Cracking Nuts

The student initiative “Eik Idea Workshop” started as a lonesome oaknut in 2014, but has now grown into Eik Lab: a large tree where new ideas keep sprouting. Even though it is a place where many bright minds work on advanced projects, the coordinator for student innovations Ulrikke Lien emphasizes that Eik Lab is open to everyone – as long as there is an interest.

Journalist: Arthur Devold

Translator: Sofie Palmstrøm

Photographer: Margreta Brunborg

“Actually, one of the first things I did was design party lights”. I stand next to machinery students Aleksander Eriksen and Patrick Birbenbach in the production hall of Eik Lab. It was Aleksander’s first year at NMBU when he and a friend decided that their collective needed party lights. He knew nothing about designing electronics beforehand but got the opportunity through Eik. Aleksander learned something new, and the collective got a new character.

The project that Aleksander and Patrick are working on today is a beehive with built-in sensors. It is going to measure the climate inside the beehive and notify the beekeeper when he or she should attend to the bees. The guys have come a long way since the party light stage. Three years have passed since Aleksander participated in his first project at Eik. “That was before the workshops”, he says with a smile and refers to the great boost that Eik Lab has received.

From Union to Academic Centre

What started out as a student initiative has become a well-reputable centre with kudos in the industry and their own premises in the TF-block. Here, you can bring an idea to get help actualising it. You can also come to the workshops to learn laser cutting, electronics- and web programming, machine learning, and 3D printing.

Ulrikke shows us a simple beginners’ kit. She explains that knowledge within these areas is very useful even if it is not something you end up working with. Learning “the language” in order to understand, for example, what “bad training data for the machine-learning algorithm” means, makes it easier to cooperate with people who work with other things than yourself.

All in all, cooperation seems like one of the best things about Eik Lab. During the short time I am there, people walk in and out to discuss things with each other. This is probably how the process from an idea to reality looks. Ulrikke explains that the process starts with a thought – a little oaknut – that evolves into something big.

But it takes time for the nut to grow into a tree that is big enough for society to harvest. Once the idea is fully developed, the next step is to sell it. Therefore, there are several contributors from Handelshøyskolen (School of Economy) at NMBU who help the developers get their projects fully realized. As a result, this is an amazing arena for learning, even for economy students.

With all this united competence and creativity, it comes as no surprise that Eik Lab and the former Eik Workshop can boast of several success stories. Eik Lab is the road to exciting careers for many. For instance, Aleksander has his own business called Njård Technologies. I also meet Astrid Moum and get to hear that Eik Lab was the doorway to MHTech, where she is currently working on a project surrounding possible energy solutions in Vestfold and Telemark. Ulrikke is a co-founder of Sensorita, which develops sensors for waste management. The sensors contribute to lowering CO2-emissions by stopping half-empty trashcans from being picked up and handled as if they were full.

There are many who walk around with similar ideas that they, to a greater or lesser extent, think should be realized. “What if”, “that should be a thing” and “I wish this thing existed” are phrases we often hear from ourselves and others. Joining the workshop and projects in Eik Lab could be the key to bringing those words into reality.