Category Archives: 2023
(Norsk) Midler til forskning fra Stiftelsen Dam – utlysningen er åpen
(Norsk) OSKE12 – pasienter i back-up
Present your health management research – European Health Management Conference 2024
We are glad to invite you to submit your health management research for presentation during the European Health Management Conference 2024 that will take place in Bucharest, Romania, on 5-7 June under the theme ‘Shaping and managing innovative health ecosystems’. The Conference is co-hosted by the Ministry of Health of Romania and the National Institute of Health Services Management.
The European Health Management Conference is a great platform to showcase cutting-edge research, share provocative ideas, and discuss complex problems with a view to reach implementable solutions. EHMA 2024 will explore the entire spectrum of health megatrends. From the digital transformation of healthcare systems and services to the ever-growing importance of sustainability, and the evolving skill sets required by the healthcare workforce, we aim to explore how the health sector is adapting to these changes. We emphasise an ecosystem approach, promoting collaboration among stakeholders. Our aim is to facilitate dialogue on how different health care actors can work together and leverage each other’s strengths to drive innovation and address pressing challenges.
Since its inception, the European Health Management Conference has served as a forum for promoting discussions and sharing innovative solutions in the ever-evolving healthcare landscape. Each year, we bring together a wide spectrum of healthcare stakeholders, including managers, leaders, researchers, academics, patients, policymakers, and industry representatives. This diverse collective of expertise enhances the dialogue on pressing health management issues.
For this reason, we would be delighted to have you and colleagues consider submitting an abstract to present your health management best practices and research. You can find more information on the Call for Abstracts and how to send your submission here.
Furthermore, we will host the 22nd edition of the Karolinska Institutet Medical Management Center (MMC) & EHMA Research Award dedicated to doctoral theses in health management. Candidates should be researchers in the final phase of their PhD studies or who have recently completed a PhD (within 12 months from graduation). The best papers will have the opportunity to compete for a €1,000 prize. This is a prestigious award, and we would be thankful if you could share this information within your network. More information is available here.
As we strive to connect health managers, experts and researchers, we would be grateful if you could help us disseminate our Call for Abstracts within your organisation and network.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the EHMA team at conference@ehma.org.
Looking forward to seeing you at the conference!
3R-seminar “Microbes in humans and laboratory animals”
Registration is now open for the 3R-seminar “Microbes in humans and laboratory animals”, arranged by the Animal Welfare Body of Oulu Laboratory Animal Centre, together with the Health and Biosciences Doctoral Programme, University of Oulu Graduate School.
The seminar takes place on Tuesday, 12 December 2023, at 8:30 – 15:00 (Finnish time, EET). The seminar will also be shared through a video link.
The seminar is directed primarily to researchers using laboratory animals in experiments, the scientific fields therefore including basic biomedical research and preclinical medical research. Microbe-host interactions in both human disease and laboratory animal research will be discussed, as well as the effects of microbiome on the translatability of preclinical research results. The seminar topic is therefore of interest also to medical researchers who do not use laboratory animals themselves.
The event can be considered part of the statutory maintenance of the professional competence for people working with laboratory animals.
Registration for attending on-site
https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/1871FD69C31F6095
The registration link is open until Wednesday, 6 December. It is possible to attend without pre-registration, but please register if you think you will attend even a part of the seminar, because we need to know the approximate number of participants to prepare for the coffee service.
Registration for remote participation
https://oulu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MISmIFVmTJiKVIzjskq9Fg
It is possible to get a certificate of attendance also for remote participation, provided that the participant’s video link is open throughout the seminar.
Credits for doctoral researchers at the University of Oulu
If you are a doctoral researcher and want to receive credits from the 3R seminar, follow these instructions. The seminar is worth 0,25 credits.
- Login to Peppi, move to the PSP and open tab ”Selecting studies”.
- Add personal study unit e.g. to optional field-specific studies by clicking “+” sign on the right. Instructions for adding personal study unit can be found in student’s Peppi wiki page.
- Fill in the name of the seminar both in Finnish and English (3R seminar: Microbes in humans and laboratory animals), number of credits (0,25 credit), and description details which must include the name of the seminar, place and date. Do not use course codes. Add information in English in both language boxes. Please note, that the study unit’s information that you have entered will be directly included in your official transcript of records.
- Save the information.
- Ask your principal supervisor to confirm the information and credits given to the Graduate School (uniogs(at)oulu.fi).
- The study unit will be registered after the principal supervisor’s confirmation.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship course
Are you a student, PhD student, or researcher eager to explore innovation and entrepreneurship?
UiB Medical faculty is hosting a course on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and this time the course will be run in English and is open to a broader audience.
It is an intensive two-week course where you will learn the general principles, will meet many external lecturers, and will have an opportunity to work on a real innovation idea to explore its path to the market.
What: Innovation and Entrepreneurship course – ELMED 223-A
When: January 15-26
Where: Eitri
More info here
If you have any questions or need help signing up, please, contact Hege Ommedal (Hege.Ommedal@uib.no).
