StormGeo, a leading provider of weather intelligence and decision support solutions, announced that it has been awarded two contracts for weather and route advisory services provider to Norway-based Equinor, an energy company with more than 21,000 employees developing oil, gas, wind and solar energy in 31 countries. The contracts serve as a continuation of the collaboration between the two companies that began in 2005.
All posts by Margrethe Harboe
AVINOR and SINTEF in European cooperation that will accelerate innovations for a more sustainable aviation industry
The EU has awarded 25 MEUR to an ambitious project for European airports, to increase the use of new technologies in aviation. In Norway, AVINOR and SINTEF will contribute to green aviation.
In the years to come, the aviation sector will have to solve many challenges related to carbon footprint. Airports, knowledge institutions, and industry partners across Europe are now joining forces in the TULIPS project, led by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, to make aviation more sustainable.
Telenor and Google Cloud Form Strategic Partnership
(Fornebu, 15 November 2021) Telenor has signed a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to further explore areas of cooperation and define key strategic initiatives, advancing Telenor’s digital capabilities.
Telenor continues to advance the modernisation of the telecommunications industry by digitalising and expanding its offerings – going beyond connectivity. As the network is increasingly software-based, Telenor is exploring how to leverage Google Cloud’s expertise in data management, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI/ML), as well as the company’s infrastructure, to bring together the complimentary technologies to Telenor’s customers and society overall.
Cisco and Meta Partner on Open Compute Project Contribution
SAN JOSE, Calif., November 9, 2021 — As part of its commitment to the open source community and the hardware and software disaggregation movement, Cisco announced today it is collaborating with Meta on an Open Compute Project (OCP) contributed design.
Meta has deployed the Cisco Silicon One Q200L device along with the Wedge400C Top of Rack (TOR) switch. Cisco Q200L uses 7nm technology to provide a 12.8 Tbps solution for web scale switching and routing. The 12.8 Tbps Wedge400C supports up to 16 ports of 400G and 32 ports of 200G.
Three Questions with Angeliqua Ramming-Gaden
THREE QUESTIONS WITH
Angeliqua Ramming-Gaden
Senior Nordic Partner Development Manager, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Having worked in the IT industry for over 20 years, have you observed notable developments or initiatives for women in the technology workplace?
I see a lot of development in the Inclusion, Diversity, & Equity (ID&E) for women and all diverse talent in the industry. It is a topic that is much more openly discussed and addressed now compared to when I started. There is more research and numbers to compare female and male representation in all roles of a company. It has taken a lot of hard work to get where we are today and there is still a lot to do. A great thing is that I see a lot of companies, including AWS, having ID&E on the agenda and actively working towards getting more diverse talents in their organizations in all levels and also encouraging women and girls to seek a career in IT in general.
Representation matters. At AWS we track the representation of women and underrepresented communities because we know that diversity helps us build better teams that obsess over and better represent our global customer base.
When building teams, how does diversity weigh in?
Diverse teams help us think bigger, and differently, about the products and services that we build for our customers and the day-to-day nature of our workplace – this is reinforced within our 16 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and constantly earn others’ trust.
At Amazon, we’re constantly learning and innovating – and our inclusion, diversity, and equity efforts are no different. Inclusive, diverse, and equitable teams have a positive impact on our products and services, and help us better serve customers. We know there is more work to do, and we have several programs designed to help improve the diversity pipeline in tech. Some take a long-term approach to help increase the larger talent pipeline – like our Amazon Future Engineer Program – and others aim to incorporate more diverse talent immediately into the workforce.
We believe our future is inclusive, diverse, and equitable across every race identity, gender identity, belief, origin, and community. The work we are doing, mechanisms we are putting in place, and ongoing learnings are intended to be global and inclusive for all communities globally and within Amazon.
What are some qualities that AWS prides itself on?
