Employee interview #6 Linn-Birgit Kampen Kristensen

What has been your career path leading up to your current position?

In high school I studied music, with big ambitions to either become an opera singer or a violinist. After high school, thanks to the advice of my guidance counselor at the time, I took a bachelor's degree in culture and management at BI. I then pursued a master's degree in marketing, also at BI.

After finishing my master's, I decided to take a gap year while applying for jobs. Part of me thought I would get my "dream job" in marketing at once, but it didn't turn out like that. Instead I ended up spending the year working as a taxi driver for my brother! That was great fun, and I actually still do once in a while if they have a driver shortage.

After that year, a doctoral position came up for a project at BI Center for Creative Industries (BI CCI), which I applied for and got. I then proceeded to take my doctorate at the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Oslo while I had my office space at BI. Following this I worked as a university lecturer and substitute here at BI.

During this period, I applied for jobs pretty much everywhere within academia, until I finally got a permanent position as a university lecturer. Today I am an Associate Professor and also the Associate Dean for the bachelor's program in Creative Industries Management here at BI.

What are your current research projects?

As I'm on maternity leave at the moment, I don't have any major ongoing projects. However, I normally conduct research within two main realms. One is related to my PhD project, which was about digitization and diversity within the book industry, and how we use digital services in that context. The second one deals with crisis communication, where I work closely with Mona Solvoll.

I also have some loose thoughts and ideas that I really want to look further into in the future, for instance I want to investigate how large events potentially affect tourism.

What makes your research meaningful to you?

To see that new thoughts and insights light up for the students. It is very rewarding to see them crack codes, and to observe their progress. It is also meaningful to me to see that what I do in terms of research means something to the students or to society at large, and that what I have to offer can help bring us a step further.

What is the biggest obstacle you've overcome in your professional life?

Self-doubt is probably what drags me down the most, being new at something and realizing that "Ok, now I don't quite know how to solve this". Being inexperienced can sometimes make you feel stupid, and that's not a good feeling. Therefore, actually daring to ask colleagues for help has sometimes felt like a challenge. Fortunately, I have many good colleagues who have taken me along and taught me a lot. Daring to show weaknesses is very important!

Could you tell us about the courses you are teaching this semester?

This semester I am teaching the first year students at the bachelor programme in Creative Industry Management in the management of art and the creative industry. The students make up an incredibly great group, and we have many good discussions together. I'm also teaching executive students for the first time this semester, which is really exciting! These are students with a lot of work experience from the industry, and a lot of exciting things happen when theory meets practice.

Lastly, what is a fun fact about you?

I'm a rally fanatic! I come from a place where rally is something you grow up with. The first time I was a spectator was when I was six months old and sitting in a carrier. We always follow both the Norwegian Championship and the World Championship very closely. My friends and I have our own chat group dedicated to talking about what is happening both nationally and internationally in the rally world. When the World Cup was in New Zealand this year, we all turned the clock around to watch it!