Team Ursin
Rector candidate Giske Ursin is running for election together with pro-rector candidate Stefan Krauss. Accompanying them are vice-rector candidates Heidi Beate Bentzen, Beate Rygg Johnsen and Harald Eia.
Get to know Giske Ursin
Why do you want to become UiO's next rector team?
– We want to become UiO's next rector team because we aim to transform UiO into a leading international university with a competitive capital base to help address major global societal challenges. Our goal is to position the University of Oslo (UiO) among the top 30 universities in the world within 30 years.
UiO has a strong academic tradition and robust academic environments, but we face economic challenges that require transformation and innovative thinking. We see immense potential in developing the university to become a global leader in excellent teaching, groundbreaking research, innovation, and value creation. We are motivated by the opportunity to contribute to strengthening the university's position as an international top player deeply rooted in values like equality and social responsibility.
Our team
"The team, like the programme, is unconventional and focuses solely on quality, international exposure, and targeted efforts.
The Ursin/Krauss team is the only rectorate team that includes genuine representation of technical/administrative staff, real representation of students, and scientific staff in both permanent and temporary positions, spanning multiple career stages."
Rector candidate Giske Ursin
is a physician, director of the Cancer Registry, divisional director at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and an adjunct professor at the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. She is internationally recognized for her research in women's health. She has served on numerous national and international councils and committees and is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Ursin will emphasize the role of the comprehensive university in a globalized world, focusing particularly on transforming the University of Oslo into an internationally leading university with a competitive capital base. She will work closely with the rest of the team.
Pro-rector candidate Stefan Krauss
is a physician, professor, and head of the Centre of Excellence for Biohybrid Technology. During his time at Oxford University, the scientific journal Nature recognized one of his research findings as one of the 24 most important milestones in developmental biology. He will work closely with Ursin to transform the University of Oslo into a top international university, specifically focusing on measures that will ensure competitive research, innovation, and value creation.
Vice-rector candidate Heidi Beate Bentzen
is a lawyer and researcher at the Centre for Medical Ethics at the Faculty of Medicine and a former researcher at the Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law at the Faculty of Law. She works interdisciplinarily with a specific focus on law and research ethics in the life sciences. She has extensive international expert assignment experience from the European Commission and as an advisor for several of Europe's largest data infrastructure projects. She will emphasize transformation, internationalization, new technologies, including artificial intelligence, and a strategic research and innovation infrastructure for the University of Oslo.
Vice-rector candidate Beate Rygg Johnsen
is a biochemist and head of the Growth House for Value Creation. She has extensive experience with innovation and commercialization from the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, as well as startups and academia, and knows the value creation process from both the university and business sectors. In the rectorate team, she represents the technical-administrative staff. She will emphasize value creation by ensuring that research from the University of Oslo benefits society in the form of innovative products, services, and societal improvements.
Vice-rector candidate Harald Eia
is a sociologist and science communicator. He is known for his popular science presentations of complex topics and has extensive experience in the media, including as a host for NRK. He will emphasize the importance of research-based communication and meeting society's need for it. He will focus on creating links between the University of Oslo and society at large.