Dear employees,
In mid-February, we got the great news that the Faculty of Medicine’s application to the Research Council of Norway’s Balanse+ programme had been successful. This means that we have secured just under NOK 1 million for a project that will develop innovative measures aimed at gender balance, diversity and inclusion at the faculty over the next two years.
MED joins national network
As part of the Research Council of Norway’s support, the faculty will also join a network that will be an arena for the exchange of experiences and updates on new ideas, methods and theories regarding gender balance, diversity and inclusion in academia.
This will of course strengthen the faculty’s work on equality, inclusion and diversity and it will be a great opportunity to showcase the fantastic efforts already done through equality, inclusion and diversity work, also called LIM work, at MED.
Exciting new opportunities
The application was developed in close collaboration between members of the Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Committee (LIM Committee) at the faculty and the Office of the Dean, and is therefore well established.
The project will run over two years. It will highlight methods and tools for how we can enhance diversity expertise and diversity management at the faculty, as well as how we can work on equality, inclusion and diversity at the faculty.
First medical faculty to invest in LIM work
As the only medical faculty in Norway to receive funding for such a project, we have a unique opportunity to give equality, inclusion and diversity within academic medicine and education a real boost.
The grant is in addition to the funds the faculty has already allocated to LIM work. Collectively, this will create good synergies, as well as give us even greater scope for action in order to develop more knowledge, specific measures and deliverables that will enhance expertise on gender equality, inclusion and diversity in the organisation.
A need for more knowledge and new tools
The Research Council of Norway’s Balance+ programme shows that there is still work to do when it comes to ensuring equality, inclusion and diversity within academia. There is clearly still a need for more knowledge, and for the development of specific tools that can contribute to a more equal, diverse and inclusive academia.
The Balance+ programme started with a focus on gender equality in academia, but has evolved and currently has a greater focus on the broad topic of equality, inclusion and diversity within academia. This is a natural development when we look at how diverse the student population in Norway has become and how diverse the employees are in the Norwegian Higher Education Sector.
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on diversity within organisational and working life, and the importance of diversity as a resource. Diversity is therefore understood as something positive and considered a resource in working life, and not least in academia and the knowledge sector. In our project, we will naturally look at how we can utilise this resource to a much greater extent
A diverse faculty
Today, the Faculty of Medicine is in many ways a diverse faculty. Both among our employees and our students, we have a great diversity in terms of nationality and cultural background. We also have a large proportion of international students and not least a large proportion of international researchers.
Furthermore, there is a great diversity in academic disciplines and fields that enrich the faculty. The faculty, like the rest of academia, is very much international. Therefore, language policy and language practice are also an important part of everyday working life for all of us. Finally, there is also great variation in age and life situations at the faculty. This is also an important dimension of the faculty’s diversity, from students to active educators, and researchers with the title of professor emeritus
In light of this, it is important to have an active and vibrant policy in relation to equality, inclusion and diversity that facilitates and ensures that both employees and students have an equal, inclusive and good study and working environment. This includes efforts to prevent discrimination and racism, inclusive language policies, equality work to ensure gender balance, as well as work regarding internationalisation and recruitment, to name just a few.
A faculty in touch with the times
It is important to ensure that the faculty develops in step with the times and diversity, while also continuing with the work on gender equality. The Balance+ funding will give the faculty extra muscle to work on this topic, gain more knowledge and develop new tools
The aim is for the activities and knowledge that emerge over the next two years to form the basis for innovative and specific ways to ensure an equal, inclusive and diverse faculty
Like everything else, this field is constantly developing, which also means the work never stops. Therefore, it is wonderful to see that the Research Council of Norway has now granted funding to the faculty so that the ongoing and great work already done at the faculty receives an additional dimension. I look forward to following this in the future
Regards, Tony
See also the faculty’s Plan for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and read more about the faculty’s LIM Committee.