Customers have come to really appreciate the AWS culture. If a startup, enterprise, or government agency is going to partner with an infrastructure provider, it’s typically a long-term decision they’re making, and they really want to understand what’s unique about the culture, or the partner that they are choosing. There are several traits typical to AWS. We are highly customer-focused. 90% of what we build is driven by what customers tell us matters, and the other 10% are things we hear from customers where they may not articulate exactly what they want, but we try to read between the lines and invent on their behalf.
We like to hire builders who look at customer experiences that are flawed, then figure out how to reinvent those. In a space that’s moving as fast as the cloud is, quick iteration a large community, and a clear vision for the cloud is very attractive. In addition, were long-term oriented, trying to build relationships and a business that lasts longer than all of us in this room. And you do that by doing right by customers over a long period of time.
ConocoPhillips Plans $1.5 Bln Norway Gas and Condensate Development
OSLO, Nov 8 (Reuters) – ConocoPhillips (COP.N) presented on Monday plans for the development of Norway’s Tommeliten A gas and condensate discovery, with total investments expected to amount to 12.5 billion crowns ($1.46 billion), the U.S. oil firm said.
Located in the southern sector of Norway’s North Sea, Tommeliten A is estimated to hold reserves corresponding to 125 million barrels of oil equivalent, it added.
President Biden Announces Key Nominations
President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate individuals to serve in key roles including:
- Marc Nathanson, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Norway
Marc Nathanson is one of America’s leading communications entrepreneurs and a noted environmentalist. He founded Falcon Cable TV in 1975 and in 1999, he became Vice Chairman of Charter Communications. Today, he is Chairman of Mapleton Investments, a holding company, and Chairman Emeritus of Falcon Water Technologies. He was Chairman of the United States Agency for Global Media during the Clinton-Gore and Bush-Cheney Administrations. He was appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2012 as Representative to the Board of Governors of the East-West Center in Honolulu. Nathanson is the immediate past Co-Chairman of the Pacific Council on International Policy and Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). He is a Trustee of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Nathanson has been honored by several environmental organizations for his work on water conservation. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver and a master’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow.
Record-Smashing Climate Change Spending in Budget Framework
President Biden announced on Thursday that the newest version of the budget reconciliation package includes a record-smashing $555 billion over 10 years to address climate change, by far the largest investment in mitigating the climate crisis to date.
The spending is designed to subsidize the transition from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas to clean energy sources such as wind and solar as well as to encourage related shifts like moving away from the internal combustion engine in favor of electric vehicles. Biden said this “framework” has the support needed to pass both houses of Congress.
Three Questions with Mikkel Schack
THREE QUESTIONS WITH
Mikkel Schack
District Sales Manager Norway, FedEx
A key finding from FedEx’s 2021 Trade Trends Report is that, as a result of the pandemic, the home is no longer merely a place to live, but has extended to become a space to work, socialize, and work out. In what ways has FedEx adapted to meet this shift in consumer demand?
It’s certainly been a challenging period for everyone in the transport sector – including FedEx. Since the pandemic began, FedEx has kept global industrial, healthcare, and at-home supply chains moving, with safety as our top priority. We are proud to have kept commerce moving and have delivered critical shipments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. From January 2020 to March 2021, FedEx Express shipped more than 80 kilotons of personal protective equipment globally, all while accommodating historic e-commerce volumes.
High demand of shipments to and from the United States of America and Asia has led to service delays, lack of capacity and increased operational costs. We have met these challenges by adding extra flights across our network, and are continuing to improve our service and capacity.
How does FedEx help businesses meet burgeoning e-commerce opportunities?
We aim to help our existing and new customers to start and grow their online business. Our Small Business Hub provides information and insights to help businesses adapt and keep growing. Very recently we also introduced our free E-commerce playbook with even more helpful information and tips to help e-commerce businesses get started and grow.
In addition, we have introduced a new direct flight from Europe to Japan that will increase capacity to northern China and Japan, to meet the demands caused by increased e-commerce shopping from this region.
