Help build medical research in Western Norway

On Tuesday this week, a joint research day was organized between the Faculty of Medicine and Stavanger University Hospital. Many projects were presented illustrating what we can achieve together.The papers presented by a representative from each campus emphasized the utility of registries and the strength of large patient cohorts. Including both Bergen and Stavanger in a study means that the number of participants can be doubled, which can be the difference between a mediocre study and excellent study as it is easier to obtain statistically significant findings. Camilla Krakstad also highlighted the opportunities that lie in a research stay abroad and how good registers and biobanks make us attractive collaborators. The K2 management is now actively working to improve collaborations between Stavanger and Bergen and encourage colleagues to build research groups together. Many of the groups in Bergen are larger than in Stavanger and it can therefore be a good idea to include colleagues in the groups where it is natural to collaborate. How this is solved in practical terms is up to each group, but joint research meetings digitally and physically are a good place to start. To invite each other to university tasks such as committee work is a way to facilitate interactions. Building joint projects should strengthen competitiveness when applying for research grants. There are also good synergies to be gained on the teaching side, where we should collaborate more, coordinate teaching plans, share teaching materials and exams. If subjects and exams come at the same time, we can use the same assignments. In other words, there are many possibilities to collaborate here. The next time we organize such a meeting, it would also be good if those who do not have ongoing collaborative projects between our campuses to participate, it could pay off.

Have a good weekend when time comes,

Eystein Husebye

Vice Head of Department