Debate: Universitetets barnehage – It is beyond me that a university would give up this asset

I started as an associate professor at the University of Oslo (UiO) on April 15 this year. Prior to that, I was a postdoc and interim professor at LMU Munich, Germany. I have two daughters in the age of 1 and (nearly) 4, which attend the university barnehage.

When you move from abroad especially with a family, there are a million things to think about and to (re-)arrange. After consulting with other colleagues who had taken positions at Norwegian universities from abroad, I estimated that it would take six months to prepare for and carry out the move. During this time, I exchanged about 30 emails with the International Staff Mobility Office (ISMO).

Childcare at a kindergarten was a key issue right from my very first email. This makes sense, as I can only work as a researcher at the university when my children are taking care for. This topic was discussed again and again in the majority of our emails. From the very beginning, I was advised to apply to the university barnehagen.

I can only work as a researcher at the university when my children are taking care for

The existence of the university childcare was a decisive factor in my decision to come to UiO and take the leap to a foreign country. Securing spots for the children seemed straightforward. Also it meant to get a shortcut regarding the bureaucratical burdens in moving to a foreign country. For applying to a kindergarten in Norway one usually needs a Fødselsnummer, an address in Norway and a Norwegian telephone number. Regularly one will only get this information shortly before or even after a move but normally not before the deadline for applying for municipal kindergartens. For the application for the university barnehage none of this information is required. This helps a lot. Especially when you need to apply at a time when you do not know where you would live in the city and thus which kindergarten is nearby. With a place at university barnehage you know that the kindergarten is at least nearby your working place.

It also seemed virtually impossible to us to place both children in one and the same facility. Our older child is not in the typical age in which Norwegian children start daycare and had already attended daycare in Germany. The younger child was starting daycare for the first time. At Universitetets Barnehage, both children were able to start on the same day. That made the transition much easier for them – and for me and my wife.

Everyone should be able to imagine the immense stress that an international move—followed by the children’s adjustment to a new daycare—places on children

Numerous colleagues also recommended the university barnehagen because the staff there are trained and prepared to work with children from international families. In practice, it has become clear that our children were immediately integrated from day one—without knowing a single word of Norwegian. Using for example pictograms (called “widgets” at the barnehage), both of them quickly learned the basic vocabulary. Since August, when they started kindergarten, they’ve been learning Norwegian at an incredible pace. Even given the oft-repeated truism that children learn quickly, I believe this extraordinary pace is due to the kindergarten’s excellent educational approach.

The news from the university administration that they intend to close Universitetets Barnehage hit us out of nowhere. As foreigners, we do not have direct access to the Norwegian housing market yet, and our lease is temporary. So, in the medium term, we still do not know where we will be living.

This is quite an asset one should not underestimate in order to compete successfully on the international stage

Everyone should be able to imagine the immense stress that an international move—followed by the children’s adjustment to a new daycare—places on children. Right now, it is hard for us to imagine how to explain to the children that the university administration has decided to close the barnehage they have grown to love and that they will have to start all over again in just over half a year. I would much rather focus on my work than deal with this uncertainty half a year after my move. Far beyond my family and our individual story, I believe that Universitetets Barnehage is essential for UiO strategy to attract international staff and would not only recommend the university administration of UiO to overthink its decision but also to every other university to open up a barnehage especially for international researchers. This is quite an asset one should not underestimate in order to compete successfully on the international stage. It is beyond me that a university would voluntarily give up this asset.