Why do you want to run for the board of the University of Oslo?
The exploitation and discrimination temporary staff face at UiO today is unacceptable. Our working conditions are cast by the university board, yet permanent staff, who we outnumber, enjoy double our representation. We must take a powerful stance against this devaluation and together reverse current power imbalances. I will bring the clear, unwavering voice for justice we need on UiO’s highest democratic body.
I have seen firsthand the importance of broad temporary staff mobilization in securing an ethical, engaged UiO for ourselves and for the world around us. Summer 2024, I identified UiO procurement practices in violation of human rights obligations. I forged alliances across the university and succeeded in righting UiO’s course as a leader in ethical practice. The time has come to ensure similar victories when it comes to our own working conditions.
Today, I write as a visiting scholar at Harvard University. Colleagues are weathering unprecedented attacks on their jobs, research funding, and freedom of speech. Decisions affecting many are made by a select few, and our peers are particularly at risk. My commitment to fight for fairer conditions for temporary staff has only deepened.
As board representative, I will be available to any temporary staff facing workplace issues or fighting for fairer conditions. You can call me (+47 46909974), email me (emmajle@uio.no), DM me (@emmalengle) or grab a coffee with me on campus. I will actively partner with you to raise cases to the board, and I will organize open office hours bi-weekly – starting during election week May 12th, 14th and 16th at 3 PM at this zoom link.
What are your most important issues, briefly?
UiO could not fulfill its societal function without temporary staff, and our current conditions do not reflect our value. UiO must ensure career growth and opportunities for temporary staff both in- and outside of academia, and our contributions must be acknowledged. Underrepresented groups, including working class and ethnic minority scholars, must actively be recruited and retained in academia. We must collectively gain greater influence over our university and our own work.
Election platform
I will fight for:
- Fair working conditions
- International solidarity
- Equitable university democracy
I will carry an intersectional and temporary staff-centric approach to any issue raised to the board and will commit to dismantling systems that hinder permanent employment, prioritize quantity over quality, overlook our contributions, and place the burden of language and mobility politics on those already precariously employed. Of the hundreds of cases brought before the board the past few years, next to none were raised by our temporary staff representatives. This is a missed opportunity, and I promise to not sit quietly on the board. I will organize community forums for temporary staff to determine our position on issues we face at UiO today and plan cases to proactively raise. We must together decide which futures of academic solidarity to seed, and I will be an attentive gardener.
About me
As a medical doctor and anthropologist trained at UiO, with a Master of Public Health from Harvard, my practice is informed by care and equity. During my ten years at UiO, I have been a steadfast activist for a fairer and freer academia across a host of leadership positions. As a medical student, I secured more inclusive COVID-era faculty decision-making. At Harvard, I assembled support for colleagues facing censorship and deportation. As a PhD fellow, I am establishing protections for UiO students and staff experiencing discrimination. I now offer my skills of coalition-building and public debate to our shared effort to forge a UiO where temporary staff gain the influence and conditions they deserve.
Nominators
- Amna Mahmood, HF
- Jonathan Jonsson, HF
- Davina Kaur Patel, MED
- Hanne Ochieng Lichtwarck, MED
- Vetle Alvenes Utvik, MN
- Jacob Jorem, MED
- Lise Bjerke, MED
- Julie Marie Lengle, MED
- Nora Milch, JUS
- Astrid Bragstad Gjelsvik, MN
- ?ystein Fl? Baste, JUS
- Eline Mannino, MN
- Sonja ?man, HF
- Peder Ressem ?string, SV
- Ingvild Tomren, HF
- Marius Johansen, MED
- Mingyuan Zhang Betancourt, MED
- Inga Haaland, MED
- Million T. Eshete, MED
- Bushra Ishaq, MED