Election platform
We are living in a time of increasing uncertainty and rapid technological changes. My motivation for standing for election to the University board is to bring an important perspective on how the University of Oslo (UiO) can adopt a more sustainable, independent, and future-oriented approach to the use of technology.
Over the past 15 years, UiO has chosen IT solutions that have been comfortable from an administrative and user perspective, but which have also made us increasingly dependent on large foreign technology companies. I believe it is now imperative to break this pattern and gradually move towards a more independent use of technology. We can achieve this by:
- Prioritising solutions based on open source;
- Choosing Norwegian or European solutions where possible;
- Replacing components in our critical infrastructure with products that we can operate and maintain ourselves, without our data being sent out of the country;
- Strengthening collaboration towards the establishment of a national cloud solution.
My key issues
1. Open Source First - Prioritizing open source solutions
UiO currently spends millions of kroner on licensing fees to large foreign companies. This leads to a situation of dependency, where our data becomes tied to proprietary software that often does not integrate well with other systems. In Germany, municipalities and states have taken steps to address this situation by implementing regulations that require software used in public administration to be open source.
These funds could instead be used to strengthen our internal expertise and capacity – by developing, managing, and supporting solutions based on open source.
By investing in open source, we:
- Build competence within our organisation;
- Reduce vulnerability due to supplier dependency;
- Strengthen privacy and information security.
This transition requires effort from the entire organisation – both from users of IT systems and from the IT department, which must ensure good transition strategies and user-friendly alternatives.
2. Towards an infrastructure based on Norwegian and European components
In a world characterised by increased geopolitical uncertainty, ensuring our digital sovereignty is more important than ever. A large part of our current infrastructure is based on technology from companies such as Microsoft, Broadcom, and Cisco, where we have neither insight into the source code nor control over where data is stored.
We should:
- Establish collaborations with other research institutions in Norway to develop software and hardware components that are free from closed and proprietary code;
- Gradually r