Slightly on the side of my responsibilities but still recommended for anyone involved in project work at Telenor however was the option to study for a Diploma in Project Management as part of an combined e-Learning and classrom course offered by SKEMA Business School and customized for Telenor by Metier. I was lucky enough to get approval to attend the courses, so this spring I've been studying part time to complete the 3 modules and exam required to be awarded the diploma from SKEMA. While the programme didn't require a very high workload parts of it was actually quite interesting, and especially the last module on group dynamics was very worthwhile. This also means I'm now a certified project manager with a full grasp of current organizational theory buzzwords! :-)
Svein-Magnus Sørensen's Blog
Slightly on the side of my responsibilities but still recommended for anyone involved in project work at Telenor however was the option to study for a Diploma in Project Management as part of an combined e-Learning and classrom course offered by SKEMA Business School and customized for Telenor by Metier. I was lucky enough to get approval to attend the courses, so this spring I've been studying part time to complete the 3 modules and exam required to be awarded the diploma from SKEMA. While the programme didn't require a very high workload parts of it was actually quite interesting, and especially the last module on group dynamics was very worthwhile. This also means I'm now a certified project manager with a full grasp of current organizational theory buzzwords! :-)
Interestingly this isn't my first time being in the sphere of influence of Telenor. In fact my first "job" ever was a 1 week work-practice in middle-school which I spent at Telehuset, a Telenor-owned chain of telecom-stores. Later my university studies ended up being in the field of communications technology so a connection to the largest operator would be natural, and as it turned out I got a specialization project that was sponsored by Telenor Research & Development, but ended up on a different path after my thesis was complete. In a way it is therefore fitting that my exit from consulting would be to none other than Telenor Norway, where I'm now eager to get a better look behind the scenes...
While my position as a technology evangelist held much promise, the company which hired me unfortunately did not. For a variety of reasons I won't detail here, the management of the company formerly known as NSA chose to declare bankruptcy on October 8th. Needless to say the past few weeks has held some uncertainty and quite a bit of chaos, but nonetheless it has been a very interesting learning experience for me to be able to see how such matters play out from the inside.
Fortunately the current Norwegian job-market means that the bankruptcy of a consulting company doesn't carry a lot of risk for employees. Our jobs were kept and we were even getting paid on schedule as the bankruptcy was immediately followed by a buyout/takeover just two days later with personnel, clients and everything being transferred to a new company owned by the former competitor Inmeta Crayon. All the details of how this will play out going forward are naturally not quite settled yet, but for now everyone has their jobs to do and other than a change of office space nothing much has really changed.

So how was it then? Absolutely incredible of course! Despite the downpour of rain throughout that gave me a pneumonia, and the unknowable number of sessions, lounges and parties that I missed out on, I still had five fully packed days with stimulating chats, interesting sessions, amazing food and fun nights out. In addition we took a Texas roadtrip after the conference where we got to see a whole lot of a place most Europeans would never even think to visit.

Recently I reached a threshold for keeping this activity as just a hobby, so I would either have to start declining requests or step it up and get properly organized. With the potential for building a business on something I love I naturally chose the latter, so I have now registered an official business through which my future events will be organized!
Since owning a business involves costs and overhead this also means that I can no longer just idly wait for clients to find me, so I am now looking for partners and promotion opportunities that will get more people aware of my courses. Hopefully this will allow me to grow my chocolate tastings as a side business and maybe make it a full time venture one day... well at least I can dream :-)
After reading this, would you perhaps be interested in having one of my chocolate tastings held at your company or for your friends, or do you have suggestions for partners or promotions? In that case get in touch at post@sjokoladesmaking.no for bookings or to get or provide more information!

The position in question was as a Technology Evangelist for a Software Solutions Team focusing on Java and Open Source. With my diverse consulting background including java-development, being an active open data promoter and also a speaker on a series of conferences, the position suited me perfectly. Naturally I took my colleague up on his suggestion, interviewed for the position and getting a very agreeable offer I ended up accepting the job. Now I have just completed my very first day of working in my new role as an NSA Technology Evangelist! Wish me luck going forward :-)