Does your research group /UoB-unit know an excellent teacher or an excellent teaching environment? If so: you may nominate them for the Faculty’s educational awards! The nomination may be promoted by an environment (research group, academic environment, institute but not by an individual).

There are no specific price categories, but one main prize of NOK       150 000 is awarded, and up to two more prices of 50 000 each!

What may be the basis for nomination?
• Quality-enhancing measures in education
• Excellent teaching
• Digitalization of education
• Internationalization
• Testing of new teaching and assessment forms
• High quality in practical teaching
• Student active learning
• Innovation in education

The nomination must contain a description of the measure in question, show what results have been achieved and mention the transfer value and further plans for the measure. The institute and program committee may deliver the nomination via Ephorte, student organizations and other entities send it via e-mail to eirik.dalheim@uib.no. Deadline for nominations: 24^th of February!

Moving on to the Teaching Day 01.04. (no it’s not April Fool …)
We will show You How to create your educational portifolio (will be required for future academic positions), practical use of MCQ in Mitt UiB and Martin Biermann will talk about how to use e-learning platforms to promote learning. After lunch, we sum up the OSCE (objective structured clinical exam) –experiences , and we may all take part in groups creating new OSCE  tasks that may be included in the exam database. Please register here.

This year, the Faculty of Medicine will also nominate Falch’s Lecture and Falch’s Junior Prize for Younger Researchers.

The Falch Lecture 2021

The award is up to NOK 30,000 to cover fees, and travel and accommodation expenses. Cost estimates are attached to the application. Multiple awards may apply.

Guidelines for Falch’s Lecture:

1. The proposer is the Board of Directors, which can invite generally recognized researchers at a Nobel Prize level or very high international level to hold a guest lecture and / or seminar at the Faculty of Medicine.
2. The Board may invite employees to submit proposals and document their research efforts. The criteria may be publishing in prestigious scientific journals, international awards, leadership positions in important and active international scientific associations, and conferences.
3. The Falch Lecturer should have collaborated with or otherwise contributed to the research activities at the Faculty of Medicine. However, this is not a requirement to propose a candidate.
4. The Falch Lecturer is awarded a diploma marking the event.

Proposals are sent to okonomi@med.uib.no by 14/2 2020 and are being considered by the board of Consul Søren Falch and Ophthalmologist Sigurd Falch’s Medical Science Fund.

Junior Prize for Young Scientists

The candidate must be under 40 years of age at the time of the application. There is (unfortunately) no reduction for maternity leave or other leave.

The bylaws of the Fund state that:

• The purpose is to promote medical scientific work
• The work must be of great scientific or social importance
• The work can be from all branches of medical science
• The work must be completed

The Board has set the Prize at NOK 50,000 for operating expenses to the researcher.

Proposals for candidates for the Prize may be presented by Department Heads and Professors at the Faculty of Medicine, and should include:

• The candidate’s curriculum vitae
• The candidate’s publication list
• Documented results of the work
• A scientific description of the proposal (maximum two pages)
• A descriptive presentation of the candidate’s work in the language of the general public (press release)

Based on the Fund’s bylaws, the Prize is awarded according to these criteria:

1. In-depth, original works with methodical complexity.
2. Research findings that have led to applied results in the form of new or improved diagnostics, therapy, or knowledge.

Proposals are sent to okonomi@med.uib.no by 14/2 2020 and are handled by the Board of Consul Søren Falch and the Ophthalmologist Sigurd Falch’s Medical Science Fund.

This is an excellent opportunity to invite a high-profile collaborator to a seminar or meeting, and to get some of their best researchers to shine.

Have a great weekend!

Pål R. Njølstad

This is an arena for PhD students from Department of Clinical Medicine (K1) and Department of Clinical Science (K2) to socialize and present their own research to fellow students. The research school organizes courses that may be included as part of the training component of the PhD-program, and as seminar series where current research from the faculty is presented by excellent speakers.

