Bjørn Tore Sund
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Chief engineer, project manager, IT department, Project secure research systems
Head of NITO Ethics committee and the NITO expert group on ICT and digitisation
ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»® is my Alma Mater and it’s been my work place for more than 25 years. I care deeply about the institution itself, the history and the social mission of ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»®. The university board shares a collective responsibility for the well being of the entire University of Bergen, including all students and members of staff. It is not, to me, a scene for revolutions but for maintaining balance, setting directions, pushing forward one step at the time.
These are challenging times. Funding is reduced and funding from external sources constitutes an increasingly large portion of the total budget. This will not change any time soon. In that process, it is important that reductions are balanced. There must be a sensible balance in how many people and what sort of qualifications we have in technical, administrative, and scientific positions, as well as a sensible balance in resources between the central and institute-near level of the organization. The different groups of staff at ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»® have different tasks and qualifications, which are all necessary for the proper functioning of the the University. It may be sensible to change the distribution of people, but that needs to be based on knowledge and analysis, not on the outcome of the turf wars we are currently seeing signs of, or on dogmatic percentage measures.
Within the changes in total budget and financial sourcing there is also a challenge to the sovereignty and independence of science itself, ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»® included. The board needs to remember this, and defend our autonomy when challenged. ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»® needs to remain an institution which sets its own visions and goals. Free research and education based on this are important principles.
All the same, ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»® remains part of society. We are an important national institution, and an important part of both Bergen and the western region of Norway. Our staff and students are also part of the same society, and should be encouraged to be active members of this society whether it’s political, cultural or social arenas.
The university is heavily and increasingly digitized, and we know that AI will be an important part of automating administration and management moving forward. Algorithmic management is extremely hard to align with the nature of the Norwegian way of working, and aligns especially poorly with the ÐÒÔË·Éͧ¼Æ»® tradition of dialogue and interaction. Consequences has to be identified and goals must be clearly defined and communicated. Where increased efficiency from members of staff or reduction in staff numbers are goals or likely consequences, the people affected need to be kept informed and if necessary retrained for new tasks as we proceed.
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