About us

 

The NHH Symposium is Europe’s largest student-run conference for the business community. It is held every other year by 350 dedicated students at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in Bergen. Over the years, the NHH Symposium has become a prestigious conference and now attracts around 300 participants from Norwegian business and industry.

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The conference has been organized every other year since 1983 and has hosted many prominent guests as both speakers and participants. Among the notable speakers who have attended the NHH Symposium are former British Prime Minister Edward Heath, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, GATT Director Arthur Dunkel, the first Director of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Peter Sutherland, Bodyshop founder Anita Roddick, and SAS CEO Janne Carlzon. Additionally, renowned academics such as Henry Mintzberg, Michael Porter, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Peter Lorange, Stéphane Garelli, and Jay B. Barney have taken part in the conference. Several Norwegian prime ministers and government ministers have also given keynote speeches, from Kåre Willoch at the opening in 1983, through Gro Harlem Brundtland (1991) to Sigbjørn Johnsen and Trond Giske in 2011. His Majesty King Harald attended the conference in 1995, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon participated in 2007. He was so inspired that he returned two years later to deliver the opening speech.

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The NHH Symposium aims to be a leading voice in Norwegian public debate, while also placing its theme in an international context. Together, several hundred participants from business, politics, culture, academia, and students create "The Perfect Meeting Place."