Exciting things are happening in our region. The University of South-Eastern Norway is initiating a collective effort to map and collect expertise on four current , with the aim of building knowledge centers within:
- Minerals and critical raw materials (the Fen complex)
- Expert council for nuclear energy
- Sustainable Data Center (Google in Skien)
- Circular economy
They are extending an open invitation to participate in the sharing of knowledge.
– We want to make it easy for others to get in touch and become part of a professional community, across backgrounds and fields of expertise, says Thomas Øyvang, who leads USN's strategic research area "energy, climate and environment."
The four project initiatives are anchored in the research groups, the area plan, and the strategic council.
– The plan is to further allocate stimulation funds to these initiatives, Øyvang explains.
To begin, he has delegated responsibility to four project leaders who are in the process of gathering expertise both internally at the university and externally, regionally and internationally.
– These are topics of great international interest, so we are going wide here, says Øyvang, and encourages everyone who feels called to contact the project leaders:
Minerals and the Fen complew
Contact: Mona Sæbø.
– The findings of rare earth minerals in the Fen field in Nome municipality will be absolutely crucial for the green shift. USN will be closely involved going forward, says Mona Sæbø, who is also the community liaison for the university's campus in Bø.
She encourages anyone who feels they have something to contribute to get in touch. There are many fields of expertise relevant for the ongoing work to follow up on the discovery and its implications. Ranging from technology and waste management to nature and the environment.
– We now have a "gold mine" in our neighborhood. It's important not only for Norway, but for Europe and the rest of the world that we handle this well, says Sæbø.
Read more about USN's activities concerning the Fen alkaline complex.
Expert council for nuclear energy
Contact: Elin Fjeld or Thomas Øyvang.
USN has assembled a dedicated professional council for nuclear power, aiming to create knowledge-based reports with neutral information on a field that is often characterized by strong opinions.
– We want an academic and scientific approach to an area where the debate tends to be highly polarized, explains Elin Fjeld.
She believes many are seeking neutral and easily understandable communication about what nuclear power entails, so they can more easily form their own opinion.
– The idea is that we will initially publish four reports annually, says Fjeld.
The reports will address different topics related to nuclear power, and inform about the status of opportunities and challenges.
Sustainable data centre
Contact: Sambeet Mishra.
Google's decision to establish one of the world's largest data centers in Skien, Telemark is going to leave its mark on the region in the future. The community at the University of Southeast Norway wants to gather experts who can contribute to the discussion of what the establishment entails.
– We want to help shed light on this, both the advantages and challenges, from an energy perspective, says project initiative leader Sambeet Mishra.
He wants to bring in technological, technical, and economic expertise in the discussions, both regionally and internationally.
– Initially, we will start with open conversations with relevant partners and professional communities. Then we will determine the direction for the further work, says Mishra.
The project focuses on the UN's sustainability goals and effective solutions when exploring energy use in data centers, inspired by experiences from Ireland and Germany.
– Firstly, we will arrange a workshop with partners from industry and academia to gather knowledge and experiences, says Mishra.
Circular economy
Contact: Marit Gundersen.
Circular economy is about using resources in a sustainable way. It's a topic that has viewpoints from a wide range of industries and disciplines, so there's openness for various approaches.
– Circular economy is a theme that cuts across several topics. Therefore, we would like to get an overview of relevant people, both externally and internally at the university, who are interested in exploring this further together, says project leader Marit Gundersen Engeset.
She mentions examples such as tourism and business models. Fields of expertise that can be relevant range from technology to life cycle analyses and consumer behavior.
– We are also interested in getting in touch with external authorities and businesses to jointly create a plan on how we will tackle this moving forward, says Engeset.