Greetings from the Department

A topic that has concerned me for a long time is the challenging conditions for basic research in Norway. In our “faggruppe”, Microbiology, most of the work is focused on basic research, which is also the case for many other research groups and “faggrupper” at Bio and on a national level. Funding for this type of research has been limited for many years, and the situation seems to be deteriorating, despite the issue being well-known and discussed for decades.

“Å spare seg til fant” is a Norwegian proverb meaning cutting costs in a way that ultimately leads to greater loss. Often, it is not wise for long-term economic health to cut costs in the short term. Norway lags behind both our Nordic neighbors and many other European countries when it comes to investment in research—especially in basic research. This is problematic because basic research, in addition to having intrinsic value, forms the foundation for new technological breakthroughs and innovations.

Our neighboring countries, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, have for a long time invested large sums in research and development. For example, Sweden spends as much as 3.4% of its GDP on research, while in Norway, we spend only about 2%. Sweden has made significant strides, especially in biological research, with groundbreaking work in genetics and biotechnology that has earned them several Nobel prizes.

While Norway has invested heavily in petroleum research, we have lagged behind in other important research fields. I maintain good contact with some French research groups, and they tell me that France has built strong research environments through institutes like IFREMER and CNRS, with a significant focus on everything from mathematics to biology. However, Norway lacks the same systematic approach to basic research.

Many other European countries are also making significant investments in research. Countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland understand the value of supporting both basic and applied research. In Norway, on the other hand, research policy seems more random and short-term—we lack large, long-term plans.

For Norway to tackle the major challenges of the future, such as climate change, health crises, and digitalization, we must significantly increase research budgets.

 

Have a nice weekend

Ruth-Anne

Our call to the countries of the world – the nature summit in Cali

Foto/ill.: Håvard Kroken Holme/UiB

[Our translation9

Towards the UN’s nature summit COP16, which is currently underway in Colombia, UiB professors Vigdis Vandvik and Inger Elisabeth Måren have made eight calls to the government. They emphasize the importance of following up on the nature agreement from 2022 and encourage cooperation with researchers.

Read the news article at www.uib.no/nt [Norwegian language]

UiB OCEAN: Invitation to premiere viewing of the Netflix-documentary “Our Oceans”

Universitetet i Bergen har vært vitenskapelig rådgiver for dokumentarserien Our Oceans som har premiere på Netflix 20. november. Foto/ill.: Netflix/Wild Space Productions

[Our translation]

A warm welcome to the premiere screening of the Netflix documentary “Our Oceans”, and the episode about the Arctic Ocean.

When: Tuesday 19. November 19.00 – 21.00.

Where: Storsalen, Nygårdsgaten 5

NB – sign up here:  https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=17850999

New seminar series from CeSAM to be launched November 7th. From Nature Crisis to Solutions: Norway’s road to the Nature Deal

Foto/ill.: Dagmar Egelkraut

In CeSAM’s interdisciplinary seminar series 2024-2025, we tackle big and small questions at the intersection between nature and politics. We take the Norwegian perspective as our starting point and put an interdisciplinary spotlight on Norway’s implementation of the nature agreement. All welcome!

Read more about the seminar series

Read more about the introductory seminar 7. November

Selskapet til vitenskapenes fremme – To spennende foredrag i November!

Torsdag 14. November: Barn i fattige familier i Norge

Tid og sted:Litteraturhuset i Bergen , torsdag 14. november  klokken 18:00.
Arrangementet er gratis og åpent for alle.

Onsdag 20. November: Framtidens velferd.

Omsorgs-roboter eller lokale almenninger?

Tid og sted:Litteraturhuset i Bergen , onsdag 20. november  klokken 18:00.
Arrangementet er gratis og åpent for alle.

Se denne siden for mer info om foredragene

Webinar: Do we need approval of artificial intelligence research?

[Our translation]

The national research ethics committee for natural sciences and technology (NENT) invites you to an open webinar on 11 November.Webinar: Do we need approval of artificial intelligence research?

Plastics network fall meeting 2024 – Microplastics and Human Health: Sources, Exposure, and Impact

The Plastics Network, in collaboration with the Norwegian Society of Pharmacology and Toxicology (NSFT), Norwegian Institute for Water Research, and the Institute of Marine Research, are organizing the meeting “Microplastics and Human Health: Sources, Exposure, and Impact” on November 22nd in Bergen.

  • 22.11.2024 – 09.3015.15
  • Stort Auditorium, Thormøhlens gate 55

For more info, program and to sign up – see the event homepage