📚🏫 Campus coworking spaces and quiet zones: OsloMet, NTNU, UiO — how to choose

For students with a busy schedule: how to find places to focus between classes and shifts, what and where to book, and how to put together a convenient setup.

🏢 Types of spaces

🤫📖‘Silence’

Reading rooms and quiet floors of libraries — for individual concentration: personal desks, lamps, minimal conversation. At UiO, some seats on separate levels are booked in advance through the TP system, so walking in ‘off the street’ is not always an option.

👥🖥️Group rooms

Meeting rooms for 4–8 people: for preparing presentations, seminars, pair coding. At OsloMet and UiO, reservations are made through TP with a student account (Feide). At NTNU, reservations are made through an internal booking service.

🎥💻Media labs and collaboration zones

Flexible spaces in scientific/technical libraries: screens, boards, laptop mounts, spots for quick team ‘stand-up sessions.’ At NTNU Natural Science Library, entire floors are dedicated to collaborative learning.

🗓️🔑Booking: where and how

• OsloMet: book group rooms in TP (log in with your OsloMet account). Select the date/time, type ‘Group study room’, building — the system will show available rooms.
• UiO: library group rooms are also available through TP (Feide login). Some libraries have their own rules — at Sophus Bugge, group rooms can be used without booking (first come, first served).
• NTNU: students can book lecture halls/group rooms daily from 08:00 to 23:00 (except public holidays); there are restrictions on the types of rooms available.
• Horizon restrictions: at UiO, for some rooms, reservations must be made 10 days in advance and for a maximum of 4 hours in total; check the conditions for each specific room.
• When there are fewer people: early morning/late evening on weekdays, as well as ‘around class time’ (before and immediately after class) — especially in libraries, where some seats are reserved in advance.

🕰️🙌Ergonomics: light, sound, charging

• Light: sit sideways to the window; in bright sunlight, use a desk with a matte tabletop/lamp.
• Sound: noise-cancelling headphones + earplugs as a backup.
• Charging: power bank + short extension cord; in group study rooms, check the screens/HDMI ports in advance.
• Pace: 50–70 minutes of focus → 5–10 minutes of movement/water; towards the evening, do ‘light’ tasks.

🎓📍 Campus maps (overview)

🏫 OsloMet (Pilestredet)

• P48: 24/7 hall and workspaces on the 1st floor; on the 2nd floor — spaces + 15 group rooms; on the 3rd floor — group work area; separate rooms for master's students.
• PP35: 3rd floor — workspaces and 13 group rooms.
• P52: rooms on the 6th and 7th floors. Book group rooms via TP.
• Library access: students/staff can enter with their card during extended hours (usually from early morning to late evening).

📚 UiO (Blindern, etc.)

• HumSam/Georg Sverdrups hus: approx. 1000 seats; some seats with green lamps on 3–4 levels can be booked via TP.
• Library group rooms: booking via TP; exceptions — for example, Sophus Bugge: 10 group rooms, no reservations, first come, first served.

🔬 NTNU (Gløshaugen/Dragvoll)

• NTNU libraries: reading rooms, computers, group rooms; general rules and booking are described in the student guide.
• Science Library (Gløshaugen): flexible ‘collaboration spaces’, stations with displays, project work/blended formats.
• Room/auditorium reservations: a reservation service is available to students from 08:00 to 23:00, some rooms have restrictions.

📅⚡🏋️ Daily schedule: ‘classes → coworking → part-time job → sports’

Example:

• 08:30–12:00 classes → short notes.
• 12:30–14:00 quiet zone (writing/algorithms).
• 14:15–16:00 group (slide deck/rehearsal).
• 17:00–20:30 evening shift (2–3 times a week).
• After — 40 minutes of sports/sauna (in the campus centre) and a light walk home.

✅💼 My setup checklist (for each day)

• Charged laptop + uninterrupted power supply
• Noise-cancelling headphones, earplugs
• Water/snack, focus timer, coffee break ‘as planned’
• PDF schedule (screen shot) + backup location nearby
• Sports bag for the evening (trainers/lock/towel)