'I first noticed Charlotte at a master's degree course in industrial organisation, where she demonstrated good technical as well as intuitive insight. She then impressed with her theoretical innovation when writing her master's thesis. The award she received was well earned,' says her principal supervisor, Professor Hans Jarle Kind at the Department of Economics and Centre for Business Economics at NHH.

Great working environment

A group of PhD candidates are sitting in their shared office at the Department of Economics. They are Charlotte Bjørnhaug Evensen's closest colleagues, and they started their four-year positions last autumn.

'We're really enjoying ourselves. We're all very good friends, even outside the office, and it's a great environment.'

'What is the best thing about being a PhD candidate?'

I am glad to see someone make a fuss over them! That could help when they struggle with their differentiation and the world seems dark and dismal!

Professor Hans Jarle Kind

'The very best thing is that you are surrounded by extremely capable people all the time. I am learning so much and have the opportunity to work on precisely the things I find exciting. And it's flexible. You can work long hours one day, and if the sun suddenly comes out the next day, you can go for a walk in the mountains.'

This is how Evensen sums up her life as a PhD candidate at NHH. The 27-year-old hadn't even considered the possibility of going into research before coming to NHH.

Best master's thesis

'I hadn't given it a thought until I started writing my master's thesis, but I very much enjoyed the process of writing the thesis. It was Hans Jarle Kind who kindled my curiosity. He believed that a doctoral degree would suit me. And he repeated this opinion regularly,' she laughs.

Last year, Evensen and her co-author won the Best Master Thesis 2017 in Economics. Evensen had not chosen the easiest way to a master's degree. As her major, she chose Economic Analysis, an option described on the NHH website as 'suitable for positions that require a particularly high level of analytical expertise'.

'I specialised in finance for my bachelor's degree, so the choice was between finance and economics. So I took courses from both fields, and I am now affiliated to the Centre for Business Economics (CBE) at NHH. My field of research is industrial organisation, which deals with competition economics, market regulation and businesses' strategic choices. These are areas that allow for both theoretical and empirical work. That is important to me. I enjoy making models and working mathematically, and it's also nice to have the breaks when you can gather data, test whether the models work and process the data material. See what actually happens in the real world.'

No bragging

As a master's student, Evensen participated in organising the UKEN festival, and she played volleyball with other NHH students. 

'Did you enjoy studying at NHH?'

'It was really great. There weren't that many students who took the same major as me, so we got to know each other really well. I suppose the subjects have a reputation for being technical and mathematical. This is what I enjoy working with.'

Electric car incentives

'The topic of your thesis was incentives for electric vehicles. Did you arrive at a clear conclusion?'

'We were interested in finding out whether the incentives lead to the people who buy electric cars buying it as their second or third car instead of replacing their fossil fuel car and the implications this has for the effectiveness of these incentives, as the incentives cost quite a lot.'

To summarise, they found that road tolls and congestion charges function well because the consequences for those who own petrol or diesel cars are so considerable. The thesis was quite extensive because they wanted to conduct both a theoretical and an empirical analysis.

Showjumper

Evensen has a background in showjumping. Her plan was to go professional, but she had a plan B, and this plan took her to Australia where she studied sport management.

'If I couldn't be a professional showjumper, I wanted to participate in organising the Olympics. I was interested in sport management and I very much enjoy big sports events. I always look forward to the Olympics, Tour de France and the soccer World Cup.'

'Are you a soccer fan?'

'No, but I find the big events exciting. I'm fascinated by people who have worked that hard to become good at something. There is great joy, but also a lot of disappointment, and it's entertaining to watch.'

From Copenhagen to NHH

When the girl from Hamar was going to give up showjumping to become a full-time student, she did what many of her friends did and moved to Trondheim to take a bachelor's degree. She then wanted to study at Copenhagen Business School. She applied, but encountered problems having one of her courses from Trondheim recognised. She nevertheless moved to Copenhagen believing that everything would work out.

'It didn't work out. But I was offered a job in an IT company that was a leader in restaurant booking. They were starting up in Norway and gave me the opportunity to join them, which was very exciting.'

I heard a lot of good things about NHH and knew that it was a recognised institution that offered good opportunities to build a business network. That made it quite an easy decision to move back to Norway – and to Bergen.

Charlotte Bjørnhaug Evensen

Evensen was determined to take a master's degree, and she knew that NHH would recognise her course.

'I heard a lot of good things about NHH and knew that it was a recognised institution that offered good opportunities to build a business network. That made it quite an easy decision to move back to Norway – and to Bergen.'

Surprised by the rain

'How was your first semester?'

'I was prepared for a lot of rain, but I'm still a little surprised at how much rain there actually was. But you get used to it. I actually prefer the mild climate. And when the sun is shining, there are few places that can beat Bergen. And there is an advantage to Bergen: the bad weather makes the opportunity cost of working very low.'

In order to ensure that she gets her dose of sun this summer, Evensen is going to Croatia with her boyfriend, who is a master's student at NHH.

'He is writing his master's thesis at the moment, and has been offered a job here in Bergen. That makes it a lot easier to live here.'

'You have a master's degree from NHH, are taking your doctoral degree here, have a boyfriend at NHH, and you live next door to campus?'

'I didn't expect the two years I spent on the master's degree programme at NHH to influence my future quite so much!'

Nearly always happy

'What will you do after you have defended your thesis in four years' time?'

'I'm very open to different possibilities afterwards, both in academia and outside. What I am working on now is relevant to many contexts. Becoming a professor is not my only option.'

'You seem very happy?'

'I'm nearly always happy wherever I am. But recently, I have thought that life is really great at the moment.'

Professor Kind feels that the clever PhD candidates (particularly his own) deserve some attention:

'I am glad to see someone make a fuss over them! That could help when they struggle with their differentiation and the world seems dark and dismal,' he jokes.

 



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