Who is Volvox & Alkymisten?

Volvox & Alkymisten (V&A) is the student association for bachelor and masters degree students in biology, chemistry, biotechnology, and the one-year program in chemistry and biology at NTNU in Trondheim. The association is a fusion between the two student associations Volvox (biology) and Alkymisten (chemistry). The merger happened the 5th of October 1998, but the associations roots and traditions stem from the foundation of Volvox the 1st of February 1961 and of Alkymisten the 19th of October 1972. The student association is built and run by more than 60 student voulenteers distributed across the board, and a number of committees and subgroups which encompass everything from business and events to a choir, a hiking group, and a sports team. In addition, the media committee publishes V&A’s own magazine called Nukleotidende.

V&A is one of the lagest student organizations at Gløshaugen, with a responsibility for a freshman group of around 220 new students each year. The association has over 1000 registered members, approximately 200 of which are still active students at NTNU.

Our activities

Volvox & Alkymisten’s purpose is to promote a beneficial academic and social student environment among members. The association’s arguably most important function is to introdue the students to NTNU through arranging a orientation week for new freshmen students. However, many members involve themselves far beyond this through student oriented volunteer positions and activities in the many committees and subgroups of the association. V&A also has a number of events rich in tradition popular among our members, such as a matriculation ball, Christmas party, Krabbefest (“Crab party”), and an annual ski-trip in Åre, Sweden.

The association also functions as an interface between students and employers. Our business committee works to support and help members into the workforce when they have achieved their degree, by arranging business presentations and courses. The career day VIVO is arranged annually and attracts more than 25 employers, where they introduce themselves to our students and showcase employed life, and possibilities for part-time or summer jobs in academically relevant fields.

Does this sound like something for you? Become a member and get involved!

Our name

“Volvox” is the name of a genus of green algae. The species in this genus form spherical gel-like colonies of single-celled individuals packed closely together. The individuals coordinate their flagellae so that the colony can get a forward rolling movement. In latin, “volvere” means to roll. Few analogies are perfect, however when taking into consideration that the volvox species most characteristic trait: that singlecelled individuals work as a multicellular individual, a whole, it does not seem strange that this became the name of the biology student association.

“Alkymi” or alchemy is a term used to describe chemistry that was carried out from the 4th to the 18th century. Alchemists used a combination of the ancient Greek theory of the four elements, humoralism, planetary orbits and faith in God to among other things make gold and find a source for eternal life. But with their insatiable need for exploration of the natural world, the alchemists managed to stumble upon more useable knowledge once in a while. This is how they laid the foundation for modern chemistry. Let us hope that our chemists, equipped with a few better theoretical models and methods, also stumble upon sensible discoveries!