Motivation for standing for election
I am standing for election because I want to be present where decisions are made and to represent the technical and administrative staff in this work.
The University Board is responsible for maintaining high quality within the institution and ensuring that it operates in accordance with its goals, values, and legal requirements. In ever-changing times, it is important to ensure that some things are preserved while others are adapted within the organisation in a transparent and well-founded manner.
My key issues
We in the technical and administrative staff play vital parts at the University of Oslo. We undertake various tasks to ensure that the organisation functions according to its objectives. Decisions made by the board regarding new initiatives and changes will impact us in technical and administrative positions differently than they might affect academic staff. It is essential to have a clear voice on the board that guarantees our interests are addressed.
At UiO, there are many excellent resources and much that operates well; however, there are also examples of staff being overworked, and administrative employees with the same "position" often have very different responsibilities. There is ongoing pressure for us to do more. These are typical challenges for an institution with many high-value goals and aspirations.
A robust university democracy depends on effective governance from a capable administration. Therefore, it is important to maintain respect for the work done outside the strictly academic domain. Everyone must have a clear voice, and decisions made by the board should be based on thorough investigations and sufficient information.
In these times, when we experience threats to what we have perceived as solid values such as academic freedom and funding without explicit political ties as seen unfolding in the USA and Argentina, which will likely spread to more countries, the work of the board is especially critical. Negative international trends must be swiftly and resolutely addressed with a clear profile at UiO.
Cuts and changes in allocations will also affect us in technical and administrative roles. In such processes, we often do not have the same visibility as the academic staff, but we are impacted in different ways.
As a staff representative, I will enter board meetings with these thoughts in mind. I will work to strengthen university democracy and ensure that all employees – including technical and administrative staff – have real influence over the decisions that are made.
Vote for me!
About me
I am a research adviser at the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law and have been employed at UiO since 2021. My responsibilities include assisting researchers with external funding, project applications, and budgeting. I am the administrative contact for several externally funded projects within the department. I also serve as the department's web editor and I am the health and safety representative, collaborating with management to create a safe working environment through HSE work. Additionally, I coordinate the research administration network at the Faculty of Law (FANE JUS).
In May, I will be attending a research conference in Chicago, where I will assist Norwegian participants. There, I will closely observe and meet people affected by the new American university policies.
I started my position at UiO in 2021 after spending ten years at the Scandinavian University Press (Universitetsforlaget), where I worked in scientific publishing, with particular responsibility for the many legal journals published by Universitetsforlaget. I was active in the trade union Handel og Kontor (HK) and served as the club leader at the publishing house Aschehoug in 2020 and 2021 during the challenging pandemic period. I was also part of the negotiation committee in the main settlement between HK and Virke in 2020, which went to mediation with The National Mediator of Norway. I have served as a staff representative on the board of Universitetsforlaget and have experience in other board activities as well.
I completed my education predominantly at UiO, where I earned a master's degree in aesthetic studies from the Faculty of Humanities in 2011. I was the editor of the student publication Filologen and organised a study trip to Finland. Outside of my studies, I worked as an assistant at The Royal House of Norway and freelanced for the local newspaper Nordre Aker Budstikke. I have also studied negotiations and conflict resolution at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.
I grew up in Berg, Oslo, I am now married to a translator, and have eight-year-old twins.
Nominators
- Elisabeth Neuhaus, Faculty of Law
- Per J?rgen Ystehede, Faculty of Law