In general, I feel very fortunate as a university employee! I can delve into and geek about things I’m more than average passionate about. I work in an environment with many dedicated and talented colleagues who share the same interests and easily engage in discussions ranging from tiny details about bees and flowers to how to best supervise and get the most out of smart students. (Here, it is fitting to thank bioCEED for fostering good discussions on the topic in Voss last week [very useful in raising awareness about different aspects of being a supervisor, such as clarifying expectations from both the student’s and supervisor’s perspectives from day one], but also all the other topics bioCEED has focused on in the ten years it has existed. In this context, I’ve been especially lucky to be office neighbors with most of the bioCEED team during these years). I am constantly learning something new and am one of the pieces in producing new knowledge. To top it all up, I have an office with a view of a snow-covered Ulriken.
I just needed to write this now as I’m in the busiest period of the year for me, with a slightly chaotic rush towards the end of the teaching semester, and everything else that needs to be done before the year-end arrives like Christmas eve for the wife (sorry, could not resist the inspiration from Ørjan’s speech on Tuesday…). At times like this, it’s easy to forget that I am, after all, privileged.
Ending with a ‘Good luck’ to everyone taking exams these days!
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John Arvid Grytnes
Head of the Ecology and Evolution Group (Faggruppe økologi og evolusjon)