Foto: Eivind Senneset, UiB
To relieve the situation at BIO in relation to the ongoing processes of rectifying the department’s finances, Anne Marit Blokhus will be allocated to work 30% with our department from now on, and 80% at BIO from January 1st. Anne Marit has extensive experience as head of department at the Department of Chemistry, and at the Faculty as both deputy dean for research, innovation and infrastructure and deputy dean for education. Anne Marit will primarily assist Julie and I in financial matters that lie at the intersection between the head of department and head of administration, focusing on infrastructure, rental budgeting, teaching finances (course budgeting, compulsory work for PhD fellows, teachers hired on an hourly basis, etc.), processes concerning space/area management and general management support. We are currently in a dialogue phase to map out the specifics of Anne Marit’s contribution, and will return with more concrete information when we the details are in place. I am very happy about the support provided by the MatNat Faculty, and I am sure that this will be a very useful and important contribution. I welcome Anne Marit to BIO and am very much looking forward to collaborating with her.
Will there be a Christmas party at BIO this year?
The answer to this has long been “no”, but we are now working to make it happen, in a financially viable manner. Here’s the plan: We have received a grant from the Meltzer Fund to organize an academic gathering primarily aimed at strengthening our efforts towards the EU. To this end, we will gather for lunch to discuss selected topics and proceed until the end of the working day. We will then move on to enjoy a (reasonably priced) Christmas dinner at a suitable venue nearby. This should be fun. I look forward to it! More information will follow soon.
I am now starting a round of one-on-one talks (“medarbeidersamtaler”) with all staff holding a permanent position as researcher. I consider this to be important, and particularly so given the challenging situation that we and the rest of Norway’s research community, find ourselves in. I look forward to talking to you all.
I remind everyone that December 1st is the deadline for applying for status as Excellent Teaching Practitioner(the call is only published in Norwegian). It would be very gratifying to see even more excellent teachers at BIO being formally recognized and thereby included in the MatNat Faculty’s Pedagogical Academy.
It’s not too late to sign up for our Teacher’s Retreat at Voss 28-29 November. This year’s topic is student assessment. An important topic indeed, in which our students are highly engaged! The sign-up link is still open, so get your boots on!
I wish you all a sublime weekend. The weather forecast is good, so stay outdoors and enjoy.
Hilsen Ørjan
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Ørjan Totland
Head of department