Informing, not promoting: Resources for career guidance on international learning opportunities

Utdanning.no is Norway’s national digital service for education and career information, owned and operated by the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. The platform provides neutral, comprehensive information about education pathways and occupations, including opportunities for studying abroad.

The section “Utdanning i utlandet” (Education abroad) offers accessible, quality-assured information for individuals considering studies outside Norway. The service is open to all users and is designed to support well-informed and reflective decision-making.

The section is built around some important content pillars: General information on opportunities for exchange, basic information on funding opportunities from the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund, articles preparing the readers for their exchange and interviews with pupils and students who’ve been on exchange.

Sharing both the highs and lows of going on an exchange

The interviews are the most popular resources. In these interviews, the subjects give honest assessments of their experiences – sharing both the positive aspects of their experiences as well as what they deemed as challenging. This is very important in an editorial sense, as we strive to give the best possible information for the readers who are considering going on an exchange. In order to do that, we need to shed some light on the difficulties others have faced in their exchange experiences.

The interviews present nuanced, first-hand accounts that include both positive experiences—such as academic development, cultural exposure, and personal growth—and more challenging aspects, including social adjustment, financial pressures, academic differences, and homesickness. The positive takeaway is that, despite facing challenges, all the subjects we’ve spoken to have been very clear about them valuing the experiences in retrospect – both good and bad – and that they all recommend going on an exchange for other pupils and students.

More resources for career counsellors, teachers and parents

The latest development of this section is aimed towards the people supporting the pupils and students in the process of (considering) going on an exchange.

 Utdanning.no develops dedicated resources for student counsellors and teachers who support career-related decision-making, and also for parents of upper-secondary school pupils.

For counsellors and educators, the platform offers materials that can be used in guidance sessions, classroom activities, and individual follow-up. This includes thematic overviews, explanatory articles, and curated examples that help professionals address common questions related to studying abroad, such as recognition of qualifications, financing, and the implications for future career opportunities in Norway. The inclusion of real-life student experiences also equips counsellors with concrete cases that can facilitate reflection and discussion.
In addition to these resources, Utdanning.no has also developed a gamification journey collecting all these topics in an interactive session called “Veien til Utveksling” (The Road to Exchange).

For parents, the resources aim to increase their understanding of their role in this process, normal psychological responses from their children, and to give them some emotional guidance related to all the insecurities that may occur for themselves when sending their upper-secondary school child to a foreign country. Our latest addition to this content will be interviews with families that sent their children on exchange, with the goal of presenting nuanced first-hand experiences, such as in the case of our existing interviews with students and pupils.

By presenting balanced information and authentic experiences, Utdanning.no supports parents in having informed and constructive conversations with their children about educational choices.

A supplement to career guidance

These resources are designed to support, not replace, professional career guidance. By providing reliable and accessible information to parents, counsellors, and teachers, Utdanning.no helps create a stronger foundation for guidance and decision-making.

Utdanning.no does not promote studying abroad as a goal in itself. Instead, it emphasises informed choice. By combining factual information with authentic student experiences, users are better able to assess whether education abroad fits their goals, preferences, and life situation. This reflects a career learning approach, encouraging individuals to reflect on their motivations, expectations, and readiness for change.

By presenting both benefits and challenges, the “Education abroad” section helps users develop realistic expectations and make more considered decisions.