Newsletter September 2015

The PhD Council would with this newsletter like to inform about a couple of developments at the Faculty that could affect the PhD students in different ways. We would also like to ask for input if you have any in respect to the different topics.

Recruitment procedures when employing new permanent academic staff

The Faculty is investigating the recruitment procedures and criteria when employing new permanent academic staff. It has been held that the Faculty with the current arrangement, with increasing internationalization and interdisciplinary, finds it hard to employ staff with the competence to teach in core Norwegian legal subjects (for further information, follow the link). The PhD Council has for this been asked to give input. We have written a letter in Norwegian that you can find here. To summarize letter, we have:

  • asked the Faculty Board to allow for individual input, particularly international PhD students and post docs who could be affected by the potential reforms.

  • recognized the need to secure staff for teaching in core Norwegian legal subjects but stressed the benefits of an international and interdisciplinary research milieu.

  • questioned whether the issue solely concerns the recruitment of new permanent academic staff or if it could be a matter of how the current staff, including PhD students, are employed and encouraged to teach core subjects.

  • called for measures that facilitates and stimulates educational training and increase possibilities for permanent employment at the Faculty and elsewhere.

 

PhD supervisor seminar

There will be a seminar for supervisors of PhD-candidates at the 24th of September. The purpose is to improve the quality of supervision. The seminar will include lectures and discussion. Emphasis will be on the start-up phase of the PhD project.  A representative of the PhD council will be present to include the perspectives of the PhDs. Any thoughts and experiences on supervision, good or bad, will be welcome, and can be sent to o.h.ronning@jus.uio.no.

 

3+2

Most of you are probably aware that the different institutions have been called to comment on the 3+2 investigation. Given the indirect connection between teaching and research, as highlighted under the above mentioned recruitment discussions, the level of flexibility for the students to elect interdisciplinary and other units could affect the research dynamics at the Faculty. The PhD Council therefore encourages those with opinions about this, either for or against, to put forward their ideas to the institute leaders.    

 

Career guidance

Discussions are taking place, with coordination between the PhD Councils and student representatives at the University, on how to push decision-makers to allocate resources for career guidance activities and establish consistent structures to address these issues.  

 

Potential PhD Representatives at the Faculty Board 2016

The PhD Council asked for volunteers to sign up as candidates for the Faculty Board 2016, conditioned to their commitment also in the PhD Council during the same year.

Daniel Arnesson and Henriette N. Tøssebro are both willing to be permanent representatives at the Faculty Board and members of the PhD Council for 2016. Johan Vorland Wibye is interested in being in the PhD Council and agrees to be substitute representative at the Faculty Board for 2016. We will decide how to mobilize our votes for the election during the bridging event with the research assistants and post docs. If necessary, PhD students will be given the possibility to vote on the issue over email.

 

Bridging event

This brings us to the Bridging event. It is going to be held on 25 September and a bit more than 30 people have so far signed up. We ask you to sign up as soon as possible but no later than Thursday 17 September so that we in good time will have an idea of how many that will come. We hope to see you there!

Publisert 10. sep. 2015 09:42 - Sist endret 10. sep. 2015 09:44