It is Friday 13th and unfortunately, we are back in the Home Office after it almost felt like we were back to normal operation. The leadership team will thus also have limited presence, but one of us will be available every day. Fortunately, we were given an exemption from the mandatory home office for people who depend on being in the lab this time. It is the research group leaders who will keep track of the activities.

With increased digitalization and fewer meeting places, it is even more important than before to have good websites! We will be working on K2’s pages in the weeks ahead and I ask EVERYONE to update his or her person page (https://manual.uib.no/webmanual/personside/) and upload a photo. Besides, I ask all the research group leaders to take the initiative to improve their web pages, do not wait until the next K2 retreat (which hopefully comes!)

In addition, we are working to map the teaching groups. All scientific employees have received an email from Julie with a link to registration, and it is also included in this edition of K2nytt. All scientific employees shall belong to at least one teaching group!

Take care of each other and have a nice weekend!

Silke

I am fully aware that new systems are the very last thing on your mind now that Erna and the City Council in Bergen are coming up with new restrictions, and we are facing a period of home office and digital teaching yet again. I therefore promise to keep it short and sweet.

The universities of Bergen, Oslo, Tromsø and Trondheim (BOTT) collaborate on joint procurement of new systems for finance, including orders and invoices, and HR / payroll. The systems that have been chosen for all 4 universities are called Unit4 (Unit 4 Business World) and SAP, for financial system and salary, respectively. UiB will have the pleasure of being the first university to try out the systems, and we will start using these new systems on 1st January 2021.

What does all this mean for you? Well, our economists are getting new systems to work in, and have already done an impressive clean-up job to close old projects in our existing systems. Unit4 will also be the new system for ordering and invoicing, which means that more of our technical employees and other people who place orders will receive training in and get acquainted with new ordering systems. For all of us who register holidays, working hours, disbursement reimbursements and more, everything that has previously gone through Pagaweb, we will now use SAP for. Separate websites have been set up at MED and here you will find more information about receiving the new systems: https://www.uib.no/med/137379/bott-%C3%B8konomi-ved-det-medisinske-fakultet

I have to be completely honest with you: I cannot rule out any childhood diseases in the new systems. Therefore, I would encourage you to order some extra consumables before Christmas, in case there should be a squeaks in January. As soon as there is more information about training, I will share it with you.

I reckon we will not see each other that much in the coming weeks, when home office again becomes the new norm. Digital meetings are becoming all the more important, and I hope many take the time to be “seen” on the Department’s day on Tuesday 1 December. Remember also the aids we have available at K2: Mouthpieces for use in public transport for those who can not work from home, and portable UIB-PCs for lending to (mainly) digital teaching for those who do not have a UIB-PC. And not least: Take very good care of yourself and stay safe and healthy. I don’t want any of you to fall ill.

All the best from Julie

With increased Covid-19 infection, we are back to recommending home office for those who may have it. Everyone else should talk to their leader about flexible working hours to avoid too many at the same time in rush hour traffic. All teaching that requires physical presence is carried out as usual, but I recommend that we switch to digital teaching wherever possible.

That brings me to side line jobs, and our duty to update them twice a year.

By side line jobs is meant job placement, job acquisition, assignments and assignments that an employee at UiB has outside his / her position at UiB, regardless of whether the work or job is paid or not. Work carried out for an enterprise or company wholly or partly owned by the employee is also regarded as a side line job.

The principles for side line jobs can be found in UiB’s Regelsamling (Norwegian only) and apply to all UiB employees, irrespective of the category of job and the number of positions. They must protect our reputation and the trust and integrity of the employees. There should be openness about side line jobs that may have an impact on the work of the university. Everyone must report on their own side assignment on their own initiative.

The following need not be registered: Membership in external review committees, referee for professional journals, assignments as external examiner, professional assignments that accompany main position or individual minor assignments in teaching or dissemination at other institutions, or unpaid appointments of limited scope for non-profit institutions.

The following must be reported: Side line jobs that may be in competition with the University’s activities, are of a long or extensive nature, and may cast doubt on the employee’s loyalty, willingness or ability to carry out his work at the University in the manner indicated by the position and the University’s purpose, and persistently use of the university’s resources and infrastructure.

Applications for side line jobs are evaluated according to the University’s principles for side line jobs, see above. Both registration of page tasks that require approval, and those that are only to be registered, are done in Pagaweb. Information about the side line jobs is stored there and will be made publicly available.

The Department Head approves or rejects applications. Rejection of an application can be appealed to the Faculty Board or the University Director. Violation of the principles of side-tasks can lead to personnel consequences under the Civil Service Act and other reactions under the rules of default in the civil service.

As Pål wrote last year, this may seem negative but side assignments are actual positive as long as it does not hamper or slow down our regular work, can damage the university’s reputation, or mix its own and the university’s resources.

Have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!