The event was opened and led by Professor Arne B. Huseby, Acting Center Director of dScience – the Centre for Computational and Data Science at the University of Oslo.
Professor Jakobsen presented Norway’s contributions to the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), a global non-profit initiative aiming to sequence and catalog the genomes of all 1.5 million currently described eukaryotic species over the next decade. EBP-Nor, the Norwegian arm of the project, is led by Jakobsen and represents a collaboration among Norway’s major universities (UiO, NMBU, UiB, NTNU, Uni Nord, and UiT), the research institute SINTEF, and non-academic organizations such as REVOcean, The Life Science Cluster, and ArcticZymes Technologies. EBP-Nor’s ambitious goal is to sequence and catalog all 45,000 eukaryotic species found in Norway.
Jakobsen noted that EBP-Nor aims to complete the genome sequencing of 150 species by 2025, with plans for significant expansion in the years ahead. He also highlighted opportunities for collaboration with public resource management, environmental programs, and industries such as bioproduction, energy, and biotechnology.
Anne Maria Eikeset, representing the Oil Fund, discussed the importance of managing climate and nature risks for institutional investors, including the fund itself. She addressed existing knowledge gaps, highlighted investment opportunities, and illustrated how innovative projects like EBP-Nor are relevant for long-term financial sustainability and responsible investment strategies.
The seminar concluded with an engaging Q&A session and networking opportunities for participants.
See recording of the event
