The Norwegian Police Security Services (PST) reported in their threat assessment from January this year: “Norwegian defense and emergency services, state administration, research and development, as well as critical infrastructure are considered to be particularly vulnerable intelligence targets.”

Norway with its location, its alliances and technological level is a much-sought target for foreign intelligence services. We have students, employees and collaborators from countries that receive special attention from PST; one of them is one of our closest neighbors. Some countries instruct their residents to report home when they are in Norway. It is therefore likely that mapping of infrastructure, activities and persons at UiB could inadvertently be a means of further mapping and obtaining desired information.

What does this mean for K2 employees? We must have a constant focus on security. That means looking after your ID-card, do not let in people you do not know just because they happen to be at the door. See to that you have a good and long password (preferably at least 15 characters) and look after your mobile and pc during travels, especially to risk countries like China, Russia and Iran. Many have sensitive information stored on their PCs and USB sticks. Furthermore, be sufficiently suspicious of emails with unusual content and links and test links by placing the mouse over it to see you are not sent to strange and unknown server.

October is the security awareness month at UiB and more information about safety and measures will soon be distributed. This includes e-learning for all employees on IT security. The course will be sent from Xtramile on 2 October. There will also be focus on use and care of your ID-card. Remember that it is personal and must be worn visible at all times.

Travel will also be a focus area, and you can find detailed travelling advise at Sikresiden.no (uib.no/sikresiden). UiB is launching a loan service for PCs and mobiles to employees travelling to risk countries. You can read more about the October security month on UiB’s pages, but remember that focus on security do not apply only to October..

With a wish for a safe weekend

Eystein
Acting Head of Department

The latest information we have received from the research council of Norway, suggests that they will drastically change their funding application system including; changing the organization of calls, templates, evaluation process, dates, etc. Before full implementation of the new systems, the 10 October will be the last deadline using the current system for new commercial proof-of-concept projects. If you have research results with commercial potential but have unresolved questions and uncertainties that are preventing the project from moving forward in the commercialization process, this program could be relevant. What is important to keep in mind is that proof-of-concept projects should not be research-driven but rather business-driven.

The announcement is divided into two parts. If you have a project requiring rapid clarification of the most critical milestones where positive results can lay the foundation for a standard commercialization project, then a milestone project could be a more appropriate alternative. A milestone project lasts up to a maximum of 1 year with a more limited scope. Projects seeking up to NOK 500 000 will automatically be assessed as milestone projects.

You can also attend the Idea Competition presented by Sparebanken Vest and BTO and win 500 000 NOK to further develop a promising commercial idea. In 2016, the competition was won by Professor Kamal Mustafa from the Department of Clinical Dentistry for his research on reconstruction of human bones.

I will act as Head of Department for the next 6 months in Pål Njølstad’s absence. Emmet McCormack will be my deputy, while Silke Appel and Jone Trovik continue in their roles as Vice Heads for research and teaching, respectively. The administrative team and I will do our best to solve the tasks ahead of us in a good way.

One of the issues we are working with is the strategy plan. The existing plan expires at the end of the year, but we have now extended it for one year to get more time to work out a new one. In March we will invite to whole institute to a retreat at Solstrand as a substitute for next year’s strategy seminar and institute day. The new strategic plan will be a central theme at the retreat. External funding will be a key issue for discussions. Another point is the allocation of positions. The legislative changes that reduce our opportunity to hire persons temporary will give the department challenges over time, but I am confident that we will manage to solve these issues in a good way together.

Finally, I wish all our talented employees good luck with the applications to Helse-Vest.

Eystein

The Sabbath (from Hebrew (שבת) means ceasing and was first used in bible context for the seventh day of creation. It is a religious day for rest, worship, party and / or activities within several religions. Sabbatical year or more precise named research term, is a good thing for academics. For many years, the universities have had this as a strategic asset because the knowledge society is international. Internationalization and stronger contact with international academic communities contribute to raising the quality of research and education. Research term is possible for permanent employed professors after six years of earning (in 100% position), allowing them to take their families abroad for a year, giving a great opportunity for new knowledge and new networks. The social dimension is also important by the ability to meet a new culture, make new friends, and come closer together as a family.

