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/

Dear everyone,

Back in the chair again after an exciting and busy process of coordinating an SFF application! I think the product was very good and hope RCN agrees 🙂

I would like to thank Silke Appel who acted for me and the rest of the management team at K2 who naturally got more work assignments.

In 2019, we arranged for all employees at K2 a “K2 Retreat” at Solstrand, which we have received very good feedback on. The plan was therefore to repeat this – every other year due to economic circumstances. However, the corona pandemic meant that we unfortunately could not arrange it in 2021. Since the society has reopened with minor restrictions, there will be a new “K2 Retreat” 24-25. February 2022 as you have received information about previously. We hope that the infection rates will remain at an acceptable level so that no restrictions are introduced again on this type of event.

I would like to remind you of the registration deadline, which is 21 November. You can sign up here: K2 KONFERANSEN 2022 / K2 CONFERENCE 2022 (uib.no).

I hope to see as many of you as possible at Solstrand, and that you engage in discussions, groups and other activities. The conference does not get better than what the participants make it!

Have a great weekend!
Pål

Dear all of you!

This week I was supposed to welcome Pål back as head of department, but after a hectic period with finishing the SFF application, he first takes some well-deserved vacation before he is back at the steering wheel from 1 November. So I get to run the institute a little bit longer 😊

As you hopefully know, all UiB employees have their own personal page where you can upload a photo and enter information about your research field, competence and more. This is very useful and makes it much easier to find people and collaboration partners, and not least it becomes much easier to recognize people when you meet them. I would like to use this leader to encourage everyone to check the page and update the information that is there. It is not difficult to edit (https://manual.uib.no/webmanual/personside/). Rose can help you take a picture.

Greetings from Aarhus where I enjoy being at my first “regular” conference after the corona measures.

Strategy is currently being discussed both at the faculty and department levels; how can we become a better organization for research, teaching and dissemination –  and in continuation of this, how should we make K2 and UiB a brand name that attracts the best students, staff and grants.

Even though we are individualists, it is about collaborating, having projects that are interdisciplinary. However, it does not stop there. We must have a good collaboration with the health trust if we are to win in the competition for research funding and be able to give our students the best teaching.

How to go about this strategy is not always obvious. Strategy is a management responsibility, but just as important is that all employees are involved in common projects and goals. This will be the topic of K2’s strategy seminar 24-25 February at Solstrand, and we in the leadership group hope that as many as possible can participate, not least from our campi outside Bergen.

Cooperation is built through meetings and common meeting places are important. Next Wednesday, the Annual Faculty Day will be held in Auditoriet AHH from 10-13. The same afternoon, Bjørn-Tore Gjertsen, the recipient of this year’s King Olav the V’s cancer research prize will be celebrated in “Store Auditorium”. Join in the celebration of those who have excelled over the past year and discuss collaboration and strategy with your colleagues

Eystein Husebye

Deputy Chairman

Dear all!

This will be relatively long, please read everything!

I will start with some joyful things: I hope that as many people as possible have the opportunity to attend the Faculty Day on 20 October at 10-13 October, where the faculty’s teaching and research prizes will be awarded at the auditorium at AHH. Among other things, the prize for research environment of the year goes to Eva Gerdts’ research group Hypertension and Heart Dynamics/Centre for Research on Heart Disease in Women, and “Endopodden” is awarded with a teaching prize.

The day then continues in a very pleasant way with a celebration seminar for Bjørn Tore Gjertsen on the occasion of the award of King Olav V’s cancer research prize at 15-18 at Store Auditoriet, Sentralblokken. Registration is required for this event (click here). We now just have to take advantage of the fact that the coronary restrictions have been eased and we can reconvene! And not least, there will be some food  😊

The third pleasant matter is about outstanding research: would you like to seek ERC funds? Then you now have the opportunity to apply to the faculty for support for a mentor. The idea is that a more experienced ERC applicant (preferably one who has received ERC funds in the past) helps you along the way. This is especially important for younger research talents. If you are interested, please contact me or Amra for more information.

Last but not least, anyone who has projects involving the handling of personal data must check RETTE to see if everything is in order. There are many projects that require changes to RETTE, most often there is a lack of a short justification for the need to process the personal data.

Have a really good weekend (and autumn holidays for some)!

