An expanded university population
Lillehammer’s Oppland College in Storhove was able to expand its campus, and increase its number of student places, thanks to taking over the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) after the Olympic Games finished.
The IBC, which during the Games was the largest communications centre in the world, had been built with environmental factors in mind, including energy-saving air-conditioning systems and a design to harmonise with the terrain and existing building. Its structure maximised natural light, another benefit for the students that would later occupy it.
Such a building could not be a single-use deal: in Lillehammer’s bid to host the 1994 Games, an important argument was that the IBC would benefit young Norwegians in the future.
The sheer size of the structure – 27,000 square metres – meant that the college could expand significantly. In 1995, it was reported that the number of enrolled students had leapt from 600 to 3,000 – eventually rising to around 6,000 in 2020.
Expansion also meant innovation. New courses such as sports management and audiovisual production were offered, and in 1997 the college began to offer Norway's first college-level film studies.
In 2017, the college merged with INN University, and today students make up nearly 20 per cent of the city’s current population of 27,000.
This evolution has generated economic benefits for the region. The collaboration between INN University, the LOSC and the Norwegian Olympic Museum, meanwhile, makes Lillehammer a key centre for Olympic studies and research.
This was all part of a wider educational boost for Norway. The Olympic Winter Games increased expertise in the areas of languages, customer service and event organisation.
The expansion of INN University, and the development of high-performance sports training institutions such as the NTG Lillehammer and Olympiatoppen, have turned Lillehammer into a prime place to combine higher education with an elite sports career. A great number of the top winter sports athletes from Norway have lived and trained in Lillehammer, while at the same time being students at INN University.