Research term abroad is strongly recommended for all permanent professors. Because the value of the university is so great, foreign stays should be a requirement for professor competence. There can of course be social reasons why this is difficult to implement. There is actually another interesting opportunity: What about spending the research term at the Center for Advanced Study in Oslo? Here you will find offices, meeting rooms and more for you and researchers you want to associate with you from home and abroad. The Center was created by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Every year there are hosts for three research groups. On the basis of proposals received, the groups are selected by the board after group leaders, proposed international partners and the projects have been through international evaluation. The Center will strengthen basic research and provide close collaboration between Norwegian and foreign researchers. The budget for each research group is 3.5 million NOK for project costs, scholarships, free purchases of foreign researchers, as well as housing, travel, conference and seminar expenses. The application deadline is mid-January 2019 for the academic year 2020-21.

I have had a research term in Boston at the Harvard Medical School in Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in addition to being a postdoc at the University of Chicago. These stays have been central to my career as researcher plus that it has actually been very fun. Soon, I will go to Boston for a new stay at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, this time for six months. Eystein Husebye will be Acting Head of Department, thank you very much for that. See you all nest Spring!

Only a few weeks after my first published article I received an invitation in my email-inbox to present at an international congress. Imagine; the big scientific community wanted to hear more about my amazing research! Very flattering for a (not quite) young but still junior PhD fellow. Luckily, I had a supervisor who quickly grounded and explained that this was not an invitation as a lecturer with covered travel and stay expenses but a, for her, totally unknown congress/organization so the invitation was relocated in the spam bin. But thereafter still more and diverse variants of inquiries are being delivered: publish articles, write book chapters and immediately be appointed as co- or chief -editor!

It is not only me who receives such inquiries; The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has conducted thorough investigative journalism by their “Fake Science”-project and thoroughly documented methodology and findings in Aftenposten’s Weekly magazine last Saturday. Researchers are fooled to pay for “Open Access” (principally great that science is widely available) but not in junk journal without thorough peer review and quality assurance! If the results have been published in such a substandard “predator” journal these results may never be published in a proper scientific journal and all the hard work is wasted/worthless. And to attend a congress to present and discuss hard-earned findings to realize that the whole conference is a small room where the other speakers either do not show up (they have already received their proof of participation) or present completely different disciplines than yours (computer algorithms, cognitive psychology, literary science and packaging technology in the same session) make participation completely scientifically worthless and time & money is completely wasted.

Here are some suggestions on how to avoid being caught by predator journals/ congresses:

– Ask  your supervisor / a senior scientist or clinical colleagues. Is this a magazine / congress / congress organizer they are familiar with? It is rare to be invited to an international lecture without knowing the invitees. Additionally, it is typical that there is nothing about coverage of travel and stay.

Check the magazine / organizer’s website:

-Are the names of the editorial board stated? Are these familiar in your field of expertise’s international/national environment? I checked the organizer of Congress of Cancer diagnosis & treatment hosted in Oslo the 2nd-3rd of August 2018; not a single Norwegian co-organizer, and not one scientist I had ever heard of. Searching through PubMed I found little correspondence between the named scientists and their specified workplaces. These were definitely not renowned scientists!

-Does the journal have information about its bibliography? E.g. which databases it is indexed in.

-Avoid these organizers: WASET, OMICS, Sciencedomain and Bioevents.

-Be are aware of names that are almost entirely similar to a journal you actually know: The International Journal of your field, may be named Journal of International your field or International Clinical & Research in your field.

To avoid violation of publication ethics: This has formerly been published as a commentary in På Høyden, 21^stof August 2018.

This summer, we received the great news that Randi Bertelsen was awarded an ERC Starting Grant (K2-News week 33). In addition to obtaining a solid economical basis to build her own research and become a principal investigator, Randi’s grant acknowledges the quality of the research community she is a part of, our department and The Faculty of Medicine.

