Nominated by
- Ingeborg Sophie Bj?nness Ribu, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, Faculty of Humanities
- Pernille Hansen, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan MultiLing, Faculty of Humanities
- Yes Sevinc, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan MultiLing, Faculty of Humanities
- Ingvild Badhwar Valen-Sendstad, Doctoral Research Fellow, Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan MultiLing, Faculty of Humanities
- Junyi Yang, Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences
- Natalia Karushina, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences
- Liquan Liu, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan MultiLing, Faculty of Humanities)
- Jorunn Simonsen Thingnes, Doctoral Research Fellow, Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan MultiLing, Faculty of Humanities
Election platform
I am running to represent fixed-term employees at the University Board because I believe there is an urgent need to integrate the demands of international and local researchers. Fixed-term employees are one of the most vulnerable groups in our university because of the uncertainty of their future careers and the limited time to carry out their work. In addition to that, many with an international background often lack a support network and are still inexperienced in how to navigate the world of academia. For these reasons, we are often hit the hardest in crises like the one we are currently experiencing.
We are facing the most challenging situation of our generation, and for better or worse, change is the only constant we can now be sure of. I am confident that this is going to be a learning experience and that positive change will emerge at the individual and societal level. However, we cannot ignore the risks and uncertainty ahead of us and we must now work together to make sure we will be protected. Many of us are scared of how our current situation is affecting our research plans, because we are running against the clock. While the university has voiced the intention to granting extensions for temporary employees, nothing concrete has been settled yet, and it is unsure whether both PhD and post-doctoral fellows will have the possibility of extensions of their contracts., and under what conditions. This is not a battle that we can fight alone. The University of Oslo needs to voice our concerns at a national level and in consonance with the other Norwegian universities. As a candidate for representative of fixed-term employees at the university board, this is an issue I am determined to fight for. More than ever, it is of vital importance that our voices are heard and our rights are assured, for we are the backbone of this university.
1. Interdisciplinarity and employablility
One of the goals of the university future strategy is interdisciplinary work. Cross-discipline collaboration is key in an ever-growing research community. It is no longer valid to focus only on specialization; innovation and partnership is key. As an interdisciplinary PhD candidate myself, I know how important it is to establish communication between differently trained researchers but also how difficult this can actually be in practice.
The university must assure not only an intention to engage in collaborative research, but a viable way in which to do so. There exist eight PhD programs at the university, yet it is extremely difficult for candidates to build their ‘educational component’ outside their respective programs. While the planned educational program might work for some, it hinders the development of skills for candidates in interdisciplinary fields. The University of Oslo is aware of these issues and we must work together to achieve administrative flexibility. In a research community that continues to get more competitive and expect further innovation from grant applicants, our universities must comply with such expectations.
Now more than ever, fixed-term employees face uncertainty in their research career post-COVID-19. We might experience grater scarcity of funding opportunities and more competition than ever before. It is important that we be well equipped to adapt to whatever the future might offer us, whether that is in academia or in the private sector. This can be achieved through diverse forms of training. On one hand, we must work on expanding the academic expertise of our researchers to guarantee a more adaptable employment profile. Interdisciplinary collaboration during PhD education and temporary employment is key to meet that goal. On the other hand, it is important to maintain an open mentality towards collaboration with external institutions outside academia so our fellows can gain experience and awareness of the opportunities beyond the academic world. Many researchers who have never worked outside the context of academia cannot identify the various skills that they can offer as employees in other sectors. It is important that we train our employees to think outside the box, not only within their research projects, but especially in regards to their ability to create change an innovation in any sector.
2. Diversity, cross-cultural collaboration and support for new employees
International employees represent a major percentage of the fixed-term employees at our university. These individuals are essential in keeping our university visible and connected, as they are sources of broad international networks, present and future collaborations and often external sources of funding. In addition to an already demanding workload, international researchers face the burden o