Dear colleagues,
Summer is now upon us and many of you are ready for the holidays. Here at MED we have just completed an eventful semester. We are continually working on following up on our strategy and annual plan with the vision of Outstanding Knowledge for Future Health.
We recently broke ground on the construction of the new Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, and the Life Science Building is rapidly taking shape on the other side of Ringveien.
We have held the spring’s final faculty board meeting before the summer, and had graduation ceremonies for our many graduate students. You can find pictures from this below.
Students should always receive outstanding teaching
It is of course essential that outstanding knowledge is disseminated to our students in the best possible manner. We had previously been fortunate enough to never have experienced an exam being interrupted by an explosion on the floor above the exam room in Silurveien - which is what happened last week. Fortunately, none of our students were injured, but it was an unpleasant experience and it caused major disruption for many people.
Campus South - good experiences after the first year
The first ten students at UiO Campus South have now completed their period of study at that campus, and at the end of the semester will return to Oslo to complete their final year of study. Thanks to the efforts of our staff in Southern Norway, students and staff at UiO Campus have reported having fantastic experiences. We are also very pleased with the good and close cooperation we have developed with Sørlandet Hospital Trust.
Two new student groups will travel to UiO Campus South in the autumn, and Module 4 will be held in Southern Norway for the first time. There has been a great deal of groundbreaking work in establishing a decentralised campus, and we are constantly working to improve and further develop this programme. Read more in our own editorial about Campus South. Read more in our own editorial about Campus South.
Our bachelor and master programmes are popular
This spring, our interdisciplinary Bachelor programme in Health Management and Health Economics had more than 7 first-choice applicants per study place – and is thereby one of UiO’s most popular bachelor programmes. That is promising!!!
Our master programmes are also popular. This is hardly surprising when considering that these are programmes in which students are offered outstanding teaching in highly relevant topics. These include how pandemics, climate change and social inequality impact a population’s health, how scarce resources can and should be distributed, how gender perspectives on disease and health can be integrated into theory and practice, how preventative and health-promoting knowledge development on a global scale can be developed or how knowledge about diet and nutrition can solve some of society’s biggest health challenges.
Our work during the spring, which involved good and close collaboration with all programme coordinators, had a particular focus on developing educational quality. We will continue with this in the autumn.
Our core facilities strengthen MED’s role within life sciences
It is now a little over a year since the foundation stone of the Life Science Building was laid, and the building is taking shape at record speed. The project has already managed to make its mark on the research groups, and the expectations of what the new building will be able to offer are growing by the day. Over the past year, significant funds for heavy scientific equipment in the building have been distributed in accordance with extensive processes, and academic groups at our faculty have been allocated a significant portion of these resources.
Through the establishment of new core facilities in the Life Science Building (see our editorial on the Core Facilities in the Life Science Building for more information), the faculty will strengthen its position as a leading player within life science research.
High season for public defences
This spring, a record number of candidates received their PhD at MED! A total of 136 public defences were held and there was fantastic diversity in the topics and methods the candidates immersed themselves in. The active research group within the field of medicine and health sciences strengthens the academic groups in hospitals and society, and that is something we should be proud of.
An average of around 200 candidates graduate each year, more than any other faculty in Norway.
The researchers of the future – What does MED think a PhD should be?
This year we have held many discussions about the content of a PhD and what we should require in terms of content, language and publication. There are numerous opinions on this, and it is wonderful that many people are engaging themselves the discussion of what a PhD education at MED should be and we will be inviting further discussion on this during the autumn. MED endeavours to maintain a high standard in the programme that is in line with best practices for PhDs in the field of medicine and health sciences Best Practices - ORPHEUS (orpheus-med.org) to enable our graduates to be as well-equipped as possible for a successful research career.
Postdoctoral fellow is a good choice for those who want to continue after completing their PhD.
MED offers attractive courses for a continued research career after the conclusion of the PhD programme. The autumn course has just been posted on the website, so sign up!
Stand as a candidate or vote at the faculty’s elections to be held in the autumn
In the autumn, a new representative will be elected for the temporary academic staff on the Faculty Board. IMB will elect a new Head of Institute. The doctoral research fellows’ important voice on the faculty’s research committee and Head of MedDocs will also be elected. Have a good think about whether you would like to gain the oversight and experience that precisely these positions provide and consider standing for election in the autumn.
Enjoy a well-deserved summer from
Hanne, Jan, Magnus, Grete and Eli
Photos from the last couple of weeks
Graduation ceremony for our graduate doctors. Break during the spring’s final faculty board meeting. First ground broken for the New Oslo University Hospital (Nye Rikshospitalet). Graduation ceremony for our graduating nutritionists. Entertainment from “Sangvinerne”, the male voice choir for students of medicine. Picture from public defence. The Dean representing MED in UiO’s executive management and travels around many of UiO’s wonderful meeting places. Image captions are in Norwegian.