Funds from The European Union, The Norwegian Research council, The Norwegian Cancer Society, and other funding bodies, as well as our production of publications and candidates, provides the bread and butter for K2. In addition, external funding is necessary in order for investigators to conduct experimental research at all. Grants are also an important parameter when assessing applications for positions and other resources – and it will be even more important in the future.

The parable of talents (Matthew 25) is probably known to most of you; “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away”. It may seem unfair, but the parable is applicable to research funding. The road is always steepest in the beginning. For a young person or young environment it can be difficult to obtain the most competitive grants like the FRIPRO program of The Norwegian Research Council. Perhaps a better strategy is to apply more low-hanging fruits like The Regional Health Authorities of Western Norway grant program, Health and Rehabilitation programs or funds aimed at specific disease groups or treatments.

K2 and the faculty have worked systematically in recent years to improve applications and grant success rates. We have employed research advisors and built up internal procedures for application assessment and budgeting. Weekly overviews of grant opportunities are published in K2-Nytt. All these efforts are to make it easier for you to apply.

The next big opportunity is the Helse-Vest call ending on 15 September. Read the call and submit your application, so that you can get return on your talents.

Good luck

Eystein
Vice head of department

I hope everyone has had a nice holiday returning with the batteries reloaded.

At the time of writing, the students have already begun, and many K2 employees are fully occupied with teaching. It is often busy getting started after the holiday. Switching from a hopefully quiet vacation to a hectic university life takes some time. New students means some more work at the start. Research never rests. Although many have picked up email and delt with the most urgent, most have probably a lot of outstanding tasks that now need to be sorted out.

So most people do not start the autumn term with empty baskets. Nevertheless, there may be reason to look into the next six months with new eyes. The new study plan has meant that many have had to change the organization of teaching, but has the content been changed accordingly? Can it be improved and made easier and more accessible? The fall is time for scientific meetings with professional refills and interaction with other researchers. Can this opportunity be used to define new research questions and research projects so that you are better prepared when the deadlines for applying for research funding come next spring?

Autumn is a nice time with many new opportunities. Grab these. Good luck with a new term.

Pål

Dear all

The end of spring semester is approaching and along come the tasks of mid-term PhD evaluations as well as student (bachelor/master) theses evaluations. Exams have hopefully been prepared, ready to release but censoring awaits. The 20^th of June is the coming full-scale OSCE; 160 6^th semester students going through skill stations. We wish you the best taking care of this task and thanks to all contributors!

Producing written or OSCE exams, sitting though evaluations and performing censoring is not visualized in the educational schedule (as opposed to lectures), but this work is not less important! The students’ studying will often be guided by (former) exams. Thus it is important to develop tasks/questions considered of high importance for what the students really need to learn to perform in their future roles as pharmacist, doctors, nutritionists, molecular biologists or whatever field you as K2 teacher is responsible for.

And do not forget: note all your exam/evaluation work in your teaching portfolio that you have easily available at your computer. This to ensure documentation of your contribution in this part of your academic/teaching position.

And finally; when all evaluations are finished for this semester: enjoy summer without educational responsibilities.

It is not only the sunny days we can be happy about these days: 4 of 6 awards of the Medical faculty go to researchers/environments at K2! Mari Kyllesø Halle gets the award for the PhD thesis of the year for her thesis “Molecular alterations suggesting new treatment strategies in uterine carcinomas”, The Academic Quality Award (Studiekvalitetsprisen) goes to FARM295 Pharmaceutics (Galenisk farmasi) with course responsible Emmet McCormack, Gottfried Greve gets The Internationalization of Education Award (Pris for internasjonalisering i studiene) for his efforts in MED9, and Rebecca Cox and Kristin Greve-Isdahl Mohn are awarded the Dissemination award of the year for their contributions to the vaccine debate. The awards of the Medical faculty will be handed out at the Faculty day June 14th 2018 10.00-13.00 at Haukeland University Hospital, Main Auditorium. Congratulations to all of you!