Editorial
Time flies, and there are not too many days left until Christmas! In addition to all the exams that are taking place now, it also means that there is not that long left until the deadline of the RCN evaluation. Just a quick reminder that although your research group might not be evaluated separately, K2 will be evaluated in its entirety, so that the web pages of all research groups should be updated. And as I wrote already a few weeks ago, EVERYONE should update their personal pages, and remember to include a photo.
And I would like to remind you that the deadline for submitting nominations for the faculty’s working environment award is December 8. Do you have a colleague who makes an extra effort for the working environment? Not only in terms of HSE, but also well-being, inclusion and the “we” feeling? Don’t hesitate to suggest them for the prize! The form can be found here.
Have a great weekend!
Novo Nordisk grants
(Norsk) Frukostseminar om KI-satsinga med Forskingsrådets rådgivande ekspertgruppe
(Norsk) Årsmarkering – Trond Mohn stiftelse
(Norsk) Fakultetets dag 2024
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) at the Faculty of Medicine
The UiB guidelines for integrity and cheating have been updated. These also discuss the use of artificial intelligence. However, we see that students at the Faculty of Medicine need some clarification on this topic.
AI is an exciting and useful technology that can contribute to both learning and development for you as a student provided that you use it wisely. It is important to be aware of the ethical, legal and professional framework for AI-based tools. Keep in mind that no AI tool is truly intelligent – they’re just good at imitating human intelligence. A text generation tool is trained to answer your questions anyway. If it can’t find the answer in its database, it will be “creative” and answer something that it thinks might be true. If you criticize the answer you get, it will correct its original answer, even if you may be wrong. Although it is called artificial intelligence, such tools are not particularly intelligent. They struggle to distinguish between evidence-based facts and unsubstantiated claims, so-called “fake news”. In addition, they mainly use data and sources from Western, English-speaking countries and are currently poor on gender balance, cultural differences, and ethnic variation.
You can use this type of tools to increase your own learning and development, as well as learning to be critical to the answers. It is also worth noting that the various AI-tools available on the market are good at different things. ChatGPT-3.5still has the best language model and is the most creative, while Bing, Bard and ChatGPT-4 is better at up-to-date knowledge, references, and citations, because it uses the internet as a source. Grammarly is suitable for controlling grammar and spelling, Deepl for translation, while Elicit and Jenni are made for scientific summaries. These are just a few of the AI tools that have emerged in the past year. The various solutions will rapidly be more advanced and better at integrating more functions into the same model (multimodal models or foundation models).
Remember that you are here to learn and that it is neither appropriate nor confidence-inspiring to rely on AI to find answers to all questions in a busy professional life.
Here are some examples of what students can use AI for:
- Ideas and inspiration: AI tools (e.g.: ChatGPT, Bing or Bard) can be used to create a suggestion for a text based on a topic or question. This can help you to find inspiration, arguments, examples, or sources for assignments. You must nevertheless be critical to the text produced, and always refer to the tool used.
- Improve language: You can use various tools to check grammar, spelling errors, word choice or style in your text (eg: Grammarly, ChatGPT, Bing). However, keep in mind that the tool does not always provide correct or appropriate suggestions, so all proposals must be critically assessed.
- Learn new things: You can use AI tools (e.g.: Bing, ChatGPT) to get a general overview of a new topic, subject, or topic.
- As a study buddy: You can make a chatbot (ChatGPT, Bing or Bard) ask you questions from the syllabus, or to give you examples of different exam questions you can solve alone or with fellow students. Be skeptical to the answers given. Keep in mind that they may be taken from a different curriculum and/or medical practice than the one currently used in Norway. The less you know about a topic, the more difficult it will be to verify the quality of the information you receive. It may be a good idea to compare with a textbook or other quality-assured source provided by the instructor. Ask for constructive feedback on you own texts.
- Practice of clinical situations, dialogue and diagnostics: You can ask a chatbot to create a role play or clinical task you, where you are the doctor/dentist/nutritionist, etc. Together, you can create a dialogue that will lead to a diagnosis, the right treatment or the right drug. An example of such a prompt could be: ‘Give me a fictitious blood test result and anamnesis of a patient who is in an emergency department and has a defined diagnosis. I will try to reason and guess the diagnosis from the blood tests. Give me feedback when I’m done.” The more specific you are, the better it responds. It takes some practice to excel at making such prompts.
- To help you organize your student life. For example, you could ask it to make a schedule for getting through the syllabus in time for exams that matches your other activities.
AI tools cannot be used for:
- Accept the information without checking whether it is correct
- Construct data, images or movies without indicating that AI has been used
- Copy text directly without clearly indicating that it comes from an AI tool
- Submitting personally identifiable information
- Write exams, home assignments, bachelor’s and master’s theses with text that is fully or partly generated by AI (unless otherwise stated)
Academic integrity and Cheating | Division of Student and Academic Affairs | UiB
https://www.uib.no/student/164404/verkt%C3%B8y-basert-p%C3%A5-kunstig-intelligens-i-utdanning#plagiat-og-fusk-nbsp (not in English yet)
Student Use Cases for AI | Harvard Business Publishing Education
ChatGPT and artificial intelligence in higher education: quick start guide – UNESCO Digital Library
Editorial
The pros and cons of integrating chatbots into research proposal writing
In recent times, the use of advanced technologies in various aspects of academia has become increasingly prevalent. One such technology gaining attention is ChatGPT, a powerful language model developed by OpenAI. This editorial explores the potential benefits and drawbacks of incorporating ChatGPT into the process of writing research proposals.
