Nominator
- Kristin Fjelnseth Wold
Election platform
I am running for the election of a representative for fixed-term academic staff at the University Board because I want to ensure that their needs and concerns are taken seriously in decision-making processes at the University of Oslo.
Through work in various temporary academic positions and participation in multidisciplinary peer-mentoring groups, I noticed four areas of concern that need to be addressed more systematically:
- Holistic and systematic career development support
- Real chances to qualify for faculty positions following temporary academic appointments
- Improved inclusion of international employees
- Increased focus on mental health
If I am elected, I will ensure that these topics are addressed, while keeping my ears and eyes open for current needs, cases, and matters of concern.
1. Holistic and systematic career development support
- All fixed-term academic staff should be offered career development support, independent of their position (PhD student, post-doc, or researcher), faculty, or supervisor.
The need for a more systematic approach to career guidance and development has been emphasized by the Ministry of Education and Research and standards for career support at UiO have been established. I want to ensure that these standards are implemented in practice at all levels of UiO and for all fixed-term academic staff.
Courses
Currently, only some faculties (e.g. MED, MN) provide extracurricular courses on career development for fixed-term academic staff at different career stages. This course offer needs to be expanded across faculties, providing all fixed-term academic staff with the same career development opportunities. A stellar example is the UiB Ferd Career Center for Early Stage Researchers in Bergen, which organizes a wide range of courses as well as individual counselling for early career researchers.
Importantly, such courses need to address the development of generic skills relevant to an academic career (e.g., scientific writing, research supervision, grant writing), but also discuss career opportunities outside of academia.
Career plans
While many PhDs and post-docs are encouraged to develop career plans in their first year, those plans are not always followed-up as regularly as they should. Every fixed-term academic staff member should have the option to develop such plans and evaluate and update them together with a professional on an annual basis. Quality assurance procedures need to be put in place to ensure that this is in fact the case.
2. A real chance to qualify for faculty positions after temporary academic appointments
- All fixed-term academic staff should have the option to build up the experience and expertise required to qualify for a faculty position at university.
Many find themselves not well enough qualified for a faculty position after completion of their PhD or post-doc. In addition to publications, experience with teaching, student supervision, research administration and external funding applications is often expected. As outlined by the Ministry of Education and Research, a post-doc position is expected to fill this experience gap. However, in practice, this is rarely the case.
For this to be realistic, the minimum duration for a post-doc should be no shorter than 3.
Further, fixed-term academic staff should be allowed and encouraged to take on teaching and supervision duties – independent of their current position (PhD student, post-doc, or researcher) and funding source. Hence, we need more flexible structures and procedures and have to support cross-faculty teaching and supervision.
3. Improved inclusion of international employees
- Translation routines need to be improved and free Norwegian classes offered to all international fixed-term academic staff.
As an institution where international employees make up around 30% of the total staff (and an even larger proportion of the fixed-term academic staff), we have a responsibility to ensure they are included in the social, the educational, and the political arena. In this context, language is central.
While UiO is already providing most of their information in both Norwegian and English, there is still room for improvement. English translations of website/intranett contents as well as staff e-mails are sometimes less detailed and accurate than the Norwegian original, and other times not provided at all. Here, we need better quality assurance across all levels of the university.
At the same time, we should incentivize international fixed-term academic staff to learn Norwegian by offering free Norwegian classes and ensuring that direct managers will allow attending those classes during work hours.
Apart from language, inclusion can also be helped through other measures, for example buddy-programs. Versions of this already exist at some institutes; however, they are not always followed-up in reality.
4. An increased focus on mental health
- We need an open conversation about mental health challenges among fixed-term academics, and a more systematic and transparent support system.
Many fixed-term employees experience psychological stress directly associated with the nature of their work. A Belgian study from 2017 found that this concerns as many as 1 in 2 PhD students, with 1 in 3 being at risk of developing a psychiatric disorder. Job demands, insecurity about the future career, as well as supervisors’ leadership style were among the risk factors.
However, many fixed-term academic staff members at UiO do not know where to turn to when they face these challenges. Unlike students, they do not have access to SiO’s mental health offers. We should evaluate the possibility to extend these important services, at least parts thereof, to employees. Problems with the psycho-social working environment can be brought to the Occupational Health Service Unit, but many do not know that these services exist or feel that what they are struggling with is not covered by what they offer.
Therefore, all employees should regularly receive information on where to turn to if they experience work-related and/or psychological challenges that affect their work. In addition, there should be regular courses or group meetings on mental health challenges for fixed-term academic staff. A great example are psychological support group meetings initiated by UiB Ferd Career Center for Early Stage Researchers in Bergen.
About me
I am a psychologist (M.Sc.) from Germany, who fell in love with Norway during an ERASMUS exchange stay in Troms? in 2015. Therefore, I returned in 2016 for a job as a research assistant and again in 2017 to do a PhD, both at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. Here, I continued on a temporary researcher contract in 2021. Since January 2022, I have been a post-doc at the Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research, which is affiliated with the Institute of Clinical Medicine at UiO.
My research focuses on psychosis. During my PhD, I investigated decision-making and cognition in schizophrenia, and in my current post-doc project, I am exploring differences in the long-term course of psychotic disorders and associated risk factors.
From 2018 to 2020, I was a board member of the Norwegian Research School in Neuroscience, representing PhD students from UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. This has equipped me with valuable experience in administrative and organizational work.
Currently, I am the deputy representative for fixed-term academic staff at the Institute Council of the Institute of Clinical Medicine at UiO. Last year, I developed a career development seminar series together with a group of PhD students and post-docs at my center and experienced first-hand the pressing need for and interest in such programs among fixed-term academic staff at all levels.
Given my background, I also know what it is like to move to Norway from another country and recognize the culture- and language-specific obstacles that this may entail. Now proficient in Norwegian, I want to use my experience to build bridges between international and national staff, those who speak Norwegian and those who do not.