General information
The following section can be read prior to arrival.
The administration and reception desk ("Ekspedisjonen")
You are very welcome to visit the reception desk ("Ekspedisjonen") or someone else in the Administration if you have questions concerning any topics liste on this webpage.
- Reception desk opening hours and contact information
- People in the administration (mainly located at the ground floor in Kristine Bonnevies hus)
- Map and opening hours for Kristine Bonnevies hus
Monday morning coffee with the Head of Department
Every second Monday, the Head of Department invites to a Monday morning coffee. Bring your own cup. The Head of Department gives updates on current issues, and you have the opportunity to introduce yourself and get to know your colleagues. The meeting takes place at 09.30 in Bikuben – a venue close to the main entrance to Kristine Bonnevies hus. Invitations are sent via the e-mail lists you will be subscribed to (see information on subscribing to lists further down the page).
Access card, office key
Upon arrival: The "Ekspedisjonen" can advise you on where to pick up your office keys and ID & Access card. If you receive salary from UiO, you can usually pick up your card at the SiO Centre (sio.no) one day after your contracts starts (bring a passport or other form of identification.)
Upon departure: Remember to return the office key when your contract or stay has ended. Access cards with name/photo do not have to be returned.
Employment conditions
- UiO's webpage for employment conditions (Employee benefits, Trade unions, Working hours and absence etc.)
- Employee benefits (Exercise during work hours, Kindergarten etc.)
- Welfare loan: When you sign a contract for renting an apartment, you often have to pay a deposit. If you do not have the financial means to cover this deposit, you may apply for a welfare loan from UiO.
- Holidays: All employees have the right and obligation to take holidays. You earn holiday pay entitlement the year prior to taking holiday, i.e. in the earning year. The calendar year you actually take holiday is called holiday year. If you have not worked in the earning year, you are nevertheless entitled to take holidays, however without holiday pay. Familiarize yourself with the holiday regulations and the holiday checklist.
Mail room, office equipment, purchases
Remember to check your mail in the mail room on the ground floor: Room 1116/1118, next to the reception\Ekspedisjonen. Your mail will arrive in the shelf labeled with the first initial of your family name (some long term employees have their own shelf labled with their name).
You can pick up office equipment, like pencils, folders, Post-it notes etc. in the basement. What to do: Go to Innkjøpskontoret (room U-157) and pick up the key for Sentrallageret. Help yourself from the shelves at Sentrallageret. On the desk there will be forms where you have to fill out what you have taken and how many (prices are not necessary). You must write which project is to pay in the form xxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx. Please ask your project manager to make sure you have the combination digits. Sign the form and leave it in the box. Return the key to Innkjøpskontoret.
- All procurement, with the exception of books and travel, must be undertaken by your purchasing officer through the UiO procurement system.
- If you need new computer equipment or similar, contact your project leader first.
Publishing scientific papers and Open Access-agreements
It is important to state your affiliation correctly in all of your publications. This means including the information: Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo (the phrase 'University of Oslo' must appear on the publication). If possible, we recommend also stating the name of your IBV section. If you want IBV to get credit for your publication, the affiliation must be given as a regular affiliation, not only "Current address..." or similar. Your research articles must be openly available (see the link below).
UiO has entered into agreements for Open Access publishing with several publishers. Some of the agreements offer discounts on APC (article processing charges), while other deals cover the whole APC. As a general rule, for the agreement to apply, it is important that you choose UiO as your affiliation when you submit the article. It is not enough that this is listed in the article, as it is the affiliation chosen in the publisher's workflow that activates the agreement. See the details at the University of Oslo Library's webpage Open Access-agreements.
- Accessibility of work results (Open Access)
- Self-archiving and Rights Retention Policy
- UiO’s affiliation instructions
Social media
Stay up-to-date by frequently checking the IBV News and events pages. We also recommend following IBV on Facebook and Twitter!
User account
Your web account and email [name@ibv.uio.no] at the University of Oslo will be activated by the IT service group upon your arrival. Please go to their office (located on the ground floor, room 1150) in person and bring your ID. (If you are working from abroad, contact the IT office to arrange another way to activate your acount.) You can read your email in several ways, e.g. by using Microsoft outlook or by using this website: mail.uio.no. More about the IT services.
