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Happy summer!

The summer holidays are fast approaching, and we in the Dean’s Office would like to thank you for a great semester full of activity!

Many thanks to all our academic, technical, and administrative staff, who work hard every day to ensure that we deliver top-quality research and education in science and technology at the University of Oslo. We are succeeding!

Photo of the Dean's Office at MN: Øystein Prytz, Solveig Kristensen, Knut Mørken og Carina Hundhammer; outside in front of Fysikkbygningen

The Dean's Office at MN: Øystein Prytz, Solveig Kristensen, Knut Mørken og Carina Hundhammer. Photo: Øystein Horgmo, UiO

We have begun moving into the Life Science Building

Pharmacists and chemists have started moving into the Life Science Building and have begun using the building within the limits currently available. The situation is demanding, particularly because there are still some deficiencies in the building that must be addressed. In addition, large amounts of new equipment need to be received, installed, and quality-assured.

We are monitoring the situation closely and providing support together with the Reception Project at the Property Department and the university leadership. Students will arrive in the autumn, and our analyses indicate that it is safe to begin studies in the new building. However, we are aware that the autumn may be challenging for many and will assist as best we can.

Thank you all for your flexibility, dedication, and great efforts in the major project that the Life Science Building represents!

Emerging technologies and new study programmes

On 11 June, we launched our initiative in emerging technologies at Domus Bibliotheca, with Minister Sigrun Aasland in attendance. Norway is lagging behind, and the government has allocated earmarked funding to UiO and NTNU through the national budget.

At our faculty, we are strengthening research in advanced materials and quantum technology through a coordinated, comprehensive initiative based at the Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology. Research and capacity building go hand in hand, and the government has also allocated funding for 100 study places in quantum technology programmes.

This has been established at express speed, and we are looking forward to launching our bachelor’s and master’s programmes at the Department of Physics this autumn!

In collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, we are strengthening biotechnological research in RNA profiling, ‘organ-on-a-chip’, and AI in immunotherapy. We will also facilitate strong collaboration with colleagues at the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law on research into emerging technologies and society.

We in the Dean’s Office look forward to following the projects in this initiative and wish you the best of luck with the launch of the new study programmes!

Responsible international collaboration

In April, the Dean’s Office organized a one-day seminar for all (approximately 100) leaders at our departments and centres, focusing on responsible international collaboration at the faculty. Research security is an area receiving increased attention, where research is challenged by imposed security restrictions.

To provide greater insight, we had external contributions from Member of Parliament Mahmoud Farahmand (Conservative Party), the Standing Committee on Justice, Professor Øystein Tunsjø from the Norwegian Defence University College, and Section Head Christopher McCabe from the Norwegian National Security Authority. Contributions also came from our own University Director Arne Benjaminsen, Section Head Johan Løberg Tofte, and the faculty’s research security team.

The themes of the day were

  1. overall policy in a broader perspective
  2. responsible international collaboration at the faculty, including legislation, leadership expectations, and project structures
  3. vulnerability culture and vulnerability dialogues

We believe it was a successful seminar, which helped highlight the complexity of many issues. Thank you to everyone who participated with valuable discussions and input!

The faculty is now continuing its work on developing routines and systems for personnel security, physical security, asset assessment, information security, training, leadership development, and student projects. We will return with more information.

The Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) and Sikresiden.no have prepared a draft guideline on personnel security for the higher education sector, which is now out for consultation. A response is currently being prepared by the central administration, and we will ensure a thorough and inclusive input process at the faculty during UiO’s internal consultation after the summer holidays.

In addition, we will organize a general meeting during the autumn to provide information about the faculty’s processes and to open for discussion.

Awards and recognitions

In the past six months, many of MN’s talented staff have distinguished themselves in various ways. Here are some of them:

SFF finalists

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our four SFF finalists: Wojciech Miloch and Daria Kotova; Morten Hjorth-Jensen and Marianne Bathen; François Renard and Anders Malthe-Sørenssen; Sven Wedemeyer.

We also have participants in five partnership applications that have reached the final: from the Department of Biosciences, the Department of Mathematics, the School of Pharmacy, and the Department of Informatics. Congratulations – we will provide strong support in the next phase.

We wish you all a happy and well-deserved summer holiday!

Kind regards,

Øystein, Knut, Carina, and Solveig

Published June 25, 2026 11:09 AM - Last modified June 26, 2026 8:53 AM
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