So far I have not gotten any input regarding thematic area you consider important for future-oriented research that Pål wrote about in K2Nytt week 19. You still have today to come with suggestions (deadline is 1.6.), so take this opportunity to influence the future of K2!

Best regards,

Silke

FHU/ RUHS (Forskningsenhet for helseundersøkelser/ Research Unit for Health Surveys) www.uib.no/nb/fhu , www.uib.no/en/ruhs is a new core facility at K2 that was officially opened in November 2017. The aim is to undertake clinical health surveys. (Projects that need hospital facilities for the participants are performed at Haukeland University Hospital.) FHU is a collaboration between the University of Bergen and Haukeland University hospital, anchored at K2, and has received funding for establishment from the Bergen Research Foundation. Until now FHU has performed approximately 400 investigations in persons participating in the projects Psorax35 (PI Steinar Kåre Tveit) and the Carbfunc (PI Simon Dankel). We are about to start the large HUSK3 study (PI Eva Gerdts), and we are finalizing the plans for the RHINESSA 4^th generation study (PI Cecilie Svanes) that will start after the summer. These projects cover a broad spectrum of research, addressing psoriasis, obesity, cardiology and respiratory health; and different study designs such as intervention and population based studies.

FHU/ RUHS has since the opening November 2017 needed a booking system, in order to allocate dates, personnel and equipment to the participants in the research projects undertaken at the facility. The University of Bergen has since 2015 been trying to provide a booking system for its core facilities. FHU, supported by Per Bruvold at Innkjøpsavdelingen, initiated a bidding process in November 2017. Four different systems applied, two of them were assessed for further consideration, and the system EasyTrial (https://www.easytrial.net ) has been selected. EasyTrial is an online Clinical Trial Management and Electronic Data Capture System for administration of clinical trial tasks (operational and logistical). It includes a calendar and appointment system to manage correspondence with participants and allocate human resources and equipment. The system is based in Denmark, and has been used in Sweden, Germany, Portugal, England and USA. It has also been used by the Norwegian Cancer Registry. EasyTrial is compliant with good clinical practice (GCP), 21 CFR Part 11, EU GDPR and database security legislation. For those who might be interested a representative for EasyTrial will present this system at the FHU localities in Haukelandsbakken 45 June 8^th. You may contact study nurse Linda Tveit to participate.

You are welcome to contact me in the case that you want to discuss performing studies at FHU /RUHS.

Since being asked by Pål to fulfil the position of vice-head for innovation for K2, I have been wondering exactly what it is I should do? And indeed, what is the relevance of “innovation” to our research programs? These might seem very obvious questions with obvious answers, but apart from filling in the sections asking for innovative potential on our grant applications, how many of us truly pay any serious attention to the true innovation of what we do? How important is all this “innovation stuff?”

If I google “innovation”, the first hit I get is a dictionary definition:

Innovation
ɪnəˈveɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
noun: innovation

1. the action or process of innovating.

However, most critically is the example of its use;
“innovation is crucial to the continuing success of any organization”.

All research groups have their research questions they want to get funded and want to explore, but maybe fail to realize the innovative potential of their scientific endeavors. However, truly wanting to make meaning from research is the first step towards innovation. When you decide upon the type of meaning you make, try to find 2 or 3 words that describe why that meaning (innovation) should exist. Do your processes, methodologies or philosophies follow a well-worn path, or are they paradigm shifting? Great innovation and research jumps the curve, thereby creating progress. It certainly requires rolling of the dice, but no risk, no reward. You may not achieve perfection, but jumping the curve in research and creating revolutionary innovation will always result in some bugs. It is safe to continue in current practices, to tick the boxes, dot the i´s and cross the t´s on our research applications. However, not only is there very little fun in that, but more and more you will not be rewarded for it.

Recently, in collaboration with BTO we highlighted the various different funding avenues for innovation. However, even charitable organisations in their application processes are asking “is there any innovative potential?”. Furthermore, with reduced basic funding to university (grunnbevilgningen) from the government in recent years, there is an increased focus on funding our research activities from external sources of finance, particularly BOA (bidrag og oppdragsaktivitet) funding, which demands innovative potential. At the start of the piece I asked the question “how important is innovation”, the answer is clear, its critical. Critical to development of your research, the training of young investigators and their futures, and to the continuing success of K2.

