Dear all,

it is with enthusiasm that I have now stepped into the role as new Head of Teaching at K2 – a comprehensive and multifaceted department with many very skilled colleagues!

I have a background as physician at the Department of Pediatrics at Haukeland University Hospital since 1998 and head of the clinical trials unit for children since 2011 with a strong focus on drug trials and patient-oriented research in general. For over 20 years, I have been involved in medical student teaching, which I have found very meaningful throughout. In March 2022, I started as teaching group leader (UGLE) of pediatrics and MED9 semester chair and have through the latter role been part of the Program Committee in Medicine (PUM) for the past two and a half years.

This week there was a Vestlandslege-meeting in Stavanger with important and good interaction between UiB colleagues in Faggrupper på tvers. There is great excitement related to the governmental budget that will come in a few weeks, where there is hope for a further increase in number of medical students at UiB in line with adjusted plans for Vestlandslegen and similar regional projects at the other medical faculties.

It is nice and meaningful to contribute to us all getting good doctors, pharmacists and nutritionists for the future, and many of you contribute in an impressive way – across subject areas, semesters, departments and professions. In addition, there is a large number of good colleagues in the health care system without a UiB position who provide crucially important student teaching and practice supervision.

Next week we will have the Medical Faculty Joint Teaching Day at Armauer Hansen House. I hope as many of you as possible will have the opportunity to participate!

Camilla

Dear everyone,

On my way to work this morning in the gray weather, I became aware of a man standing next to his bike, looking towards Løvstakken. There was a double rainbow with a magical gleam! Then I thought a bit about the situation at the Department of Clinical Science (K2): we are in a very dark financial situation, but this week we celebrated the opening of the KG Jebsen Center for Myeloid Blood Cancer c-myc, led by Bjørn Tore Gjertsen. It is the 4th KG Jebsen center we have at the department (out of 8 at UiB)! The opening was marked with a two-day symposium with many fine words, and not least exciting scientific lectures. As a very proud head of department, I was able to both thank the foundation for the financial support and congratulate Bjørn Tore. I look forward to following the development of the center and am sure that it will shine as much as the rainbow this morning!

Otherwise, this week we have had a GMO inspection. K2 was praised for having regular internal checks (thank you very much, Siv Lise!), and what was criticized is easy to do something about. So thank you very much to everyone who has contributed to a well-conducted inspection! And a little reminder to everyone who works with GMO that there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be done and not least lab routines that are important to follow.

And I will end with reminding everyone that the faculty is organizing a joint teaching day (in Norwegian) September 24 in the auditorium of AHH.

Have a great weekend!

Greetings from Silke

As the newly appointed research leader at K2, this is my first editorial in K2-nytt. I am a medical specialist in infectious diseases and completed a PhD in 2012 on clinical and immunological analyses of patients with long-term complaints following the Giardia outbreak in 2004. Since then, I have researched diarrheal diseases and immunology with Giardia, ETEC, and Cryptosporidium as my favorite microbes.

In my new role, there is much I want to familiarize myself with. I have started by getting an overview of the research activities at K2. Measured in publications, K2 is involved in around 480 scientific articles per year. This has been stable over the past four years. 65% of our publications have international co-authorship, and 89% are published with open access. It is gratifying that the proportion of high-quality publications, published in the more selective level-2 journals, has shown positive development from 18% in 2021 to 25% in 2023. Our research publication relative to our number of first positions and full-time equivalents has remained stable in recent years.

The goal must be to maintain or improve the quality and research production at K2 despite tight finances and necessary cost-saving measures that must be implemented this year and next year. We managed to keep going through the pandemic, and I see it as an important task for me in my role as research leader at K2 to help ensure that we achieve this in the future as well.

I have an office on the 5th floor of the Lab building if you want to have a chat with me. For those interested in more publication statistics from UiB, this can be found at https://bibliometri.w.uib.no/

Foto: Ingvild Festervoll Melien

Summer is just around the corner and in this last editorial before the holidays, I want to make some observations about economy and culture.

At the start of the year, K2’s finances could resemble an airplane plunging towards the ground, but with persistent efforts we have succeeded in levelling the plane. We are no longer losing altitude and are now set to land on the budgeted deficit. Many have worked diligently to make this happen, not least Maria Holmaas and Beate Bernes. In addition, we have received good help from the faculty.

Going forward, the job will be to gain altitude and get rid of the deficit with the actions I have previously outlined; more research on less space, more teaching with fewer people, more EU and NFR projects and a relatively of 0-overhead grants, restructuring, possible closure of core facilities.

If we are to achieve this, everyone must be willing to “take one for the team”. This means that the tasks and burdens must be distributed more evenly than is the case today. It is not up to the individual employee to decide all his or her work tasks. As a teacher at the university, you can’t say that, no, I don’t want to be UGLE, or I just want to teach my narrow area of specialization – my colleagues have to do the other work. Everyone in an area must share the UGLE task, you may have to devote a little more time and effort to renew your teaching and taking on teaching tasks that you are not entirely familiar with and sit on a committee not entirely relevant for you – then the work will be more evenly distributed.

