| dc.description.abstract | The Norwegian University of Science (NTNU) aims to be a university that is attractive for students from all over the world. Every year, many international students make the choice of moving from other countries to Trondheim to pursue their degrees at NTNU, although they may never have been to the city before. Their choice of study place does not happen in a vacuum, but instead largely revolves around preconceived perceptions of both Norway, Trondheim and NTNU as places.
This thesis explores the notion of a sense of place, understood as peoples’ experiences and bonds with and within particular locations and environments. By examining the experiences of eight international degree students, acquired through qualitative interviewing, this thesis examines how students’ senses of place have developed over time, from before they moved to Trondheim to the present. This research is regarded a contribution to the body of student-centred research and to the literature on intersections between mobility and people-place relationships within geography.
A central argument to this thesis is that place is relational. This is highlighted by the fact that students appeared to construct their senses of place in relation to previous experiences with other places. Findings suggest that international degree students construct imaginative geographies of place prior to moving to Trondheim, which in some cases were significant for students’ mobilities. However, expectations of a place do not always align with experiences of the place. As for NTNU and the campus, it appears that students value certain campus spaces over others, which illustrates the existence of relational senses of place in context of NTNU’s campuses. Furthermore, findings suggest that students’ feelings of home may be multiple, and associated with both places and people. While some students seek home experiences in Trondheim, it is not necessarily important for students associating their mobilities with a change of environment. Finally, students wishes of staying in Norway or not after their study period seemed connected to their experiences with places here. While some did not initially plan to stay but had changed their mind over time, others had experienced the opposite. Overall, students’ senses of place are dynamic and multifaceted, and shaped by a combination of physical environment, interpersonal relations and intrapersonal emotions. | |
