One part of the growth is due to UNIK becoming a part of the Faculty as Department of Technology Systems in 2017, and that “Naturfagsenteret” was incorporated with the Faculty in 2018. There has also been a growth in the number of study places and PhD-position funded by the ministry, but the majority of the growth in revenues comes from the Research Council of Norway, EU and other sources. Overall, this means that turnover in the last 5-6 years has increased by slightly more than 0.5 billion crowns. This is significant, even though I have not corrected this number for growth in prices and wages.
In addition to the fact that research and education in our fields continues to gain attention from the authorities, the main reason for the growth is the good work that is been done on all units across the Faculty. The financial growth is very pleasing, especially since many research units have brought large funds to basic research. But it has also created a few challenges.
Work premises
More revenue allows for more employees and students, which in turn means a need for more space in our premises and some places we have to accept less space with more people. Many areas at the Faculty are old and worn out and there is an urgent need for renovation. Even though it is a management responsibility, together with the Estate Department at UiO, to ensure that the work premises are satisfactory for all employees and students, it is important that everyone affected shows understanding of these challenges. We have to live with area challenges in the years to come, but we see a light in the tunnel as the Life Science Building will be completed in 2024
Financial reserves
The financial growth also creates another challenge – that we have to put our money to work. Many of you have probably heard that the Norwegian authorities are concerned that the sector has a lot of "money in the bank". This does not directly apply to the University of Oslo, but we do have a challenge in this area as well. I urge all those responsible for externally funded projects to be as effective as possible when your projects are launched.