Since I also work at the Department of Medicine, I get the opportunity to experience another organization. Every morning, the department gathers for a morning meeting with a report from the team on call and the individual units. One might think that a lot of time is wasted on such a joint meeting, but this meeting point creates a unity and a team spirit that translates into offering help when someone is short on staff or hands to solve a task – you grow into thinking more of us than me. Now, K2 is a different type of organization and I am not suggesting that we should have morning meetings, but the team spirit at Department of Medicine is something we need to acquire in order to perform and thrive better at K2.

Use the summer to think about how you can contribute to a better team spirit;  don’t ask what the department can do for you – ask what you can do for the department.

Finally, Professor Silke Appel will be the new Head of Department and will take office as soon as it is practically possible. We congratulate her and wish her the best of luck at K2’s helm.

Have a lovely summer,

Eystein Husebye

DigitalHealth2024 was recently hosted in Bergen. This is the third time this conference, organized by Helse Bergen, Bergen University College, and Alrek Health Cluster, has taken place. This year’s conference was filled to capacity, with 700 participants. The main subject, as suggested by the title, was the development and implementation of digitalization in healthcare, which is highly relevant to much of the operations at K2.

Many participants probably expected the conference to provide answers regarding the direction of digitalization and the “next big thing”. Where are we headed when ChatGPT is no longer a novelty that can provide you with a waffle recipe and a few humorous answers to your simple questions, and it is no longer sensational that digital image analysis can reduce the response time for radiological examinations? The answer provided can be summarized as “it is coming, and it is developing rapidly”. It is difficult, even for those who work with digitalization daily, to foresee what the next few years will bring on a specific level. One subject that stood out was patient-related data, collected through digital channels, where the channel is not only used for data collection – but also more actively in patient care e.g. to convey information or to identify patients who need intensified follow-up.

The challenges seem easier to identify. We need to be actively involved in the development, and not wait for technology to be introduced. Patient safety and privacy quickly become an issue, closely linked to data collection and acquisition, e.g. in the context of collaboration with commercial services. Financing, political incentives, and a jungle of companies, apps, and services entering the market with varying degrees of validation are other key points.

It is important to remember that not only classic products, but also services and processes can be included when considering technology and innovation in healthcare. Regardless, it will be challenging but crucial to stay updated as the field races ahead. In summary, I believe that digitalization and increasing awareness around it can make the path from research to implementation shorter – but still, it is a bit difficult to grasp exactly how this will happen.

Silje

Thank you very much to all who contributed to the successful completion of OSKE12 yesterday, and to those who will participate next week for OSKE6! I can only encourage more people to contribute, as it will reduce the workload for everyone.

I was also very pleased to hear that half of the applications to DRIV – Center for Women’s Health Research, submitted last week, came from K2, a total of 14 applications! Now the evaluation is underway, and we will find out in August who will proceed to step 2. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that some from K2 will make it through.

But this is a good starting point to continue with proposal writing and submit to NFR – FRIPRO. Marit Bakke provided information this week that:

1. FRIPRO will distribute 900 million NOK this year.
2. So far, a total of only 100 applications have been received from all fields in Norway.
3. Applications submitted by mid-August will be considered for this year’s round.

This means that there are better chances than ever to succeed in FRIPRO this year. And now we also have a deadline: mid-August. Remember to register your application in our portal for externally funded projects (Skjemaker for applications, K2), so one of the economists can assist you with the budget and help us turn around the deficit K2 has accumulated.

Have a great weekend

K2 is running a significant deficit, and changes are necessary to turn things around. Therefore, the management has initiated several measures that will affect your workday. In such situations, it can often be challenging, to use a favorite expression of politicians, but it is crucial to identify and seize the opportunities that exist.

The broader picture indicates that the Norwegian education sector is gradually being downsized over time, though perhaps not as much in the health and medicine sectors, where many hands will be needed in the future. We are not alone in this; reduced resources are something all universities must cope with, and as always, it’s important to be among the best.

What does this mean for K2? The following points summarize some of the measures management is working on:

• Space Reduction: K1 and K2 are working to reduce their area in the Laboratory Building by about 400m² to save on rent. The involved groups are collaborating with management to find solutions that do not harm research activities, and we hope this process can be completed by the end of August.
• Core Facilities: Our core facilities are crucial infrastructure for research and are often essential for securing research funding. K2 has many such facilities, all running at a deficit, which collectively poses a significant problem. We must, therefore, consider restructuring, relocating, or possibly shutting down non-critical core facilities.
• Zero-Overhead Projects: While these projects are beneficial, they also pose a problem as they burden the collective resources. K2 has many large projects in this category, contributing to the deficit. Until now, we have had matching funds to mitigate this, but this scheme has been discontinued. We are working on budgeting to reduce deficits in such projects, including freeing up project staff. So far, we have not declined such projects, but it could become a reality in the future.
• Efficient Teaching: The number of students is increasing, but the number of teachers is decreasing, requiring more teaching from fewer staff. In collaboration with the study administration, we are working to get a better overview of teaching responsibilities and who can contribute. We need to be open to new ideas; perhaps you will need to teach a subject you are not a super specialist in, or perhaps an academic environment needs to change the curriculum to make teaching more efficient with new tools. Introducing more weekly duties in the departments might also be necessary. Here, dialogue with healthcare institutions will be crucial to find good arrangements.
• Same People, New Tasks: Starting in June, we will map the competencies of technical staff and PhD/postdocs with an eye on administrative tasks. We need people to assist with events, defenses, and other work on a voluntary basis.