As a new head of department, I felt a need to get to know the Department better. The various research groups were challenged to present themselves at our Annual Strategy Seminar in January, where two from the management of each research group are invited. This became an intense but exciting day. Feedback from other research groups was that this was especially useful for them, too. It was very interesting to hear about all the important research projects running at K2 and all the teaching that is being done. It became evident that the size of the research groups varies considerably and that much has happened – both structural and professional – since they were formed. The teaching tasks seem unevenly distributed and the research groups do not seem to be the most optimal organization in relation to teaching.

The next step is to meet representatives from the groups in separate meetings, preferably where the groups are physically located. The groups are challenged to provide a SWOT analysis where one wishes to hear about their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. What can K2 do for the groups? We usually take a tour in the laboratories where appropriate. We are now about half way and feedback on the process is currently very good.

As part of the get to know better process, we just had a seminar on the relationship between the management and the administration at Ullensvang Hotell. The various sections of the administration were also challenged to provide a SWOT analysis. This became an interesting and useful exercise and provides a tool for making necessary changes, small and large, so that we can work more optimally and more efficiently with better research and teaching as the long-term goals. Some key words are that increased specialization and decentralization (between faculty and institute) has given increased quality and efficiency, but that this also gives a more vulnerable situation with regard to absence. Increased focus on digitization and written routines that are readily available for users can relieve a pressed administration. Improved communication between administration and users with increased awareness of expectations both ways can contribute to more efficient service from the administration.

Finally, I would like to remind you of the Teaching Day May 2. Here, it is important to attend!

In these times of digitalization, the administration is looking into ways to simplify existing work task, and siomultaneously be more accessible for the users. In addition to working on electronic forms for new employees and e-learning courses, we have changes the method for enquiries for a work place at K2, se previous article in K2-news:

https://k2info.w.uib.no/2018/02/23/innmelding-av-behov-for-kontorplass-leseplass/

In order to make the enquiries easier, we have made an electronic form which is to be filled out by main supervisor or research group leader, link to form here.

Should you have any suggestions to other tasks or forms which can be made easier or digital, we are very grateful for and eager to receive your suggestions.

Best regards,

Julie

At K2 we do have many teaching contributions: pharmacy, nutrition, molecular biology and dentistry, but the most comprehensive is the medical curriculum with all its facets from the basal anatomy, physiology and biology to the whole panorama of diseases (in addition, contributions from the university for the education of medical specialists are being asking for). As university employees we ALL have to contribute as teachers/facilitators, although at different levels. The academics hold the responsibility for lecturing, but specific student courses may need assistance from technicians/non-medical scientists. Students will also need mentoring during specific projects in handling instruments/machines and statistics.

PhD students with UiB scholarships are to fulfil a proportion of compulsory service/work. With relevant medial background I will ask for their appropriate time/share to be allocated for teaching. PhD students with other scientific backgrounds will be prioritized for other needy/worthy tasks. It is important that each mentor inform their PhD candidates accordingly regarding these UiB expectations and actively encourage them to participate in teaching activities. Other “non-UiB scholarship” candidates are encouraged to participate in teaching activities. During their PhD training, the candidate shall participate in academic dissemination. Teaching activities will be one way of fulfilling this. In addition, planning for future scientific employment, teaching experience is important. Hopefully I will be informed of who may be included as teacher from the new pool of PhD candidates.

The teaching day 2 May has a teaching portfolio as a theme, precisely to enable us to document and visualize teaching skills.

OSCE (Objective Structured Clincal Exam), or station exam in Norwegian, is used for pharmacy already, while in Medicine 2015 it will be held for the first time in full scale for a full litter of students on 20 June. We need that teachers from the first to the sixth semester make exam paper proposals. This must be reported to K1 OSCE responsible, professor Eirik Søfteland.

