Development opportunities for early stage researchers

UiB offers a number of development programmes for various target groups of early stage researchers. Several of these are open to applications, while others have specific requirements relating to faculty affiliation. Common to all is that they are arranged and coordinated internally at UiB and designed to support the development of early stage researchers. 

Momentum
Momentum is UiB's development programme for outstanding early stage researchers - postdoctoral fellows, researchers or associate professors who are seeking to pursue an academic careeer at a research university. 

TMF UiB Career Program
Trond Mohn  Research Foundation (TMF) and UiB recruit outstanding early stage researchers to UiB by offering TMF Starting Grants. Grant holders receive career support from the TMF-UiB Career Programme. The purpose of this programme is to provide additional value and support for TMF Starting Grant holders in order to develop their careers as researchers at the University of Bergen. 

SV Faculty - Career Development Programme for Early Career Researchers
The Faculty of Social Sciences invites postdoctoral and doctoral candidates to participate in their development programme. 

MED Postdoc Training Programme
This programme is open to postdoctoral researchers at the University of Bergen and HUS. Researchers in research positions are encouraged to apply and will be enrolled if there is available capacity. The programme runs from September to June and covers a wide range of academic and technical skills training. 

Programme for Early Stage Researchers
The psychology departments at the University of Bergen, the University of Tromsø, NTNU and the University of Oslo have joined forces to create a leadership development programme for early stage researchers. This is a great programme for applicants from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen. 

UiB Ferd offers a wide range of courses relevant for early stage researchers. 

If you are applying for external funding research and innovation projects, you should contact the research advisor at your faculty/institute/centre fr support in the first instance, and well in advance of the application deadline. 

The Research and Innovation Department can offer advice and support related to specific types of national and international research funding: 

• The Research Council of Norway
• Horizon Europe 
• The Trond Mohn Foundation
• Innovation

Please contact UiB's Brussels office or the UiB's Local Contact Point  for mer information about opportunities available for EU funding through ERC eller the Marie S. Curie Programme.

Online course: Navigating the research funding landscape  (required login at Mitt UiB)

Early stage resaerchers have usually had academic networks in their previous positions and they join new existing academic networks through their supervisors, research groups and project partners, etc. Many of them eventually want to establish their own networks, an experience that can be beneficial for both their academic and personal development. Your networks could be local, national and international ones, and they could be funded by external funds or be set up without any additional costs. 

International research mobility is also an important arena for establishing individual networks. By undertaking cohesive, extended research trips abroad, you can gain international experience, create contacts and personal networks, be introduced to and be invited to be involved in new projects and collaborative ventures, and acquire access to research infrastructures and research data that are not available at home. 

Research visits

For more information about funding opportunities for international research visits, please contact your supervisor, your local PhD coordinator or your local research advisor. 

Relevant opportunities could include:  

• MSCA-PF 
• UiB SEAS  
• Norwegian Research Council Research Projects with International Mobility 
• Foreign visits for PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows   

International network

You can also develop your professional network using internal channels including the organisation which represents the interests of PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows and temporary employees at the UiB, UiB Doc, or through academic groups and initatives. It is also possible to become involved in networks through the CHARM-EU Alliance and UiB's other international collaborative ventures. 

Local networks

There are also many thematic networks at UiB if you wish to become better acquainted with colleagues at other faculties and institutes with similar academic interests: 

• Priority area: Marine  
• Priority area: Climate and energy conversion  
• Priority area: Global societal challenges  
• The Polar Sciences Network 
• The Plastics Network 

As a PhD candidate, there are many sources of funding available to you. If you choose to apply for external funding for a reseach and innovation project, you should contact the research advisor at your faculty/institute/centre for support well before the application deadline. 

The Meltzer Research Fund

Students and research fellows can apply for project grants from the Meltzer Research Fund. 

Financial support for foreign visits

The Faculty of Social Sciences support for foreign visits at research institutions.

SPIRE funds

This is a strategic program for research collaboration with the aim of supporting UiB's strategy. Funding can be applied for to support project applications and for guest researcher funding.

Funds and endowments

Would you like to create a project that could reduce the UiB's climate footprint? Apply for funds from the UiB's Climate Fond!

Open Science is important for knowledge development, for ensuring of research and for increasing the availability of research. The research process can become more efficient by increasing collaboration on and the reuse of data, methods and processes. At the same time, access to underlying data and methods will make it easier to test and reproduce research results and thus boost confidence in the research concerned. Researchers, institutions, the authorities, funders, businesses and the general public are all stakeholders in Open Science. Please contact the University Library in order to find out what this means for you and your project. You will find more information in the Library on research data, publishing and current courses on the subject. 

If your research project contains personal data, you must familiarise yourself with the requirements that relate to the processing of such. The UIB's Privacy Portal contains useful information about this. It also provides information about RETTE, the UIB's system which provides details about processing and controlling personal data in respect of research and student projects. This system should also contain details about and control assignments and projects relating to the quality assurance of patient treatment and tuition, as well as projects relating to learning analysis. 

Mitt UiB has an online course on the processing of personal data in respect of medical and health research. 

