The economy is tightening

It’s never nice to talk about finances when it’s getting worse. Unfortunately, the economy will be tighter in the future.

The Corona pandemic has so far entailed several extra expenses for UiB, which are now distributed among the faculties according to the size of their basic grant. Since the Faculty of Medicine is one of the largest faculties, we therefore get one of the biggest cuts in the budget for the next three years. Our faculty takes most of the bill, but some is distributed among the departments, also here according to the size of the basic grant. For K2, this means a cut of approx. NOK 2.2 million annually for the next three years.

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. Upon its departure, the Solberg Government served a major cut for all universities in Norway. A change in pension financing means that the university and college sector will no longer pay pension costs as a fixed percentage of the salary base but will pay for actual pension costs throughout the year. Together with some other measures, more than a billion kroner will be cut for the universities as a whole. Unfortunately, the new Støre Government has not only sustained it, but rather increased it. This is a permanent cut in the basic allocation to the universities. That means a weakened economy for K2 in the years to come. We will try not to withdraw positions and look for other ways to reduce costs. And then there is the issue of increasing our revenues: external financing is becoming more important than ever. So, get on with the applications. K2 cheers on you!

In this new situation, it is important that we have a common understanding of the challenge and that we must stand together in this. Then there is also an opportunity to be innovative and find new solutions that can even improve our primary tasks: research, teaching, innovation and communication. And for the record: K2 Retreat 2 on Solstrand is going as planned. That will be a good opportunity to discuss across research groups, teaching groups, staff groups and organizational units – alternative and better ways of working with somewhat less use of resources.

We will make it through this! Let’s develop an even better K2.

Have a great weekend!

Pål R. Njølstad
Department Head

Strategy for the future – you can look forward to the Solstrand meeting 24-25 February

The program for the strategy seminar at Solstrand is starting to shape up and will be very exciting. A main theme will be our collaboration with the health trusts in Western Norway. There will be talks by both Eivind Hansen and Per Bakke followed by a panel discussion where we hope the department’s employees will be active. We have a good collaboration, but it can get better. The competition for the best researchers and teachers is fierce and resources are scarce. How can we make the best use of our potential? We hope that the discussion can lead to 2-3 concrete proposals that can be put into practice.

Another main theme will be research funding with an emphasis on EU funding. Katie Anders from the Research Department and our envoy in Brussels, Charlotte Eide will participate. Application opportunities and information about Digital Europe are on the agenda. Related to this will be talks about innovation and what opportunities the incubator Eitri has to offer.

We will focus on teaching and dissemination on various platforms, including participation by the head of the Center for Investigative Journalism, Per Christian Magnus. How can we convey research in a more sober, yet exciting way without sensational postings that create unrealistic expectations?

The individual research groups and environments will also have the opportunity to present themselves and there will also be a competition, perhaps even an OSCE exam?.

We also hope there will be amble time for social interactions across groups and campi where K2 is represented.

Have high expectations and be an active participant!

Good weekend
Eystein Husebye
Deputy Head of K2

Main goals of the Faculty of Medicine

Dean Per Bakke has initiated a process in which the Faculty of Medicine wants to identify a few main goals that are common to the entire Faculty. It is about describing goals that we all should / want / to work for, and which make us proud to be part of our Faculty. The idea is that these should be goals for a given period of time, e.g. five years.

Some moments regarding the goals:

• They should be something to work towards and reach for, but not unrealistic to achieve and not be dependent on improbable appropriations
• They must be part of the assignment The Faculty of Medicine has as a university and in line with the strategies of K2, the Faculty and UiB
• They must be able to be integrated with other departments within our Faculty
• They should be measurable – did we reach the goals?

The process at K2 will go through the research groups which received this information last week. Contact your group to participate in the discussion on proposals for these goals. The deadline for the research groups’ input to the management group at K2 is 26 November.

Good luck with the process and discussions!

Pål Rasmus Njølstad

The Eitri Medical Incubator had its official inauguration Nov. 1. Lead by Torleif Markussen Lunde and Maija Slaidina, Eitri boasts over 2400 m² dedicated to innovators, including 3 culture labs, over 100 workspaces with large and small meeting room capacities all housed over 2 floors adjacent to the lab building and the BBB. Prominent UiB and HUS dignitaries, including UiB rector Margareth Hagen and vice-administrative director of Haukeland University Hospital, Clara Gram Gjesdal spoke of the importance of multidisiplinary knowledge building and innovation within the healthcare sector at the event, which also included speeches from investment manager Kristin Odfjell and managing director of VIS, Stine Fiksdal. Entertainment was provided by Fredrik Saoera. Following its grand opening, Eitri, in collaboration with centres of excellence CCBIO and Neuro-SysMed, hosted this years Falch lecture by Dr. Robert S. Langer of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who gave an inspired lecture “Creating and implementing breakthrough technologies in biotechnology and nanotechnology”. Furthermore, Eitri this week hosted the CCBIONEUR912: Health Innovation course.The overall aim of this course was to encourage and enable our PhD students and young researchers to identify and evaluate the innovation potential in their own research projects, and provide them with the knowledge needed to be able to do this. The course provided inspiration and practical knowledge on alternative ways to realize the innovation potential from research projects. Professional expertise from the Medical Faculty, Division of Research and Innovation at UiB, and the local tech transfer office VIS provided a good understanding of the legal and practical framework for research-based innovation, including how to protect and exploit their intellectual property. I think its fair to say that Eitri has had a baptism of fire over the last weeks and it will be exciting to see how projects and innovation from campus Haukeland evolve in this unique ecosystem! Don’t be afraid to reach out to Eitri or myself if your interested in more information on Eitri or how Eitri can help your innovative research.

Contact: https://www.eitrilab.no/