K2 shall be responsible for implementing the final OSCE for the 12th semester. There, we need to find a person with an interest in teaching/evaluation that will help lead the work towards the first exitOSCE in June 2019. Do you have experience (graduated from e.g. the Netherlands or the UK?), or just want to take the challenge with a new part of the educational range: contact me! Or tell me someone you think will suit this; “tip phone” = jone.trovik@med.uib.no.

Jone

The winter holiday is soon behind us and Spring is approaching with more daylight and brighter times. As mentioned earlier, times are also brighter for the budget K2 has scheduled for 2018. K2 thanks for many good suggestions for using the so-called Xtrafunds. The Faculty has decided the following guidelines for the use of these:

1) 10 mNOK for equipment for purchase in 2018
These will be distributed among the Departments by size of the annuity funds, which for K2’s part is 24%. The institutes must provide a 25% deduction. This means that K2 will make 3.0 mNOK available.

As previously mentioned, it is a prerequisite that the funds can be used in 2018. They cannot be used for salary or self-financing of externally funded projects.

2) 8 mNOK to Faculty measures
These funds will be used for various measures, such as the animal department and the caretaker housing for the students.

3) 45 mNOK set aside in the long-term budget 2019-22
Here are funds for larger equipment where the tender rules apply. A priority list will be made based on input from the Departments. Furthermore, funds are used for various projects, such as externally funded projects, where the university has to match the funds.

K2 will contact the research group leaders for the completion of the purchase of equipment for research or teaching that K2’s management group has prioritized. Prioritized equipment that can be bought and paid in 2018 will be charged the 3.0 mNOK that we will make available. Equipment that cannot be purchased budget year 2018 will be placed on the Faculty’s list of larger equipment for the long-term budget 2019-2022.

Research group leaders have a deadline to report exact price of the equipment and plan for the procurement process. Deadline for this feedback is 1 May. Final deadline for documented opportunity for procurement 2018 is set for 1 October.

Pål

We are approaching the winter holidays and for many a much appreciated break from work. And for those who are not going to leave, there is a little more peace and quiet at the workplace to clean up the desk or to plan new activities.

Bergen Research Foundation (BFS) has two different initiatives: BFS Starting Grants and Thematic Strategies. There will soon be a new deadline for BFS Starting Grants, and we have also very good candidates this year. As regards the Thematic Strategies, BFS operates with different phases of the process. It starts with an idea phase without any form of ties that eventually passes into an analytical phase with only administrative management. If certain criteria are fulfilled, the idea is treated at a board meeting where it is decided that the idea / theme will be announced as a call. In the review phase, the applications are processed. The project that wins comes to the appointment phase. When an agreement is reached, the project is in the active phase. At the end of the project period, the project enters the final phase period.

The Faculty of Medicine wants to get an overview of new and existing ideas for projects and centers that may be relevant for the Faculty to suggest to BFS. The Faculty wishes to receive input from the Departments for discussion at the Department Head Meeting on 20 March. Since the BFS plays an active role in the idea phase of a project, the Faculty wishes ideas more than completed projects.

K2 therefore invites the research group leaders to submit input to possible projects / centers financed by the BFS. It is desirable with sketches that are approx. ½ page. The amount allocated from BFS should be given, which probably should be in the order for 20–30 mNOK. The deadline is Friday 16 March, and the sketches should be sent to pal.njolstad@uib.no.

Happy winter holidays!

Pål

It is time for the allocation of small research funds (SMÅFORSK). The funds are available due to a joint event between RCN and UiB. The intention of these funds is that funds will be awarded research groups that have not been endowed large allocations so that they can start new projects. Applicants can ask for means to cover expenses for travel, seminars, courses, materials, technical-administrative assistance and other operating expenses. It is a requirement that the applicant should hold a permanent position, be an active researcher at K2, and that the applicant can document that he/she has applied for funds from other external sources during the last two years.