A Pros:
Efficiency and Time-Saving:
Pro 1: ChatGPT can significantly accelerate the initial stages of proposal writing by generating coherent and relevant content quickly. Researchers can use it to outline ideas, generate key points, and even draft sections of their proposals, saving valuable time.
Idea Generation and Expansion:
Pro 2: ChatGPT’s ability to generate diverse and contextually relevant text can be a valuable asset for brainstorming and expanding on research ideas. Researchers can use it to explore different angles and perspectives related to their proposed work.
Language Enhancement:
Pro 3: ChatGPT can assist in refining the language and structure of proposals, helping researchers to articulate their ideas more effectively. It can suggest improvements in clarity, coherence, and overall writing style.
Accessibility and Inclusivity:
Pro 4: ChatGPT can enhance accessibility for researchers who may face language barriers or challenges in expressing their ideas in writing. It promotes inclusivity by providing language support and aiding those with varying proficiency levels.
B Cons:
Lack of Domain-Specific Knowledge:
Con 1: One of the primary limitations of ChatGPT is its lack of domain-specific knowledge. It may not understand intricate details of highly specialized research areas, leading to inaccuracies or irrelevant content in proposals.
Risk of Plagiarism:
Con 2: Overreliance on ChatGPT without proper verification may pose a risk of unintentional plagiarism. Researchers need to carefully review and authenticate the generated content to ensure originality and avoid potential ethical issues.
Contextual Understanding:
Con 3: ChatGPT may struggle with nuanced contextual understanding. It might misinterpret the intended meaning or tone of certain phrases, potentially leading to misunderstandings in the proposal content.
Ethical Considerations:
Con 4: The use of AI in research proposal writing raises ethical concerns related to transparency and authorship. Researchers must be transparent about the extent of AI assistance used and ensure that the intellectual contributions are duly acknowledged.
C Conclusion:
While ChatGPT holds great promise in enhancing the efficiency and accessibility of research proposal writing, researchers should approach its use with a discerning eye. Leveraging the strengths of ChatGPT for idea generation and language refinement can be valuable, but cautious oversight and domain-specific verification are essential to mitigate potential drawbacks. Ethical considerations should guide researchers in maintaining the integrity and authenticity of their work. In the evolving landscape of academic writing, striking a balance between harnessing the capabilities of AI and preserving the essence of human creativity will be crucial for the continued advancement of research endeavors.
The editorial above (A-C) was written and translated (into Norwegian) using the chatbot ChatGPT without altering the content (chat.openai.com; “Can you write an editorial on the pros and cons of using ChatGTP in writing research proposals?”). It took 10-15 seconds and is just a simple example of the ongoing revolution in the use of AI for language and text processing.
Artificial intelligence and language models like ChatGPT are rapidly making their way into academia. I don’t think the point is whether it can/should be used or not, but rather what it can be best used for and how. There are numerous current and future applications. The example above pertains to the use of chatbots like ChatGPT in writing research proposals. According to a survey in Nature of 1600 researchers, 15% already use ChatGPT to assist in writing research funding proposals, and a whopping 25% use it for writing scientific articles (doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02980-0).
But is this considered cheating? I don’t think so, and I believe it is more of a powerful enhancement, for example, compared to using Google to gather systematic knowledge, where human interpretation and critical thinking are still essential.
Artificial intelligence with chatbots like ChatGPT can also influence and improve processes that may seem time-consuming and unnecessary. Most researchers probably agree that writing proposals in itself is useful for organizing project ideas, but the writing process itself takes a lot of time, and a significant portion of proposals focuses on details that may seem unnecessary. In another article in Nature (doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03238-5), the value of many aspects of writing research funding proposals is discussed, especially now that proposals can be written with the help of chatbots like ChatGPT, and whether the entire application process should be changed.
How are we doing in terms of incorporating artificial intelligence into our work? We are likely lagging behind the international trend. It is crucial to adopt this technology. In the next FORUM, we have artificial intelligence and chatbots as a theme and think it should be included in the program for the K2 seminar next spring. UiB has a dedicated initiative in this area, UiB AI (https://www.uib.no/ai), where the head of the steering group is Professor Pinar Heggernes. There are already several courses and informational videos on the subject, see, for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJbp2dB3hyA. I would also like to remind you that UiB has recently made Bing Chat Enterprise available to all employees at UiB. This runs the GPT-4 chatbot from OpenAI. Open bing.com and click on the Chat button.
It’s approaching the weekend. According to Bing Chat Enterprise: “Of course, there are many other things Norwegians like to do on the weekend, such as watching TV, going to the cinema, playing games, reading books, shopping, visiting friends and family, going to museums, going to cafes, attending concerts, etc. But outdoor activities, cabin life, and packed lunches are some of the most typical Norwegian activities that set them apart from other people.”
Have a great weekend!