Welcome to the new semester!
Here we go again! I hope everyone has had a great holiday and has recharged their batteries.
As of this writing, the students have already started, and many K2 employees are fully engaged in teaching. As Eystein Husebye wrote about last week, the first group for Vestlandslegen is now in place at Stavanger University Hospital, marking a completely new organization of medical education in the western part of Norway. It will be exciting to see if there will be additional funding for more students at Vestlandslegen in this autumn’s budget.
On Tuesday, August 29th, there will be a meeting with the teaching group leaders and the leadership team at K2. I encourage all UGLEs to attend and contribute to improving the organization and content of the teaching.
Regarding research, the first deadlines for project applications are approaching quickly. The deadline for applications to Helse Vest is already September 15th, so it’s time to get started. Since the Research Council now has a rolling deadline for open project funding, applications to them might get deprioritized. It’s crucial to proactively approach applying to the Research Council so that it doesn’t get forgotten.
I urge you to sign up for the new initiative, Faculty Research Day, on September 26th, which will be held at Eitri. Furthermore, a dedicated research day is being planned at Stavanger University Hospital in connection with the regular teaching days (Joint Education Council) that K1 and K2 hold at SUS every semester. The goal is to highlight research with the aim of increasing research collaboration between the two institutions. I believe there’s significant potential here.
This autumn, K2 must also focus on finances. As mentioned before, we are facing a significant deficit for various reasons – a trend we must reverse. If we stand together, we can navigate through this and hopefully even emerge stronger. It’s often in adversity that innovation happens, and entirely new ideas are born. So, I reiterate the call from before the summer: Help us brainstorm how we can manage with slightly less space, fewer staff, and slightly fewer resources through K2, and how we can generate more income that reflects in K2’s budgets.
Have a fantastic semester!
Pål