Every year in January, PhD candidates from K1, K2, and Haukeland University Hospital are invited to present their work to fellow researchers and the general audience. Posters are at display in the lobby of Sentralblokka, and oral presentations are given, usually in the Birkhaug Room. A genius thing is that the posters and oral presentations should be those that have already been presented last year at national or international meetings and conferences. Hence, it is not necessary to make new presentations, which scientifically is “recycling” and “sustainable” 🙂

This week, 44 posters and 23 oral talks were presented, which engaged lots of researchers and others leading to scientific and social interactions and networking. Prizes of NOK 10 000, 5 000, and 3 000 were awarded to the three best poster and the three best oral presentations. Dean for Research Marit Bakke presented the winners. The poster awardees were Christina Clausen (1^st), Pernille Svalastoga (2^nd), and Ninnie Oehme (3^rd). The oral presentation awardees were Trine Ludvigsen (1^st), Ida Viken Stalund (2^nd), and Sepideh Mostafavi (3^rd). The prize to a post doc was given to Heidi Espedal and the popular vote prize to Martha Eimstad Haugstøyl. Congratulations to the winners and their environments! And thanks to all other presenters and those organizing the event; especially to the scientific committee Harald Wiker, Renate Grüner, Øyvind Torkildsen, and Gottfried Greve, as well as the leader for the Postgraduate School of Clinical Medical Research, Stian Knappskog.

Enjoy the week-end!

Happy prize winners Postgraduate School of Clinical Medical Research 2019

Først og fremst ønsker jeg dere alle et godt nytt år. Jeg håper at planleggingen for det kommende året er godt i gang.

Det medisinske fakultet vil også i år utpeke Årets publikasjon, årets ph.d.-arbeid og pris for fremragende forskningsformidling. Fra 2019 vil prisen for årets forskningsgruppe bli erstattet med en pris for årets forsknings-/innovasjonsmiljø.

Om de enkelte prisene

Begrunnelse Årets publikasjon
Gi en begrunnelse som inneholder argumentasjon for kvalitet (bl.a. impact factor), originalitet og nyskapning. Der det er relevant bør nominasjon også redegjøre for konsekvenser for videre kunnskapsinnhenting, klinisk anvendelse eller innovasjon. Nominasjon til årets publikasjon bør avspeile instituttets egen forskning og originalartikkelen som nomineres skal sendes fakultetet som eget vedlegg (pdf-fil av trykket artikkel).

Begrunnelse Årets ph.d.-arbeid
Gi en kort begrunnelse som blant annet inneholder argumentasjon for kvalitet, originalitet og nyskaping. Der det er relevant bør nominasjon også redegjøre for mulige konsekvenser for videre kunnskapsinnhenting, klinisk anvendelse eller innovasjon. I tillegg skal kandidatens eget bidrag og selvstendighet beskrives. Bedømmelseskomiteens innstilling må legges ved og komiteen vil ta hensyn til denne i sin vurdering. Den nominerte avhandlingen kan sendes som som pdf.

Begrunnelse Årets forsknings-/innovasjonsmiljø
Gi en begrunnelse som blant annet inneholder argumentasjon med utgangspunkt i forskningsproduksjon og/eller innovasjonsaktivitet (For eksempel: fremme av innovasjonskultur, kontakt med næringsliv, innsendelse av/tilslag på søknader om innovasjonsprosjekter, oppnådde lisenser, selskapsetablering, fremragende tjenesteinnovasjon), vitenskapelig kvalitet eller evne til nyskaping. Også arbeidsmiljø, rekruttering, kjønnsbalanse og evne til å utvikle yngre forskere vil bli vektlagt og må presenteres i begrunnelsen. Miljøet som nomineres bør ha tett samarbeid og ikke ha karakter av å være et løst knyttet nettverk. I tillegg bør bidrag til nasjonalt og internasjonalt forskningssamarbeid eller innovasjonsaktivitet, nettverksbygging og bidrag til utdanning av studenter og ph.d.-kandidater kommenteres. 

Begrunnelse Formidlingsprisen
Gi en kort begrunnelse som blant annet inneholder argumentasjon for hvordan en forsker eller en forskningsgruppe har evnet å formidle nyere forskning på en fremragende måte til et bredt publikum. Forskningsformidlingen skal være av høy kvalitet med hensyn til faglig innhold, utforming og utførelse. Den bør engasjere, vekke nysgjerrighet, gi inspirasjon og ny kunnskap. Formidlingen skal svare på samfunnets behov for informasjon og kunnskap om forskning og høyere utdanning.

Frist

Bruk linken å nominere kandidatene dine:

https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=7848679

Frist for innsending av grunngitte forslag settes til 07.02.2020.

Another year will soon be over. Autumn is often perceived as hectic due to application deadlines, congresses, meetings, and new student courses. And the semester is relatively short compared to the spring semester. Hence, as the year is nearing it’s end, it is good to be able to look forward to a holiday with the opportunity for peace and reflection.

