How I Got Selected for ISFiT Norway 🇳🇴 | ISFiT 2027 Complete Application Guide

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons conveyed

Purpose of the video

• The speaker creates the video because many students asked similar questions after seeing her ISFiT journey on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
• She addresses common concerns about:
  • Legitimacy / scam risk
  • Eligibility (including whether volunteering experience is required)
  • Essay/application review
  • How to answer application questions
• She emphasizes she cannot review individual applications due to time constraints (PhD + research work).

What ISFiT is (high-level explanation)

• ISFiT stands for International Student Festival in Trondheim (Norway).
• It is held every two years, and thousands of students apply worldwide.
• Selected participants gather to discuss global challenges, including:
  • human rights, peace, democracy, leadership, sustainability
  • mental health, innovation, climate change
  • and (in this edition) a theme related to “changing winds”, with references to wind.

ISFiT is not “just a holiday”

• The speaker stresses ISFiT is an educational and discussion-based experience.
• It’s focused on:
  • learning from others
  • exchanging ideas
• It is not presented as a formal exchange program, but as an immersive experience with many activities.

Her personal selection story (how she approached her application)

• She did not know if she would be selected, but she answered questions honestly and connectively by:
  • linking her PhD / AI research to her motivation and application answers
  • including leadership experience
  • highlighting her passion for learning
• After months, she received: “Congratulations, you have been selected.”
• A major concern at the time was visa approval (she says she will cover the visa process in a later video).

Legitimacy / scam concern

• When asked, “Is ISFiT real or a scam?”, she says: It is 100% real.
• She plans to share evidence from her experience (e.g., screenshots and videos from when she attended).

Eligibility concern: “No volunteering experience—do I still have a chance?”

• Her answer is yes.
• While volunteering can help, the organizers are not only selecting people with the longest CVs.
• She claims ISFiT looks for students who are:
  • responsible
  • have a clean record
  • show motivation to learn and contribute
  • and/or have international interest/experience
• She advises applicants to focus on their own story, such as:
  • challenges you overcame
  • lessons you learned
  • impact you made

Essay/application review requests

• She cannot review everyone’s essays personally.
• Her guidance includes:
  • don’t write what you think organizers “want”—write what is true
  • avoid copy-pasting from the internet
  • don’t ask AI to write everything end-to-end
  • AI can be used to improve grammar, but the story/emotions/examples must be yours

How she believes selection works

• She says nobody outside the committee knows the exact selection formula.
• However, she believes her acceptance was supported by:
  • genuine motivation
  • clear discussion of her research
  • leadership experience
  • explaining why she wants to attend (without trying to impress)
  • being authentic rather than “robotic”

Was it worth it? (cost/benefit framing)

• She says it is worth it, especially for:
  • new international experience
  • personal growth
• Reported benefits include:
  • meeting incredible people
  • learning different perspectives
  • gaining confidence
  • building international friendships (“priceless”)
• Nuance for CS/IT students:
  • The program is fully funded, but flight tickets and visa costs are on the applicant.
  • She says the experience is not tightly connected to CS/IT (it’s more general).
  • Therefore:
    • if you want a specifically AI/CS-related payoff, it may not be strongly connected
    • for broader experience, it’s recommended

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Detailed instructions / methodology for answering application questions (as presented)

Overarching approach

• Do not copy-paste from templates, the internet, or other people.
• Do not write a “definition” just to show knowledge—show personal thinking and meaning.
• Focus on being genuine and positive.
• Connect everything to your own story, background, and experiences.
• Use AI only for grammar improvement, not for generating the full content.

How to answer (for the theme and specific questions)

1) Question 1: Theme prompt (“changing winds”)

• Organizer focus: it’s not about the dictionary meaning of “changing winds,” but what it means to you.
• Your answer should connect to something you personally associate it with, such as:
  • politics, AI, climate change, education, social media, women empowerment, peace, migration (examples given)
• Recommended method (3 steps):
  • Pick one idea/topic
    • don’t try to list 10 topics in a short word limit (example of “100 words” mentioned)
  • Explain why it comes to your mind immediately
    • they want to see your thinking, not memorized knowledge
  • Keep the tone positive
    • don’t frame your response mainly as complaints or negativity

2) Question 2: Community/country impact

• Organizer focus: how challenges affect people and how they affected you personally.
• Warning: don’t turn it into a 250-word country/politics history lesson.
• Recommended structure (“simple pipeline”):
  • Problem
  • Turning point
  • My experience
  • What I learned
• Alternative framing examples:
  • technology changing education
  • climate change affecting your city
  • keep it personal rather than a broad political explanation

3) Question 3: Contribution to ISFiT

• Organizer focus: not how “amazing” you are, but what you will be like as a person at the event.
• What they likely assess:
  • willingness to listen
  • ability to work respectfully with people from different cultures
  • respectful contribution in a diverse environment
• Additional guidance:
  • the event is not meant for arguing political views
  • if political topics are mentioned, the organizer may redirect or shut down the discussion
• Avoid generic statements like:
  • “I want to change the world.”
• Instead:
  • provide an example from your experience/observations
  • explain what you’d like to improve or change based on that experience

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Pro tips / application strategy checklist (as stated)

• Apply early
  • Don’t wait for the deadline; apply as soon as possible.
• Believe in yourself
  • Your application should be unique—don’t copy others’ wording or ideas.
• Don’t compare yourself with others
  • Your English does not need to be perfect.
  • Focus on your achievements and journey.
• Your story is unique
  • “Every story matters—be yourself.”
• Reassurance about weaknesses
  • It’s okay if you don’t have certificates or enough volunteering experience.
• Follow-up mentioned
  • A future video will cover the visa process, interview questions, and tips for submitting visa documents.

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Speakers / sources featured

• Speaker: Warda Tariq
  • PhD student in AI and machine learning at Higher School of Economics in Moscow
  • Works in natural language processing and low-resource AI research