Internet access
The wireless network at UiO is called Eduroam (more information). The network requires you to log in with either:
- username (include @uio.no after your username) and password from UiO
- username and password from another institution affiliated with Eduroam
- username and password you get as a guest or conference participant
Video meetings and remote lecturing
Zoom is UiO's preferred service for video meetings and remote lecturing.
HSE: Health, security and the environment (Norwegian: HMS)
Make sure that you have read the information included in the Procedure for general HSE training at IBV (containing important information on asbestos in the walls and heavy metals in some old laboratory faucets). Familiarize yourself with the HSE-work environment regulations for IBV and get in touch with the HSE responsible person (HMS-i) at your section if needed.
If your research project involves work in a lab, there are mandatory qualification. See the "Local procedure for health and safety training and access at IBV (lab and field work)" or ask the HMS-I in your section.
If your research project involves working with research animals you have to formally be qualified to carry out testing on animals, Category C. If you do not have such qualification, you have to take the course. Contact studieinfo@ibv.uio.no for more information.
A place to stay
International staff and guests can apply for student or researcher housing through the University. The minimum rent period is two months and the maximum is 12 months. Please read the Information for students and guest researchers. There is usually a long waiting list. Also check the private accommodation bulletin board. To look for apartments at the private marked, the most used website is finn.no. A standard Tenancy agreement (an agreement that regulates the tenant's and the landlord's rights and obligations in the tenancy) in English can be found here: forbrukerradet.no.
- UiO accommodation for international researchers and staff
- UiO student housing
- Bulletin board for private housing
- Private marked: finn.no (external website)
- Standard tenancy agreement (external website)
General information continued
The following section requires that you have activated your UiO user account.
Personal profile page
A personal profile page will be established. You should maintain your personal profile page yourself: This is done by clicking 'Manage document' at the bottom of your page and signing in using your UiO credentials.
E-mail lists (requires an active UiO user account)
IBV has several useful email lists. You will be added to our main lists, but to speed up the process, you can also yourself subscribe to them. As a main rule it will be your @ibv.uio.no-address that has been or will be added to the list. This has the advantage that you can manage all subscriptions yourself.
Log on to sympa.uio.no to find the e-mail lists mentioned below and to subscribe.
PhD research fellows
- stipendiater@ibv.uio.no (PhD research fellows)
Non-permanent scientific staff, including PhD research fellows
- vitenskapelig-aremal@ibv.uio.no (all non-permanent scientific staff, including PhD research fellows)
Permanent (long-term) scientific staff
- vitenskapelig-@ibv.uio.no
Technicians
- teknikere-alle@ibv.uio.no
Regarding the lists ansatte@ibv.uio.no and ansatte@mn.uio.no
There are two lists that the Dapartment and the Faculty uses for sending important information relevant to all. These are ansatte@ibv.uio.no and ansatte@mn.uio.no, respectively. You do not subscribe to these lists directely, but you will revceive e-mails sent to these lists if you subscribe to one or more of these lists:
- vitenskapelig-aremal@ibv.uio.no
- vitenskapelig@ibv.uio.no
- teknikere-alle@ibv.uio.no
- prof-2@ibv.uio.no
- ibv-adm@ibv.uio.no
Other e-mail lists
You might find other lists of interest under "Section spesific information" further down the page.
The self-service portal (DFØ)
Here, you can, among other things, register working hours and absence, submit travel and subsistence claim forms or apply for reimbursement of expenses.
Pay day is on the 12th of every month. You will find the details of your salary for each month in the self-service portal.
All leave (sick leave, holidays) and travel expense refunds should be registered in the self-service portal. You must also register contact information of your next-of-kin/emergency contact (select "User profile"). To unlock the opportunity to register absence due to sick child, you must register the child's name and date of birth in your user profile.
Technical and administrative staff must register their working hours on a daily basis in the portal.
Registering scientific activity
Cristin is the national system used by UiO for registering academic activities and results. You must register all of your journal publications, books, book chapters, talks, posters, media contributions, etc., as the information entered into this system is used to generate reports on scientific activity, including information on collaboration (internally, nationally and internationally). If you have any difficulties using Cristin, you can contact the Cristin superuser at IBV.