Requirements for application and criteria for allocation:

• The research group leader shall be applicant
• The purpose of the use of funds must be justified and should be discussed and prioritized within the research group
• It must be documented that the group in 2016 or 2017 has applied other external sources for research funds covering the present purpose
• The funds must be used this year and can therefore not be transferred to next year
• Benefits go to research groups that do not already have large assets

The deadline is Monday 5 March at. 13:00.

The application form can be found here and should be submitted to Siv Johnsen Eggereide.

Good luck!

Pål

As new deputy head of research at the Department of Clinical Science, will research education be something I focus on. The past years, the number of PhD thesis defences at the Faculty for Medicine has declined. While it was 98 and 97 defences in 2015 and 2016, respectively, it was only 82 in 2017. At the same time, the number of candidates taken up into the PhD programme has been quite stable between 90 and 100 per year. The numbers for the Department of Clinical Science are following a similar pattern. The number of defences has decreased from 31 in 2015 to 19 in 2017, while around 30 new PhD fellows have been taken up per year. Therefore, the leader group will give more attention to having PhD candidates finalizing their thesis and try to arrange as good as possible for this to happen. All PhD candidates and supervisors are encouraged to take contact if they encounter any problems.

In the last round of PhD positions from the Medical Faculty, the Department of Clinical Science was very successful with up to 16 new PhD candidates. That is very good news! Most of them have gotten a 4 years position with 25% obligatory duty work. As the head of research at the time, Roland Jonsson, wrote already in 2014, this is a great asset for the institute. In order to get a fair distribution of the obligatory duty work, all PhD candidates financed from the university will be contacted during the next weeks for a short meeting regarding planning of the obligatory duty work, together with representatives from the leader group, main supervisor and PhD coordinator Irene Hjelmaas.

Silke

The Faculty of Medicine has a temporary economic surplus for 2018 due to positive results in 2016, which provides budget growth in 2018; transfers of unused funds from 2017; as well as the need for lower transfers in the basic fund than 20 million NOK in total for 2019.

This means that the departments including K2 will be given an opportunity to increase the basic appropriation beyond what is budgeted for 2018. K2 is important for the faculty’s budget growth, and it is great that some of this now will benefit us.

The order from the Faculty are that the measures can go to research, including equipment that can be purchased this year; teaching, including equipment that can be purchased this year; and other measures such as HSE.

Research group leaders are challenged to propose measures within the framework of approx. 0.5 mNOK and that equipment cannot have a cost beyond the EU limit for tender. The last is because tenders take time, and the faculty wishes to spend the funds in 2018.

Unfortunately, there is a very short deadline for making suggestions. This is set to February 9 at the Faculty level. We need time for an internal process on K2, too, why our deadline for you is during February 5. I am very sorry for this ultra short deadline. All proposals must come through the head of the research groups.

Enjoy the weekend!

Pål

I am writing to you to encourage participation at the upcoming week´s event, the Annual Research Presentations by the Research School in Clinical Medicine.

What is The Research School in Clinical Medicine?

It is an arena for PhD students from K1, K2 and Helse-Bergen to socialize and present own research to fellow students. The research school also organizes courses that may be included as part of the mandatory training component of the PhD program, and a seminar series where current research from the faculty is presented by excellent speakers.

Our own Professor Stefan Johansson is the current leader. The team also includes Researcher Kristoffer Haugarvoll (K1), Leader of the Research Unit for Children, Camilla Tøndel (Helse Bergen), Researcher Stian Knappskog (K2), Professor Thomas Halvorsen (K2), Solveig Lund Witsøe (K1), PhD Student Torbjørn Kråkenes (K1), and PhD Student Andreas Venizelos (K2).

The poster presentations will take place Wednesday 24 January in the reception foyer, floor 0, Sentralblokken, Haukeland University Hospital; oral presentations Thursday 25 January in Birkhaugssalen, floor 3, Sentralblokken, while the award ceremony will be Friday 26 January 12:00–12:30 in the reception foyer, floor 0, Sentralblokken.

