Between May 23rd and May 27th, the fixed-term academic staff can submit their vote to one of five candidates running to represent this group of employees at the University Board. Doctoral Research Fellow Anniken Hotvedt Sundby at the Department of Education is one of the five candidates. She was nominated by several colleagues at the Department, as well as other departments.
– A colleague suggested I should run as a candidate, and it did not take me long to decide. Representing the fixed-term academic staff at the Board is a great responsibility, and an important and meaningful thing to do, Sundby says.
Teaching training for PhD candidates
Sundby would like to address several issues at the University Board, and she writes about this in her election platform. Improvement of researcher education and support structures for teaching students is one of them.
– Often PhD candidates are expected to spend 25 percent of their working time on teaching-related tasks. Yet, many have no prior teaching experience. The University should offer more beginning courses in teaching at an early stage in the researcher education. This should include topics such as assessment and feedback, supervision of students, active learning, students as co-researchers and research-based teaching, Sundby says.
Before starting as a Doctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Education, Sundby worked as a teacher in upper-secondary schools. She has also been working at the Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training, and at the Ministry of Education and Research.
– I was lucky to have teaching experience when I came to UiO. Still, I benefited greatly from LINK courses. These courses gave me a better idea of how to teach in higher education.
Language use in academia
English is more and more often the preferred language in Norwegian academic institutions. However, according to Sundby, we do have a way to go when it comes to achieving the best balance between English and Norwegian language.
– To participate in the international conversation, we must write in English, but it is also important to stimulate the Norwegian language among academics, Sundby says.
She pinpoints that UiO, as a significant institution in the Norwegian society, will disseminate research into a Norwegian-speaking society and most students will enter Norwegian working life.
– They will communicate with children, parents, colleagues, pupils, parents, and patients. Thus, UiO should strive for the best possible balance between English and Norwegian. I hope that the language debate will be less polarized in the future.
– Strategies are not designed for the drawer
The fixed-term academic representative will be sitting at the University Board from August 1st, 2022 to July 31st, 2023. Anniken Hotvedt Sundby is aware that one year at the Board is a short time. Nevertheless, she emphasises that one can accomplish a lot simply by implementing what has already been decided.
– Plans and strategies should not be put in a drawer. The University can do a better job implementing the existing plans it has already set.
The fixed-term academic staff at the Faculty of Educational Sciences has not had a representative at the University Board for many years.
– At our faculty, we teach students, and at the same time, we study teaching and learning itself. I want to contribute to a greater focus on teaching at the University Board, Sundby says.
The candidate hopes for a better turnout in this year’s election.
– Last year, only 17 percent of the fixed-term academic staff voted. I hope many more will vote this time!
Practical information about the election of fixed-term academic staff.
Learn more about the University Board and its responsibilities.