For K2, 2019 has been a very good year. Our faculty members and scientists have published in the best journals and been awarded a number of prestigious awards, including the Faculty of Medicine’s awards, the Research Group of the Year to the Mohn Cancer Research Laboratory by Per Eystein Lønning, the Falch’s Senior Award to Birgitta Åsjø, the Falch’s Junior Award to Bergithe Oftedal, and the Helse Vest research award to Endocrine Medicine with Eystein Husebye. Congratulations to all these environments!

We do not yet know the result of this year’s awards from the Research Council of Norway, but nevertheless solid research funding was achieved in 2019. Although the fiscal year has not yet been concluded, it appears we will well reach our goal of 101 mNOK in consumed external funding this year 🙂

Very good news last week was that Jenny Mjösberg from the Karolinska Institute was awarded the TMS Starting Grant from the Trond Mohn Foundation. Congratulations and welcome to K2! On the teaching side, K2 was responsible for this year’s OSCE, and it went very well. A big thank you to everyone involved.

But there are many others who also contribute to K2 being a good place to work. We have a superb administration that I know maximizes the potential for better research, teaching, innovation, and communication. And we’re so lucky to have a splendid technical staff: Without you, K2 stops!

For many, Christmas and the holiday season is the highlight of the year where family and friends gather for a holiday filled with traditions and a sense of belonging, followed by some days off that can provide opportunities for other activities at home in Bergen, trips to the mountains or abroad. Then comes a fun and exciting time with the New Year’s Eve, the New Year’s concert and the traditional Ski Jumping Week – before another year arises.

What most of us take for granted is not necessarily the case for everyone. Some have lost someone they loved or have no close friends or family gathering this year. I have been to the United States for four Christmas holidays and have always been invited home to someone during the holidays. I am embarrassed when I realize that I myself have not been good to include others in my own holiday celebration. Here we have something to learn – being better at including others who are alone or lonely during the holidays. Is there room for someone else at the inn?

With wishes for a peaceful Christmas and holiday season and all the best for 2020.

Congratulations to Jenny Mjösberg on getting a Starting Grant from the Trond Mohn foundation! Congratulations also to those who received funding from Helse Vest!

Since we have many projects dealing with patient material and personal information, we want to say some words about RETTE:

What is RETTE and why another system? UiB has established the RETTE system in order to comply with GDPR and ensure that we follow existing legislation. REK has made it clear that even though they approve a project it does not mean that all aspects of GDPR are covered. RETTE is thus a supplement and a tool for internal control.

What is positive is that RETTE automatically transfers projects approved by REK. Several of you have probably received an email stating that you have one or several projects in RETTE. When you log in the system (https://rette.app.uib.no/) you can fill inn additional information about the project and answer certain questions before you confirm the project. This is the project leaders’ responsibility. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Finally we would like to remind you about the archive and open access to scientific articles in Cristin.

Silke and Amra

In recent years, K2 has had a relatively good economy. This has given us the opportunity to various strategic initiatives, e.g. in bioinformatics, public health studies, nutrition and genomics. The budget for 2020 that the University of Bergen will give to the Faculty of Medicine means a tighter economy for K2. An increase of 8 million NOK is provided as profit growth and a 3% increase as compensation for the price and wage increase. The downside is that UiB deducts 1% in a so-called strategy cut. These funds will be used by UiB to build up a fund that they wish to use for strategic initiatives. 0.5% is also deducted in a efficiency cut. But what really affects the economy is that the rent for our spaces increases by 5.1%. Furthermore, the Faculty loses 7 recruitment positions.

The Faculty is unable to cover all these cuts, so the departments must take some of these, including K2. The employees had a solid increase in salaries in 2019, but UiB’s compensation for the price and wage increases only covers approx. 1/3 of this. K2 must in 2020 therefore financially be more cautious. We have decided that K2 will in 2020 not repeat the K2 Retreat for everyone, but rather focus on a Strategy Seminar for the research group leaders, platform leaders and education leaders as well as an HMS Day for all employees as before. We must also freeze some positions. K2 aims to be in budget balance to have a healthy economy and not be in arrears. It gives us a momentum even if the economy gets tighter.

K2 is the faculty’s largest department and one of the largest at UiB. We perform research, teaching, innovation and communication at the very top of the university sector in Norway. We have reason to be proud of ourselves and what we do!

Have a great weekend!