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You can also read about the new part-time positions we have just advertised (deadline 8 November).
ITØK is the Information Technology and Economics programme at the University of Bergen (UiB). A “bedpress” is a company presentation for students – a long-standing tradition at Norwegian universities.
Why Aritma hosts evenings for students
Over the coming years we will continue to expand internationally through acquisitions and organic growth – and our goal is to be the best scale-up in Bergen to work for, for the most talented and ambitious people.
Investing in part-time employees has been a great success for us in recent years. Students with a combined IT and business background in particular have excelled with us. Not only have they had relevant part-time jobs during their studies, several have also gone on to full-time roles after graduating.
Through company presentations for ITØK and other dedicated initiatives, Aritma aims to position itself as a relevant and attractive employer for talented students and future employees.
How the evening went
Behind the event were two driving forces: Edvard Mysen (26) and Michael Elvebakken (23). Both work part-time with us alongside their studies, in their 5th and 3rd year of ITØK at UiB respectively. Over the past few weeks they have spent some of their part-time hours organising the practical side of the event.
We started the evening by giving the participants an introduction to Aritma – who we are, what we do, where we come from and where we are heading – followed by a Q&A session, where they also heard why Aritma invests in part-time employees and why students with a combined business and IT education are a perfect fit for us.
Once the “formalities” were out of the way, everyone was split into teams for a solid round of activities with rebuses, challenges and our very own custom-made, brand-new murder mystery. The evening ended with the obligatory pizza, drinks and mingling.
Meet four of the ITØK students
Eirik Geelmuyden (20) wanted breadth. After a year in the Norwegian Armed Forces he started ITØK because other programmes felt too narrow, and he is now in his second year. He already knows what he doesn't want: to be only a developer – he would rather combine it with some leadership.
Johanna Hauge, a first-year student, shares his reluctance to be put in a box. She decided early on to become an engineer and wants to work in product development or project management, where she can see the results of her work. “I'm really afraid of ending up in a bubble, where I just sit and do the same thing all the time,” she says.
Andreas Vestbørstad (22) from Fitjar and Nora Olsen are both in their third year, and both have kept their options open. Andreas has lots of ideas and likes creating things, but hasn't settled on a specific role. The direction is clear, though: “Something where I can use my skills to make a difference.”
Nora took a gap year and travelled a lot before choosing her degree, and wanted a programme with lots of opportunities. She doesn't dream of anything more specific than a good job she enjoys, great colleagues and the freedom to do cool things.
What did they think of the evening?
Johanna appreciated that the programme was playful and interactive. She had expected a long-winded company presentation where you just sit and listen, but instead got quizzes, Kahoot and challenges. She thinks it was a fun way to learn that makes things stick more easily. Her highlight was the estimation quiz, where she went from knowing absolutely nothing to being able to reason her way to an answer – as well as chatting with the employees over pizza.
Eirik noticed something else: “Instead of just saying you're a social company, you show it.” A good work environment was important to him, and he found it here.
Andreas, who has been to several company presentations before, enjoyed working together as a team towards a common goal. Both he and Nora singled out Edvard's murder mystery as one of the highlights.
Nora has been to plenty of company presentations, and she knows what she would rather avoid: “the super-stiff presentation where you sit for hour after hour and just listen”. In her view, the company presentations that are a bit friendly and interactive are the ones that stick – and she thinks Aritma pulled that off. The different activities meant people got to know each other and could talk in a different way, and she got the impression of friendly, engaged people who care about doing something good.
First in line for new part-time positions
At the end of the evening, the participants were the first to hear about the new part-time positions in Aritma's Customer Operations department.
You can read more about them and apply here.
The application deadline is 8 November.
And if you want to be the first to hear about upcoming company presentations, student positions and other relevant news, sign up for our student newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone who took part, and special kudos to Edvard and Michael for making it happen.
