Greetings from the Department – 1.12.2023
Instituttleder Ørjan Totland. Foto: Eivind Senneset, UiB
Dear all,
At the time of writing, many of us are at a teachers’ meeting at Voss. The main themes are guidance and the way forward with the development of teaching quality after bioCEED is no longer an SFU. Both are important topics these days; quality of supervision is important for both supervisors, students and the department, and I am very happy to experience that we have a great experience-sharing culture at BIO.
News article from bioCEED: Student Poster Symposium at BIO, Autumn 2023
Student poster symposium at BIO fall 2023. Photo: bioCEED
5 courses at BIO held a joint poster symposium for their students on Tuesday 28 November. 150 students presented a total of 50 posters. Read more in bioCEED’s news story about the symposium. There you will also find a link to the bioPITCH website where you can see all the posters.
HSE-meeting and Christmas gathering
Dear all
Welcome to HSE-meeting and Christmas gathering. Here is the tentative agenda for the meeting. It will start at 12:00 with mingling and coffee at VilVite big auditorium.
The Christmas gathering will take place at the cantina at HIB 17:00. We will be served tapas and non-alcoholic drinks. It is possible to buy alcohol (beer and wine)
If anyone who is not registered wants to join,please contact nina.holland@uib.no
Nominate candiates for UiB’s working environment award
[Text and illustration are cut from På Høyden and translated by us]
In its revised strategic plan “Knowledge that shapes society”, the University of Bergen has clear objectives for the development of the working environment. As part of this work, an annual working environment award was established in 2020 in the form of a diploma and a cash prize for one or more award winners.
The prize can be awarded to individuals, faculties, departments, sections, professional environment, groups or units that have made an extra effort to safeguard the working environment or have introduced other good HSE measures.
The deadline for nominating candidates is set for 21 January 2024. Via this digital nomination form you can propose candidates for the working environment award [Norwegian language]
URGENT: Please help us spread information about SEAS Call 4 in relevant networks (application deadline: January 15th)
Photo: SEAS graphics
Dear SEAS fellows and others
This will be the final SEAS call. If we don’t fill the three positions, we will not reach the goal of 37 SEAS fellows. We really need help to spread the information. Any relevant networks, mailing groups, social media etc you might be part of, please use.
As you know, an application process takes time, so if you plan to help with this, don’t wait too long.
Report from input meeting for Stortingsmelding on climate and natural diversity in Bergen 27.11.2023 – led by Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, Ministry of Climate and Environment
[Norwegian language]
Regjeringen skal i løpet av 2024 legge fram en stortingsmelding om naturmangfold for å følge opp den nye internasjonale naturavtalen, og en stortingsmelding om klima for perioden fram mot 2035 på veien mot lavutslippssamfunnet i 2050. Inger Måren ved BIO stilte på vegne av CeSAM og UiB på dette innspillsmøtet og ga muntlig innspill. Dette vil følges opp med et skriftlig innspill sendt fra UiB sentralt mandag 4. desember der flere fakulteter har spilt inn.
News from the Plastic Network: Taking the temperature on the research front within plastics and microplastics
[Our translation]
With a total of 115 registered participants physically and digitally, the Plastics Network at UiB, in collaboration with the Norwegian Society for Toxicology and Pharmacology, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research and the Institute of Marine Research, invited to an autumn meeting on both the current status and future research on microplastics.
Read the whole article on the Plastic Network’s website [Norwegian language]
PHOTOSYNTECH is looking for new members!
BIO is part of a research school started in the autumn of 2022. It is called PHOTOSYNTECH – Photosynthetic Eukaryotes: From Fundamentals to Applications in Biology, Bioproduction and Biotechnology. It is lead by Kirsten Krause at University of Tromsø, and all Universities, University Colleges and research institutions working on related topics are partners.
News from Khrono (opinion): the Norwegian research community with silent accept of ethnic discrimination
Faksimile fra sak publisert i Khrono fredag 24.11.2023 – 15:05. Foto: Løken / Wikimedia
[Our translation]
Norce has decided to shut the doors on researchers from “red countries”. This goes agains our liberal core values, but nobody cares.
The statement is taken from Mikko Heino’s opionion in Khrono. Read the whole article in Khrono [Norwegian language]
Mon 4 Dec. Master’s presentation, Jo Markus Worren
Virulence factors of Pasteurella atlantica genomovar salmonicida and effect on salmon leucocytes
When: 10.15-10.45
Where: Seminarrom K1, A-blokken, Biologen (TM53A)
Tue 5 Dec. MolBio seminar, Stefan Thiele
Methanogenesis and methanotrophy in open system pingos on Svalbard
When: 9.15-10.00
Where: Seminarrom 439C1 (Inkubatoren), 4et, Bioblokken, TM55
Greetings from the Department – 24.11.2023
Foto:
Melanie Burford, Silvereye Pictures
Hello everyone
The semester has flown by and both students and staff are busy with exam reading and exam preparations. A current topic this semester has been artificial intelligence (AI), and this is something that is widely discussed in the media and not least put to use. At the weekend we could read on NRK the news that “Artificial intelligence in school is like jumping on a speeding train”. An important question is what consequences it will have for both staff and students here at the department and at UiB. Both students and staff can get professional support from chat(ro)bots such as ChatGPT. The possibilities are endless, the chatbots can write essays for us on any topic, so submissions only take a few minutes, they can support researchers in writing applications and articles. But we must be critical; on one occasion, the bot referred in a text to an article that does not exist, and when pointed out, the bot politely apologized. But how is the learning going? How can we use it as a resource? Do we have to stop with submissions and home exams? Will it be good to use AI for correcting reports and exams? This should be brought up for discussion. How can artificial intelligence be useful in our research? In human medical research, AI is used to detect disease and for diagnosis. This could also apply to fish and other animals. AI will also be able to streamline data analysis of large data sets, which is becoming more and more relevant as sequencing technology continues to improve and costs for next generation sequencing fall. Regardless of how we will use AI in the future, let’s hope that real intelligence will also be used…
Regards, Gyri
New article from uib.no/matnat: Teaching others to save the world
Foto/ill.: Malin Kvamme/ Statsraad Lehmkuhl
Professor Katja Enberg is group leader for Fisheries and marine biology at the University of Bergen. She has worked for a long time with the sustainable use of the sea’s fishing resources. In the summer of 2022, she taught 86 students in sustainability, sailing across the Pacific with Statsraad Lehmkuhl.
News from uib.no. New report: Eat more small fish!
Småfisk på et marked i det vestafrikanske landet Ghana. Foto/ill.: Ragnhild Overå, UiB
A new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization states that small fish are an underestimated source of nutrition and can contribute to solving challenges related to food security globally. The conclusion is that the world must eat more nutritious food – and one of the answers is small fish.