Our two new knowledgeable Deans of Research, Jan G. Bj?lie and Grete Dyb, both have extensive experience of research and management. They have both been looking forward to finally getting started in their new roles. Below you can read their first management column, in which they introduce themselves and provide their thoughts on the work ahead.
Jan G. Bj?lie, Pro-Dean of Research and Innovation
Our Faculty has a particular responsibility relating to health and health services, clinical research and basic medical research. The University of Oslo ambitions state that we will be an innovative organisation that trains talented students. We will promote independent, groundbreaking and long-term research and will strengthen our dialogue with the outside world and work to ensure that knowledge is put to use.
How can we best achieve this? Some of the answers can be found in the current annual plans for the Faculty, which consist of lists of scheduled initiatives and expected results for the purpose of realising our ambitions. We will use these plans as our starting point and we will prioritise and distinguish between initiatives that are easy to implement and those that require greater effort. We will also evaluate what we gain from each initiative and adapt our efforts accordingly. We will do this in close collaboration with the academic communities and our partners, i.e. the university hospitals and other partners.
In order to achieve this collaboration, we will look to identify how we can use established venues not only to deal with ongoing matters but also to analyse and assess strategic initiatives: Which initiatives are most important to the academic communities? How can the academic communities contribute and what do they think about the need for future initiatives?
We will also assess the need to establish new forms of communication and interaction so that we can fully utilise the expertise that our academic communities and partners possess. It is going to be a balancing act between two considerations: active planning and peace to work. Planning is necessary for us to remain competitive both nationally and internationally and to become even better. At the same time, we need to remember that research requires creativity and creativity requires peace to work. I look forward to getting started on the tasks we are facing.
Grete Dyb, Vice Dean of Research and Researcher Education
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I consider it a great challenge to take on the post of Vice-Dean of Research and Researcher Education. The Faculty of Medicine has a great responsibility for creating fertile ground for research and providing the resources and direction for the work to develop talented researchers. Excellent and innovative research is the result of researchers investing in their own talents, getting adequate support and training and being part of an encouraging faculty. We want to involve everyone who plays a role in this work and together we will draw up strategies for success. The Faculty’s portfolio includes a research option as part of first degree programmes, as well as a major PhD programme and research options for postdoctoral fellows. I look forward to working with everyone involved.
I am a qualified doctor specialising in children’s and adolescent psychiatry and I have spent numerous years on clinical work and research associated with children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events and been harmed from their experiences. I am naturally drawn to organisations and this has led to me accepting several challenging positions of trust and gaining a great deal of experience. I am particularly interested in how excellent teams can reach shared objectives. The role of Vice-Dean is new, exciting and undoubtedly challenging in many ways. I look forward to being part of innovation and outstanding collaborations.