Proposers
- Stian Øby Johansen, PhD Candidate Faculty of Law
- Carola Lingaas, PhD Candidate Faculty of Law
- Caroline Bang Stordrange, PhD Candidate Faculty of Law
- Amanda Schei, Head of Education and Research the Student Parliament
Election Platform
I am running for a place on the University Board because I want to work to improve the conditions for temporary academic staff at UiO. Temporary international academic staff form a vital part of the research and teaching activities conducted at the University, and it is therefore important that also international temporary academic staff enjoy working conditions that facilitate cutting edge research and career development.
I am currently the leader of the PhD Council at the Faculty of Law (which represents temporary academic staff at the law faculty), and sit on the institute board for the Institute of Public and International Law. Previously I have held various student leadership positions at Georgetown, LSE and the University of Bergen. I am passionate about university politics and seek to continue this work as your representative on the University Board.
Although I am Norwegian, I have completed the majority of my education abroad (with the exception of a year spent at UiB). As such, I very much felt like I was a foreign PhD student when I started at the University, and initially found it difficult to understand the Norwegian university system. It is therefore important to me that UiO works to improve the working conditions for international temporary academic staff, and with this in mind there are 3 things that I wish to focus on:
1. Increasing the training courses and information available in English
A reoccurring problem at the university for temporary international academic staff is that information and training courses are only available in Norwegian. It is essential that relevant and important information is disseminated in both English and Norwegian. This includes updating the UiO website, so that staff related web-pages are also available in English.
Secondly, if UiO is to recruit international PhD students, it is imperative that all mandatory PhD courses be offered in English. Other important training courses (like pedagogy training) should also be available in English, so that all temporary academic staff will be able take them. These courses are important ways of integrating and including international staff in university life.
2. Ensure that international temporary academic staff enjoy equal career opportunities
Temporary international academic staff are an important asset to the University, and UiO’s goal of achieving a more internationalized university will only be met if international staff are given equal career opportunities. Studies show that many international PhDs and Post Docs leave Norway after they have finished their contracts. It is therefore important that the University works to retain international talent by ensuring that international staff are given equal career opportunities and realistic prospects of being hired for a permanent position. In practice this will mean ensuring that international academic staff are also given (where possible) the opportunity to teach, and an opportunity to participate actively at their centers and faculties.
3. Reducing the use of temporary positions
The use of temporary contracts remains a problem at UiO, and if elected to the University Board I wish to continue to work for predictable and secure working conditions for temporary academic staff. Although the nature of academic work is such that one cannot give all researchers permanent positions, the University should still work towards decreasing the use of temporary contracts. Although Post Doc positions are supposed to be entry level positions, that are intended to qualify the holder for a permanent position, practice shows that these positions are often not used in this manner.
It is important that temporary academic staff have predictable career paths that end with the possibility of a permanent position. The University is currently discussing the possibility of introducing tenure track positions. Such positions could be an important way to reduce the use of temporary contracts and increase the possibility of permanent positions for more young researchers. If elected to the University Board I will work hard to ensure that the University introduces such tenure track positions.
Background
- Born: 1986
- Bachelor degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics, 2008
- Graduate Diploma in Law from the College of Law, 2009
- Fulbright Scholar, 2011/2012
- Masters of Law from Georgetown University Law Centre, 2012
- PhD Student at the Faculty of Law, 2013