I’ve left the Arctic and returned to the ever-sunny-never-rainy place of Stavanger. While cycling to work I was surprised by the smell of rain and grass. I wouldn’t have thought I would ever be surprised by that. Svalbard doesn’t really have a smell. Sometimes you taste the dust or coal that is blown by the wind. But there is rarely anything to smell. While I’ll miss the raw beauty of Svalbard, it’s time to shift my focus back to my studies here. I’ve fallen behind on my other courses, RIS615 and RIS650, so catching up is my priority now.
RIS615 – Applied Risk Analysis focuses on practical risk assessments across industries. It has several guest lectures and a practical group work assignment, making the course hands-on. Before switching to ‘science’ I did an applied science bachelor in Safety and Security management. And it is fun to revisit the same risk management concepts, but now through a different (older and more experienced) lens. I can’t believe it has been six years already since I graduated. Moreover, I’ve been studying on and off for over a decade now!
RIS650 – Enterprise Risk Management is all about integrating risk into business strategy. It’s more corporate-focused, with the company goals as the starting point for assessing risk.
Since I missed so many lectures, I probably won’t be able to summarize these two courses in depth. However, I might share insights from the topics that catch my attention during the remaining lectures.
Beyond my courses, I’m eager to get back to writing. I wasn’t too satisfied with my posts from Svalbard—I was rushed and didn’t have much time for personal reading, which usually inspires my writing. I’m currently reading The Paradox of Svalbard, a book recommended to me by a woman who lived on the archipelago for over 30 years. I’ve just finished the introduction, which focuses on the epistemology of anthropology. It’s a dense but necessary chapter. The next chapters will probably be a bit easier to digest and hopefully, it’ll spark my creativity again.
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