Dear all of you!

In recent years, we have had great help from our research advisor Amra. Now she wants more challenges and has moved to the faculty, where for one year from 15/9 she will contribute even more to the research advisor team. Fortunately, this means that she can still be contacted! We thank Amra for her excellent contribution to K2, wish her the best of luck and welcome back!

And then we have been told by the HR section at the faculty that they have reduced staffing and that things will take some extra time in the future. At the same time, we can find some information ourselves on UiB’s website and may not always need to contact human resources:

• For questions regarding salary and the self-service portal, you can contact the payroll office via UiB-hjelp
• You can also find user guide to the self-service portal here: Self-service portal | Employee pages | UiB
• For questions about entry and exit/mobility, you can find a lot of useful information on the international centre’s website: International Centre | University of Bergen (uib.no)
• You can also find answers to many HR-related questions in the Employee Handbook: University of Bergen :: Employee Handbook (compendia.no)

And then it is often your immediate leader who can answer some of the questions. So feel free to ask your supervisor, research group leader or UGLE for advice.

Have a really good weekend!

Although this was already mentioned in last week’s K2nytt, it is worth repeating: We are very proud and congratulate Bjørn Tore Gjertsen on the King Olav Vs Cancer Research Prize. Well deserved!

Otherwise, many of you are probably busy teaching and writing applications – remember, among other things, the application deadline for Helse Vest research funding 15/9, promotion to professor 15/9 and deadline for applying for a research fellowship from MED 19/9. There have also been some changes to the guidelines: a person cannot be the main supervisor for more than four people in recruitment positions (PhD candidate and postdoc) funded from the faculty (https://www.uib.no/med/65433/ledige-stillinger)

Finally, a few words about the corona situation: many of us are now fully vaccinated, and we want to have as many people back on campus as possible. Employees who are dependent on public transport can work from home office where possible, but this must be agreed upon with your direct leader. We would rather not have more than 2 days of home office per week.

Have a really good weekend!

It is now possible to apply for funding for stays abroad, both for senior and younger researchers. The professors have the possibility to go on a sabbatical every 7^th year, which is a fantastic opportunity to establish new collaborations, build networks and have time to plan projects and write applications. New collaborations are not only useful for the professor him- or herself, it provides opportunities for others in the research group to go abroad. Several of the groups at the department have utilized this in an exemplary way, for example the endocrine, diabetes and lung research groups.

Now, professors, postdocs and PhD students can apply for such funding both from UiB (deadline 1 October,  and Helse-Vest (deadline 15 September.  Postdoctoral fellows are especially encouraged to apply (Helse-Vest) and UiB provides an extra year of salary if you use it for a stay abroad. Support can also be applied for from the Research Council and other funding bodies *. The application deadline for a sabbatical leave is 1 April to the department each year.

Many do not consider an extended stay abroad due to practical challenges with regard to work and studies for their partner, schooling for children and housing. An alternative could be a shorter stay, perhaps to a country in Europe that requires less practical preparation. Such stays can also be valuable in order to establish the networks that can lift your research.

Read the announcement and apply. Request to visit an institution abroad is rarely turned down when you come with your own salary.

Good weekend!

Eystein Husebye

*Other funding bodies

• http://www.uib.no/mofa/forskning/fond-oglegater#1medisinskforskning
• NFR/ EURAXESS sin stipendbase: http://www.euraxess.no/prognett-euraxess/stipendbasen/1232443083609
• Fullbright: http://www.fulbright.no/en/grants

The semester is well underway, and this also means that it is time for the annual employee interviews. All employees who have a main position at UiB must have employee interviews. This also includes PhD candidates. For employees with 10-20% positions, the group leader can agree with the employee that it is not necessary.

The employee interviews are an important arena for clarifying expectations of performance, providing mutual feedback and insight into each other’s work situation and addressing the working environment and conditions at the workplace. Especially for younger researchers, it is important that career planning is included, and that basic pedagogical competence is something they should keep in mind.

The employee interviews have been delegated to the research group leaders, while I as acting head of department will begin the employee interviews with the research group leaders, which Pål will continue to do when he is back at the helm. This has been moved to 21 October since the SFF application deadline has been postponed until 20 October. Head of Administration Mia Holmaas is responsible for the employee interviews with administrative staff