Turning the economy around requires everyone to contribute. We have discussed this in various forums, but so far, the engagement has been rather low. Everyone must participate if we are to succeed, and we must be willing to think creatively.

Eystein Husebye,
Acting Head of Department

Many individuals who are employed or indirectly connected to K2 through research contribute to teaching at the bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD levels, and towards the professional studies at the Faculty of Medicine. Yet, there is a need for more hands (or rather, brains) and a more adequate distribution of tasks. But why teach or supervise students if it is not a formal requirement in the position or role you hold?

Many discover the rewarding aspects of teaching and supervision when they reach a point where they “have to” get involved in such tasks, while some realize a bit too late that teaching experience would provide a more complete CV, in terms of both real-life and formal competence.

Teaching can force one to delve into areas slightly outside one’s core competence. Through the preparation for teaching and, for example, supervising students who work on various assignments, this can contribute to a broader professional impact. Evaluation (“sensor”) assignments can serve a similar function, while also providing an insight into other environments and their activities – which can come in handy when in need for an evaluator for one’s own students.

Through such processes, one often needs to look afresh at one’s own passive knowledge concerning definitions and basic concepts that might be taken for granted in everyday work activities – can you really explain them to a less experienced person? Sometimes, more experienced individuals may have moments of discovery when going back to concepts they think they have understood and can explain outright. Students ask questions one as never considered.

Everyone probably clearly recalls one or several teachers or mentors from their own time as a student. Some for the ‘wrong’ reasons, but some as important role models and academic mentors. In an era with a growing focus on digitalization in teaching, I believe it is very important that students meet dedicated professionals and scientists, and I believe these meetings can be motivating for both parties.

Regarding formal competence: various forms of teaching are credited in the training part of the UiB PhD education, and supervisors can encourage the emphasis on such activities in the training component. Specific requirements apply for promotions/appointments in academic positions, but teaching will always complement an academic CV.

Be reminded that teaching is not just lectures but can take many forms. If you want to contribute to teaching or supervision, you can communicate this to the leader of your research group, to teaching group leaders in your field, or to colleagues who teach a relevant subject.

Silje – Fungerende undervisningsleder.

K2 recently hosted its annual retreat on Tuesday, April 30th. In a departure from tradition, this year’s gathering took place at UiB’s newly renovated premises on Nygårdsgaten 5, rather than the usual Solstrand location, prompted by the institute’s current financial situation.

The retreat proved to be highly informative, offering valuable insights for all participants. After a warm welcome from outgoing head of department Pål Njølstad, we delved into the “healthy economy” project, presented by Dean Per Bakke. While K2’s financial health currently faces challenges, there’s optimism for improvement in the near future. On the bright side, K2 continues to excel in research, benefiting from a robust influx of external funding. Importantly, no staff members will face termination. However, the deficit and hiring freeze pose challenges, particularly affecting administrative roles. As of June, the administration team will operate with only 1.5 positions, necessitating teamwork and creativity. Boundaries between subject areas are fluid, and PhD students’ responsibilities extend beyond teaching to include administrative tasks. Stepping out of comfort zones will be essential.

In the pursuit of creativity, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a powerful tool. Robert Hetlelid, from the IT department, provided an insightful overview of UiB-chat and Copilot—tools exclusively available to UiB employees. These tools surpass Chat-GPT in functionality, prompting me to cancel my Chat-GPT subscription in favor of Copilot. For Helse Bergen PC users, remember to log in to Edge using your UiB account.

Perhaps consider leveraging Copilot for crafting better applications? Research advisor Susanna Pakkasmaa highlighted various application possibilities during the retreat. While K2 performs well, there’s room for improvement, especially in securing EU funding. Success stories further motivated us: Research student Jonas Hodneland Sundfjord shared insights from longitudinal GWAS analyses on the Mother-Child cohort, while Professor Simona Chera outlined the KG Jebsen Center for Myeloid Blood Cancer’s mission. Chemicals play a crucial role in research, and proper disposal is essential. Consult with Bente-Lise P. Lillebø, senior adviser at the Occupational Health Service, to navigate chemical handling—an area where UiB has a good agreement with BIR.

The retreat concluded with an update from Professor Simon Dankel on Vestlandslegen, followed by anniversary celebrations. Notably, Pål Njølstad received an AI-generated artwork crafted by researcher Marc Vaudel as a token of appreciation.

For those who missed out, fear not—next year promises a fresh retreat. Perhaps our collective success will allow us to reconvene at Solstrand?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Eystein Husebye
Acting Head of Department