How is FedEx addressing client and consumer expectations as it pertains to sustainable practices?
FedEx is extremely focused on addressing customers sustainability expectations. FedEx has set an ambitious goal to lead the way in the industry by achieving CO2-neutral operations globally by 2040. This goal will address all aspect of the company, from vehicle electrification, sustainable fuels, looking at improving sustainable customer solutions and facility optimization to name a few.
Bonus question! What is your favorite travel destination in the US?
New York is my favorite city; I just love the atmosphere and the fact that New York never sleeps.
Three Questions with Janicke Rasmussen
THREE QUESTIONS WITH
Dr. Janicke Rasmussen
Dean MSc, BI Norwegian Business School
Today’s students will be entering a business environment that looks very different than it did only a year ago. How is BI preparing tomorrow’s professionals?
We prepare our students for the workplace in different ways through a variety of activities. At BI we have a variety of masters programs catering to students from different backgrounds – so we use varying perspectives when we develop activities. Some are degree specific and others are developed for students enrolled in all master’s programs. In Norway, MSc are generally commenced by students that may not have much work experience. We give all students the opportunity for professional skill development as part of extracurricular activities. These activities are delivered throughout the student journey, beginning in their first week, and take on different forms depending on where the students are in their journey.
BI cooperates both with industry and with other schools to ensure students are prepared to meet the expectations of the business community. Other international schools are important to ensure students get to experience and learn from a global learning environment, and we use our alliances to develop relevant activities for students. Some activities can be performed locally, while students go abroad for other activities. The pandemic has made the environment for cooperation between business schools more active. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing; to ensure students succeed. If they succeed – we succeed.
Bl excels in international business school rankings as “triple-accredited” by each of the main international accreditation agencies (AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS). Which initiatives have gained recognition beyond Norway’s borders?
BI is a triple crown business school – only 1 % of the world’s business schools are in this category. This means that BI Norwegian Business School is recognized by international bodies and universities as a high-quality international business school. We are the number-one-ranked business school in Norway.
As a result, BI is now a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) University Affiliate school (the only school in Norway), which means that our MSc in Finance program is catered to meet about 70% of the first level exams at CFA. This partnership is a result of continuous development of our MSc in finance program – and a recognition of this by the CFA body.
In fact, this year a group of students from BI won the annual global case competition – the CFA Research Institute Challenge. This year, more than 5000 students from 950 universities across 82 countries participated, and our team of four students won – which was extremely fun – and shows that clear goals and ambitions pay off.
BI is also a GMAC school, a title received only by invitation. This enables us to partner with a great community of business schools for our continuous program development.
As a triple crown business school, we are a preferred partner for international business schools – and we currently partner with 18 universities in the USA, including Carlson School of Business, Pace University, and Texas A&M.
Putting theory into practice – in what ways does BI collaborate with the business community to provide real-world skills for its diverse student body?
In addition to the above mentioned, BI cooperates with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) by offering our students at our MSc in Business programs a major in accounting.
We also make efforts to cooperate with industry in developing our programs. For example, SAS Institute cooperates with our MSc in Business Analytics. In addition to offering students internships, they offer all business analytics students a free course to obtain a SAS certification.
One last thing to mention is the development of a Master Merit Society at BI – a platform for cooperation and co-creation between students, faculty, alumni and industry. The highest performing students are given the opportunity to become a member of this society for leadership development, ensuring diversity and providing motivation for all students, regardless of their background.
Bonus question! Once leisure travelling becomes more accessible, where is the first place you will travel to?
Difficult question! I really just want to travel! For leisure I generally prefer beaches and/or mountains – in my job I meet a lot of people and often think it is great to get away from the “buzz” of my every day. However, “post-covid” leisure trips will be all about meeting people, going to concerts, and eating out! So, I think I will say London. Because of the “buzz” but also because that is where I did my PhD, and therefore I have close ties with that city.