The research school was founded by Professor Emeritus Amund Gulsvik and has been a great success. I take the opportunity to thank him, and all following leaders and staff members for organizing this important event. But what is more, the Research School would be nothing if it were not for the participants, presenters and audience; my sincere thanks to them, too. My high school teacher said I should post the following sentence over my bed: ”Never a day without a line (to read)”. There is always something new to learn. So come! And please, do not only read: Also ask a question. Not to show the others that you can ask a question, but because there is something you want to learn. We learn from questions because that urges us to find out why. Novel knowledge arises.

Enjoy!

Pål Rasmus Njølstad

To all K2 employees: Welcome to a fruitful new teaching year! We need you, at all the different levels/programs we conduct; from planning, facilitation (administrative or practical) to the actual performing of teaching. Thanks to everyone!

New this year in the medical curriculum is “Elective period”: In these four first full weeks each year (January), students may choose between different courses of two to four weeks duration. These span from molecular biology to cardiac ultrasound, from learning practical pedagogy with student-driven OSCE stations at the Medical Skills Center to Medicine for the Future. Probably the most extrovert (literally out-doors) is the course in Mountain Medicine, where one student definitely ended up in “deep water”; a (voluntary) student jumped in ice water on the Landås mountain to be rescued and taken care of by fellow students! K2 has prepared several exciting courses, but we need more. We would encourage each of our academic communities / research groups to offer one annual elective course.

The annual study day for K1 / K2, aiming to inspire and improve our teaching, will be held on 2 May (AFTER this spring’s most important research application deadline). There we will demonstrate examples of good student activating teaching, learn how to build a teaching portfolio (to document your own teaching experience / competence), and discuss how to make good station examinations (OSCE). Please note the date in your calendar already.

Apropos OSCE: 20 June, the first really qualifying OSCE exam (objective structured clinical exam) will be held for all 3rd year / 6th semester medical students. Then 160 students will pass through 5 parallel stations, which require contribution from the vast majority of scientific employees and teaching administrators at the medical faculty engaged in the teaching within these 6 semesters. We need you! So, neither dissertations, summer holidays nor congress permissions should be planned for this date.

Jone

Christmas and the holiday season at the end of the year are over. It has been a busy time – everything must be fixed and arranged for a few, intense days. However, for most people it has been a precious holiday with time together with the ones we love, as well as an opportunity for contemplation and reflection.

Just before Christmas, the K2 Leadership Team was in place. Besides myself, it will be:
– Deputy Leader: Eystein Husebye, M.D., Ph.D.
– Deputy Leader Research: Silke Appel, Ph.D.
– Deputy Leader Teaching: Jone Trovik, M.D., Ph.D.
– Deputy Leader Innovation: Emmet Mc Cormack, Ph.D.
– Administration Manager: Julie Stavnes, M.Ba.

Eystein Husebye is well known to most. He is a professor and consultant physician in endocrinology, leads the Research Group for Endocrine Medicine, and heads KG Jebsen-Center in Autoimmune Diseases. He has been a vice-chairman for several years, and has been acting leader, thus ensuring continuity in the Leadership Team.

Silke Appel is professor, Group Leader at Broegelmann Research Laboratory and Head of the Core Center for Flow Cytometry. She is also a member of the Department Council.

Jone Trovik is a professor, consultant physician in gynecology and obstetrics, and belongs to the Research Group for Gynecological Cancer. She has been Acting Leader at K2 this fall, and before that, she was Deputy Leader for Education.

Emmet Mc Cormack is a professor and leader of galenic pharmacy. In addition, he has experience with regard to the establishment and operation of research-based companies.

Julie Stavnes is also well known. She is MBA from NHH, and has been Administration Manager at K2 since 2015.

I take this opportunity to thank them for being willing to spend time and effort for K2. The team extends widely academically, involving both physicians and non-physicians, including pharmacy, which is an example of the many non-medical education subjects. Furthermore, we have introduced a Deputy Leader for Innovation since there is currently a focus on innovation, as well to match this focus at the faculty level. I welcome you all to the Leadership Team, and am looking forward to working with you and the Management Team of K2 in the years to come!

Pål