For a master’s student studying music education, it is kind of difficult to study abroad, and the conditions for drawing up a learning agreement are challenging. However, there is the opportunity to go abroad as part of the master’s thesis, which I was able to do at the beginning of 2024. What follows is a short report on what were probably the five most special months of my life so far and a description of impressions that will last a lifetime.

In Austria, the curriculum of the three-part degree programme in teacher education (first subject, second subject, pedagogy) contains many courses with only a few ECTS, which makes it very difficult to organise the learning agreement for Erasmus+. That’s why I did the stay as part of my master’s thesis. I conducted part of my research abroad and was able to complete the thesis back in Vienna. The research area of my master’s thesis is acoustics and audio source separation in the broadest sense, so I searched for a technical university specialised in music technology.

The university I chose to study at was the NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in Trondheim. The university, which is primarily a natural science university, has its own faculty of humanities, with a department for music. The NTNU has around 43,500 students, including around 3,500 international students. NTNU also offers its own degree programme called “Music Technology”, which I was very interested in. I was able to attend courses with Prof. Øyvind Brandtsegg, who also helped me with questions about my master’s thesis. The exchange with my fellow students was always very interesting and often showed me new perspectives regarding my thesis.

I arrived on 2 January 2024, -12°C, winter atmosphere. I received the key to my new shared flat the very next day. The student welfare organisation you need to know is called “SIT”. It offers affordable accommodation and other support for students. It also offers affordable memberships for gyms and team sports such as floorball, which I joined. There are also several SIT cafeterias where you can have lunch and enjoy cinnamon buns with coffee.

I was allowed to attend a course called “Digital Composition and Performance”, where I learnt about composition techniques that I had never heard of before, especially computer-generated modifications and possibilities. Apart from that, I spent a lot of time at NTNU’s spacious libraries to make progress on my master’s thesis.

Now I would like to talk about student life and all the wonderful people and friends I met and made. During the orientation week—which I would recommend attending—I met other Erasmus+ students at different events. I quickly made friends with a group of international students with whom I did activities almost every day. We became very good friends after a short time.

I particularly remember our cabin hikes in winter. A wooden cabin without electricity, without water. An adventure experience that is so special that you want to stop time. We also went skiing for a long weekend. We often went to concerts or just went out in the city, both during the day and in the evening. There’s not a single activity you can’t do in Trondheim. And with nice people you can explore them all.

My last exam took place at the end of May. Over the following two weeks, I went on a short road trip through Norway with two friends. We camped in the countryside and left the stress of everyday life behind us. One special landscape followed the next. Austria is itself beautiful, but Norway is simply an indescribable experience. Let the pictures take effect.

On 12 June, my plane returned to Vienna. Partly sad to say goodbye, but at the same time excited to return home. The adventures and experiences remain. Much more than this short blog post can even begin to convey.