“What impressed me most was how much responsibility and ownership I had for the project I worked on – you get the resources and follow-up you need, but you yourself have to take responsibility for the end-product,” says Oscar Hjelde.
He took part in Norges Bank Investment Management’s summer internship programme in 2021 and is now in a permanent position here working on sustainability and data analysis in the fund's ownership department.
Read more about our summer internship programme
Our summer interns work on a project from June to August looking at issues in areas such as investment management, risk management, responsible investment and technology, culminating in a presentation of the results to an audience that includes the whole of the fund’s leader group.
“I worked on a project on information security and how the organisation is equipped to deal with cyberattacks,” Oscar explains. “The various projects all have to do with real issues faced by the fund, which means that everyone’s very interested to see how they turn out. At the same time, there’s nobody looking over your shoulder the whole time – you’re expected to progress your own project and take the initiative if you get stuck. It’s an incredible hands-on opportunity, and you learn so much.”
When Oscar started in a permanent position at the fund six months after completing his internship, he wondered what had happened to his project. Had the report and recommendations he and his colleague produced just ended up on a shelf, gathering dust?
Summer internships at Norges Bank Investment Management are not just meant to be interesting and challenging professionally, but also to be fun, so there is a real emphasis on the social side.
“Besides events specifically for people on the programme, we got to join in all the other social activities at the fund, making it easier to get to know the whole organisation and everything that goes on here. With this year’s cohort, there’s also a buddy scheme where each intern has a specific person who takes a little extra responsibility for their welfare. I’m actually serving as a buddy myself, which is both rewarding and fun.”
Most summer interns at the fund are still in the middle of their studies and head back to university. Oscar himself had already graduated, but he can definitely see the benefit of doing an internship earlier.
"So I think having that independent responsibility for a project and its end-product as a summer intern at the fund is an incredibly important experience”, he adds.
The big question, then, is whether you need to be an expert in finance to be a summer intern at the fund. With his technical background, Oscar knew little about finance when he started, but that would soon change.
“I learned an incredible amount about finance and the industry’s role in society during the summer. There are all kinds of talented folk here who are good at explaining how things fit together. The summer internship programme brings together people with very different academic backgrounds, which makes it particularly exciting. We’re a proper gang.”
And it all kicked off with a thorough induction by those who know the fund best.
“On the first day we were given an introduction to the fund and its history by both its current and its two previous CEOs: Nicolai Tangen, Knut Kjær and Yngve Slyngstad. I don’t think you’d get that anywhere else.”