Following the reception of the "HR Excellence in Research" award in 2020 USN’s Department of Research and Internationalisation and the Department of Personal and Organisation has collaborated in efforts to continuously enhance conditions for research and prospects for researchers.
The implementation of the measures in the action plan has been led by Mrs. Elisabeth Ernø Borhaug (Director, Personnel and Organisation) and Mr. Thomas Slagsvold (Director, Research and Internationalisation). It has been monitored by the steering group.
Some measures have been implemented or are well underway, such as:
- revision of Principles for work planning
- establishment of Staff mobility team
- strengthened on-boarding
- new templates for recruitment
- new templates for appraisal interviews and career development plans, tailored for researchers
- increased awareness of, and usage of the EURAXESS job portal
Other measures, such as the development of an USN Career policy and the revision of the framework for research groups, has been extended to align these to the overarching organisational development process currently ongoing at USN.
During winter and spring 2022, a working group has carried out an interim assessment and developed the draft for a revised Action Plan 2022 – 2025. The Action Plan has been on hearing before being approved by the steering group and adopted by rector.
The assessment, which has been based on surveys and interviews with USN researchers, indicates that there is room for improvement with regards to on-boarding of newly recruited researchers, especially PhD candidates and researchers with foreign background. The assessment also shows a need to strengthen the support for research mobility and to establish career guidance services for early-stage researchers. In order to address areas of improvement, an initiative has already been taken to facilitate the establishment of a PhD union at USN, giving early-stage researchers a stronger voice and strengthened representation.
Mr. Thomas Slagsvold (Director, Research and Internationalisation), says HR Excellence in Research" award is important to USN. It shows that we actively facilitate for researchers having a good place to work and a good place to make a career:
– We are also happy to see that measures we take in the Charter & Code coincide very well with priority focus areas at USN. In particular, this applies to our desire to recruit the best researchers to USN, build research careers and management skills and give our academic staff good conditions for researching together in groups and centers.
READ MORE: USN information on Charter & Code.
