Why do you want to join the board of the University of Oslo?
I have kept tabs of the board throughout my time as both a student and an employee at UiO. I have seen that it’s a place where one must find balance between being clear in one's opinions and seeking collaboration to gain support for one’s viewpoints. This is an exercise I am comfortable with, drawing on experiences from both jobs and earlier and current positions of trust. I now hope to earn the trust of the staff to do the job on their behalf.
What are your key issues?
Financial responsibility: UiO must ensure that employees' jobs are not at risk due to poor financial management, as we have seen at other universities.
Inclusion in transition: Employees must be allowed to shape their new work life when budget cuts, digital transformations, and efficiency requirements create changes.
Take a stand: UiO must dare to take stands on important issues of our time.
Election platform
With me on the board, you will have a representative who is not afraid to raise important questions and stand in disagreements where necessary.
I have watched with concern as Norwegian universities have considered severance agreements and layoffs to compensate for poor financial management. These universities have failed to see the major financial problems they have headed for until the crisis was there. We have not yet seen these issues at UiO, but times of tighter economy are not over. If elected, I will focus on the fact that employees are our most valuable resource, and that we must therefore make economic priorities to provide them with secure conditions for their positions.
Tighter budgets, new digital tools and demands for efficiency affect everyone. Many also feel that they have little or no say in how these new conditions should shape their work life. When these changes happen, the board must make sure that employees can participate in shaping their new work situation, both through representation and contact with their own leader.
It is no coincidence that authoritarian forces declare universities as enemies when they seek to gain power. Universities have been sites of critique of those in power, which is essential for the liberal democracy. Therefore, the university must dare to take principled stands, especially when we witness injustice in the world around us. The leadership at UiO has been unwilling to take these principled positions in recent years, but I have faith that this can be changed. History will judge us if not.
About me
I work as an advisor in the IT department, where my job is to coordinate and keep track of our education-focused services for students and staff. In this role, I have become used to balancing various considerations against each other, while maintaining focus on the long-term goal of delivering the best possible for employees and students at UiO. This is one of the experiences I hope to bring into the university board.
Nominators
- Pauline ?stland L?vdal, TF
- Gyda Kjekshus, UiO Support Units