The Covid-19 pandemic has upturned our daily lives and much of the research, both clinically and experimentally, has stopped. On the other hand, the work situation provides the opportunity to work well with applications.

The application forms from the Research Council are now available and at the same time the deadline for the Research Council has been moved to May 20, giving extra time for application writing. Already, those who intend to apply must contact the economist they have been assigned to plan the budget work. Amra will help with application writing and will give priority to those who have announced that they will apply.

This year, the Researcher Project for Scientific Renewal is open to all research areas; further Research Project for Young Talents (age less than 40 years), 2-7 years after dissertation and Three-year Researcher Project with International Mobility.

Good luck

Eystein

Dear employees of K2

We are in an unreal time with an uncertain future. We do not know how severe the coronavirus epidemic will strike in Norway, we do not know how long the epidemic will last. Many people work around the clock to minimize the impact of the epidemic. We have reason to be proud of the enormous efforts the authorities, health workers and many others make. What we can all do, is loyally to follow up on all the advices and orders given by the authorities.

The need for information is of course huge. There are general guidelines that the information channels be relatively few in order to avoid opposing advice and orders. Therefore, the management at K2 has been careful to send out too many mails or newsletters. The disadvantage can be that local conditions might not be addressed in the general information. Please, let us know if there are things you are wondering about, and that we should be informed about.

The University wants most of our information to be collected at uib.no/korona. In addition, we relate to Helse Bergen and FHI’s information pages.

Lending personnel
One subject that will become increasingly relevant is that you may be asked to serve in health care organizations or municipalities. Agreements have now been made with health authorities throughout the Helse Vest and the Bergen Municipality. Please, refer to the Norwegian version of this newsletter for further details.

Take care of each other
The Prime Minister calls for unity and care for each other. It is extremely important to work together now towards a common goal. Furthermore, there are many who can be anxious, feel lonely, and need practical help with childcare, grocery shopping, etc. Here, we can all make an effort!

I am impressed by the positive, constructive, and innovative attitude I have experienced from the staff last week. Professional meetings are already held with presentations for up to 33 participants (!) via Skype or Zoom, teaching is done via Skype or Zoom, and practical training is replaced by You Tube videos, TBL material online, and alternative material from eg. Harvard Medical School. I’m very proud of what you have achieved so far! We learn something new every day, much of what I think will be used even after the coronavirus epidemic is over.

There seem to be a few days without rain coming up. Enjoy the good weather – not at the cabin of course, but perhaps on a hike over Vidden or Fløyen where it should not be a problem to keep 2 meters distance to other people.

Make the best of your weekend!

Dear all employees at the Department of Clinical Science

We are experiencing a dramatic time with no parallel in Norway at peace. But we have to deal with this. We have over 350 employees with large resources in many different ways. Now it is important to use these in a good and constructive way. This is going to cost; it is changing daily life for all of us. But I already notice that you are taking this in a positive way. Thank you so much! Although most of us do not need to worry about the infection itself, it can mean a long illness and even death for old people and those with serious chronic illnesses. And if the hospitals are unable to maintain the basic staffing, it will hit everyone anyway. Henceforth, we must faithfully follow all the advice and orders of the authorities to prevent and prevent the spread of infection. Here are some clarifications and practicalities for K2:

K2 is physically closed
As you are informed by email from Pro-Rector Margareth Hagen and Dean Per Bakke, the entire university is physically closed from yesterday at 18. All activities on campus will be stopped as soon as possible and at the latest during the weekend. With few exceptions, no one should come to work. All activity must now be done digitally. For those premises that have the Helse Bergen IDs card as an access cards, these will function as before. It is possible that doors operated by UiB’s ID cards will be closed to those who cannot access by exception. This is unclear at the time of writing.

What about equipment and special laboratory experiments?
There are certain exceptions when it comes to people who need to inspect or repair instruments as well as special laboratory tests. I have delegated to the research group leaders, that today they will decide which people and what trials will be involved in stopping the trials over the weekend, which persons and trials must continue to be of special importance in terms of scientific and financial importance , and what equipment and people are needed to inspect and if necessary repairing important instruments in the labs, as well as making a list of these issues.

How is Management reached?
The Management has from now on home office, but Julie Stavnes, Eystein Husebye and I will physically be able to get into the buildings in emergency situations. Use mail or phone to reach us.

What are the Management´s phone numbers?
Pål R. Njølstad 481 41 578
Julie Stavnes 995 91 846
Eystein Husebye 994 04 788
Silk Apple 410 80 067
Jone Trovik 924 25 171
Emmet McCormack 482 03 610

What about economy and staff functions?
These should be taken care of as far as possible through a home office.

How do we do it with signatures from the Head of Department?
Signature documents must be sent to me or Eystein in electronic format. If something is urgent, make sure we are available via sms.

Teaching
As communicated before, this must be done digitally, and here you have to be creative. It is referred to previous mails from the Faculty and K2.

How can I set up Skype or video conferencing from home?
For help setting up Skype or video conferencing from home, see https://it.uib.no/Skrivebord.uib.no

Who is the contact person for equipment?
This is Eystein Husebye

It will be a different weekend and time ahead of us. Take good care of each other.

Pål

This is to refer to the information sent out from the University Director and the Faculty of Medicine February 28 on handling the coronavirus at UiB (https://www.uib.no/en/corona).

Since we work in a health institution, we must also follow the guidelines of Helse Bergen, which in turn follows the advice of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. We therefore ask all employees who have been in areas with a persistent spread of coronavirus to stay home from work for 14 days after returning home. The purpose is to reduce the risk of infection to patients and employees in the health and care service. The health and care service is particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of infection that can affect vulnerable patient groups. This council has retroactive effect for travelers returning home after February 17.

Travelers who develop respiratory symptoms during the first 14 days after returning home should isolate themselves at home and contact their GP on the phone. If you do not get in touch with your GP, call an emergency room on telephone 116117.

Symptoms of corona virus infection are fever, cough, difficulty breathing, or other respiratory symptoms.

Sustainable sites include mainland China, Iran, South Korea, Italy (all regions of Italy north of Rome – Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Tuscany), Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

The University management wants to be constantly updated on which employees we have at all times. Employees may have stayed in risk areas even in their spare time, but it is still important that this information is shared.

We hence ask you to register your own travel activities in the following form whether you have stayed, are staying or will be staying in areas with the spread of the coronavirus in the form that you find here: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view. php? id = 8138964

We do not yet know the extent of the epidemic and whether it will be a pandemic. If there are many who have to stay home without being particularly ill, I urge you to be inventive in meeting the most important university assignments. Mail is probably handled 24/7 for most of you anyway, but it is also possible to hold lectures or group lessons via Skype or similar platforms so that students get the education they need. Lectures and meetings that were scheduled in or outside Bergen can be conducted with video or telephone conferences if planned. As mentioned, it´s just to be innovative 

Have a nice (corona free) weekend!

Pål Rasmus Njølstad