how funding and tuition shapes both the academic quality and the student body is highly valuable and relevant.

Geir Røsvoll
Geir Røsvoll is the Trøndelag County manager in the Union of Education Norway. Through this role, and participation at The Nordic Folk School in Geneva through the Union of Education Norway and the International Labour Organisation, he is familiar with the international political work that is being done to secure access to education around the globe.

Sunniva Folgen Høiskar
Sunniva Folgen Høiskar is the current leader of SAIH, the Norwegian students and academics international assistance fund. SAIH is one of Norway's biggest student organizations for assistance and promotion of education globally. They have long worked towards opening the doors to higher education by offering international scholarships and loans.

Moderator: Magnus Fure Runnerstrøm
Magnus Fure Runnerstrøm holds a MSc in Energy and Environmental science and a BSc in Political Science. During his time as a student he worked as both a member and a leader of the Debategroup at the Student Society in Trondheim. He currently works as a project manager at TrønderEnergi, heading up research and development work there.