At the University of Bergen, the Programme for University Pedagogy offers pedagogical courses for employees and PhD candidates. Several faculties also offer additional tuition for PhD supervisors: 

• The Faculty of Medicine: has online courses for supervisors available in Mitt UiB
• The Faculty of Law
• The Faculty of Social Sciences: has online courses for supervisors available in Mitt UiB
• The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences: has online courses for supervisors available in Mitt UiB
• The Faculty of Fine Art, Music and Design

Arena for Research Communication

The Arena for Research Communication is a meeting place between academia and society where the research conducted at the University of Bergen is presented at the University Museum of Bergen, Museum of Natural History. UiB uses the Arena for Research Communication to facilitate dialogue about ongoing and completed research and to give the wider public insight into the types of knowledge being generated at universities. We present and communicate material from research groups, projects, clusters, departments, centres and individual researchers. The Arena opens new exhibitions three times a year. 

Find a researcher!

Can people who require your expertise find you? You can present your expertise on this page. Please contact your faculty's communications advisor if you would like to be more visible. 

Norwegian National Science Days

Norwegian National Science Days is an annual, national festival held by the Norwegian Research Council. In Bergen, this festival is a collaborative venture between the city's key research and educational institutions, of which UiB is the largest contributor. Norwegian National Science Days is a great opportunity to reach a wider audience and make your research better known - locally, regionally and nationally. The international event: Researchers' Night is part of this festival. 

Postdoctoral policy at the University of Bergen

1. Background

The purpose of UiB's postdoctoral policy is to ensure that positions are used in accordance with the intetions that apply to qualifying for top scientific positions. 

The main objective of a postdoctoral position is to qualify the holder for specialist academic positions. The University of Bergen wishes to support postdoctoral fellows by providing proper training, good research terms and conditions and career opportunities after their postdoctoral period, either inside or outside academia. The terms of employment for postdoctoral fellows are regulated under seperate regulations. 

Qualification for permanent appointments requires expertise in multiple areas. Whilst emphasis is placed on research and publication, expertise in supervision, teaching, dissemination, management and development work is also required. Postdoctoral fellows are encouraged to look towards international research, as well as developing their own ideas and networks. Employees who have worked in several countries and institutions are often considered to be stronger candidates than those who have spent their entire career at one institution. 

2. Appointments to postdoctoral positions

The "regulations concerning terms and conditions of employment for the posts of postdoctoral research fellow, research fellow, research assistant and resident” address postdoctoral positions in Section 1-2. Postdoctoral positions are fixed-term positions for which periods exceeding two years will include compulsory duties. At the University of Bergen, the postdoctoral period will normally be 3-4 years.

The faculties must facilitate externally funded postdoctoral fellows having their fixed terms extended at the University of Bergen so that teaching worthy of merit is generally included in the position and the position has a total duration of at least three years. 

The postdoctoral period should be extended in accordance with the length of any approved international visits for all positions with a duration of four years or less. The duration of the international visit should be a minimum three months. 

In accordance with regulations, a plan must be drawn up outlining how the postdoctoral period will support  candidates  to qualify for specialist academic positions upon completion of their contract. At the University of Bergen, we refer to this as the career development plan. 

3. Start-up

A start-up meeting should be held with the head of department (or another academic manager) at the beginning of the postdoctoral contract. This meeting should clarify line management responsibility for the postdoctoral fellow and confirm who is responsible for developing and following up on their career development plan. 

4. Career and development plan

The department at which a postdoctoral fellow is employed is responsible for the contents of the career and development plan and the head of department must ensure that this plan exists. The Head of Department (or line manager, if different) will draw up a career and development plan together with the postdoctoral fellow. A written version of the plan must be available no later than three months after appointment. The career and development plan must be signed by the postdoctoral fellow and their line manager. The plan should be revised in the event of significant changes. 

The career development plan shall include the following items: 

•    Objectives for what should be achieved during the postdoctoral period 

•    Initiative for qualification in all main areas that are assessed when making appointments to associate positions

•    Activities and expected results in respect of research, development work and teaching, as well as public outreach and innovation, as relevant 

•    An internationalisation plan in the form of networks, research cooperation and foreign research visits 

•    A publication plan that is designed to develop an independent publishing profile

•    A plan for training in project management, application writing and the administration of externally funded projects

•    The name of the person responsible for follow-up

Teaching shall be facilitated in such a way as to ensure that the postdoctoral fellow is provided with specific time designated for their research, and should, as far as possible, be linked to the postdoctoral fellow’s field of research. A teaching plan should form part of the career and development plan. Postdoctoral fellows must be encouraged to participate in university pedagogy courses. 

If possible, career development conversations should be included in appraisal interviews. The career plan should be included in such conversations, with a  focus on the organisation of working hours and the prioritisation of duties. The role of researchers/family life, networking and career development should be included in appraisal interviews.

5. Mobility

International mobility should be encouraged for postdoctoral fellows and the University should facilitate this. The University of Bergen has set a target that 50% of postdoctoral fellows should undertake a foreign research visit during their contract. For framework-funded postdoctoral fellows with approved foreign visits, minimum rates apply whenever possible, with an option for extra grants for postdoctoral fellows travelling with their families.

6. Training

The University of Bergen will prepare postdoctoral fellows for undertaking complex duties inside and outside academia, contribute towards developing structured skills and offer a creative and stimulating learning environment. Each semester, different courses/sessions should be offered on subjects intended to support the development of broad expertise. Such courses and sessions could include: 

•    Supervision and teaching 

•    Communication skills and the presentation of individual research to various target groups 

•    Writing applications for resarch funding 

•    Research management

•    Interdisciplinarity/collaboration

•    Preparing CVs

•    Career guidance inside and outside academia