If If you publish in a lesser-known peer-reviewed journal, please ensure that the journal is recognised at level 1 or 2, using the Database for Statistics and higher Education. Inform the Cristin superuser at IBV if the journal is not recognised.
- Cristin log in
- Cristin superuser contact information
- Database for Statistics and higher Education (list of level 1 and 2 journals)
Access to 7400+ newspapers and magazines
UiOs students and staff have access to PressReader. The service allows you to read more than 7400 newspapers and magazines from around the world.
Travelling, use of own car, car rental
UiO is committed to acting as environmentally-friendly and cost-effective as possible. Therefore, always start your travel planning by checking our green travel tips! All work related travel must be booked through a spesifc travel agency.
Insurance/Credit card: We recommend that you get a UiO credit card (Eurocard), which offers a travel insurance for up to 90 days when paying the trip with the card. This card also allows for postponed payments withoutinterest rates to be paid. In order to make use of postponed payment you must contact Eurocard in advance to require this.
A car can be borrowed for work related travel by all who are employed at IBV and master's students.
Use of your own car for work related travel must be approved in advance by person with budget allocation authority (BDM): IBV’s Head of office: a.m.eftevag@ibv.uio.no or a.e.mellbye@ibv.uio.no.
You can park at the University of Oslo, but you need to register in advance.
Information for new PhD candidates
PhD candidates
IBVs has a webpage for what to do when starting up, during and after your PhD. At that page you will also find our "Welcome brochure for new PhD candidates".
Information for those who are new Norway
New in Norway
Support
The International Staff Mobility Office (ISMO) at the University of Oslo supports international staff, PhD candidates, guest researchers and their families in all practical relocation issues. Check out their usefull support web site with information on taxes, bank accounts etc.
- UiO's International Staff Mobility Office (ISMO)
- New in Norway: Practical information from public offices
Norwegian language course
The courses offered by UiO are designed for international staff and guest researchers who would like to learn Norwegian, but do not necessarily need it for their work. Ask your project manager if the registration fee could be covered by the project.
Welcome breakfast for international researchers
The University regularly hosts welcome breakfasts for new international researchers. If no upcoming breakfasts are planned, please check back later.
Section spesific information
Please read the information from the section you are affiliated with.
Section for Aquatic Biology and Toxicology (AQUA)
Information coming!
Section for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB)
Information coming!
Section/Center for ecological and Evolutionary synthesis (CEES)
- Welcome to CEES! The CEES administration is located in Room 3322 in the Kristine Bonnevie Building (Blindernveien 31).
- When you get your access card (see above): Send the card no. (written on the back of the card) to cees-post@ibv.uio.no and ask to be given access to CEES.
- CEES hosts a daily (Monday-Friday) coffee break at 09:50-10:10 in the CEES lunch room (3313). This is great opportunity to meet with your new colleagues over a free Nespresso coffee. Bring your coffee mug.
- Stay up-to-date by frequently checking the front page of the CEES website. We also recommend following CEES at X (Twitter).
- The quickest way to get a door sign with your name and photo on it, is to use the template and print it yourself! Get together with you office mate to get his or her photo on the same sign. Template: CEES small door sign (most offices) / CEES large door sign. Alternatively, ask the administration to make you one.
- CEES has several useful email lists. When you get your internal email address you will be added to email lists that will alert you to general CEES information (cees-all), CEES seminar announcements (cees-seminar) and informal/social announcements (fun-sports-and-science).
- Important: It is important to state your affiliation correctly in all of your publications. For CEES members, this means including the information: Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo. (The phrase 'University of Oslo' must appear on the publication). If you want CEES to get credit for your publication, the affiliation must be given as a regular affiliation, not only "Current address..." or similar.
- CEES has several rooms you can book for meetings, video conferences etc. Ask the administration for instructions on how to book the rooms.
Section for Genetics and Evolutionary Biology (EVOGENE)
Information coming!
Section for Physiology and Cell Biology (FYSCELL)
Information coming!