New at UiO

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Contents

Purpose of this page

This document provides a quick guide for finding information about administrative and practical issues for new and existing employees at the GEOHYD section. It is a dynamical document, and changes will be updated continuously. This document is incomplete.

In the chapter Starting up in Norway a list of the most important things you should think about as a newcomer to Norway is given. New at UiO will introduce you to the University of Oslo, and you will get important and useful information as a new employee. Employment conditions will guide you to more information about this on the web and provide you with quick information about travelling, how to use the HRportal and what to do if you get sick. Under Organization you can learn more about the Department and the Section for Geography and Hydrology. Work Support gives information about research support and teaching. A special section, For PhDs, under Work Support lists specific information for this position. In the section Funding you will find a list of grants for PhD’s, postdocs and researchers. The document was created on the initiative of the Section’s own employees. Please send an email to the GEOHYD webmail (geo-hyd[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no) if you see text or links that need to be updated or have suggestions for topics that should be included in the document.

Starting up in Norway

You will find a lot of useful practical information relevant to your stay in Norway on UiO’s support site for international researchers and on Euraxess Norway:

The information describes how you can prepare your stay before you arrive in Norway, it lists some important tasks on arrival and provides a lot of useful tips for your stay in Norway.

Pre-arrival

Here you will find information on how to organize your accommodation, visa & permits, how to integrate your family, how to prepare for a new language, etc. You will also get an introduction to Oslo and Norway and you will find useful information about social security, taxes etc.:

Registration with the authorities

One thing to be aware of in the pre-arrival phase is the registration procedure at the Service Center for Foreign Workers (also listed under arrival). To receive a residence permit, a Norwegian personal identification number and a tax deduction card, registration at the Service Center for Foreign Workers is necessary. The registration procedure includes an appointment with the police which has to be booked online. Since the waiting time is in general greater than 6 weeks, this can be done a few weeks before arrival in Norway.

Arival

The link below gives you information on opening a bank account, driving in Norway, signing up for Norwegian language courses, getting started at UiO, registration with Norwegian authorities, useful addresses, etc.:

To open a Norwegian bank account with unlimited access to online banking and money transfer, a Norwegian personal identification number is required. If you have a D-number (a temporary number) it is possible to open a bank account, but only with limited access to online banking and money transfer. Unlimited access to mobile phone contracts is available to people with a Norwegian personal identification number. In case no personal identification number is available, a Norwegian phone number can be obtained by ordering a prepaid SIM card (e.g. MyCall; passport required).

Stay

You will find information on health services, holidays, information channels, insurance, leisure time, pensions, tax return, travel, stays abroad and what to do before leaving Norway here:

Cost of life in Norway – SIFO budget: The National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO)’s standard budget shows ordinary consumer expenditures for different types of households in Norway. Based on households of varying sizes with differences in age and gender, this budget calculates the cost of maintaining a reasonable level of consumption. The budget contains both current expenses such as food, clothing, toiletries, etc. and expenses for less frequent purchases such as furniture and electrical appliances. The English version is from 2011, but will give you an approximate idea (take into account that things have not become cheaper):

For the Norwegian updated version (including a budget calculator tool), see

New at UiO

On the University of Oslo’s webpages for new employees, you can find general information about practical matters, employment conditions, information channels and a brief about UiO:

The information is intended primarily for people who are formally employed at UiO, but are also relevant for those affiliated to the institutions in other ways, for instance self-financed or stipend financed PhD Candidates or guest lecturers.

Practical matters

You will find information on IT user account, employee card, tax deduction card, HRportal and parking under “Practical matters” on the following link, which is referred to several times in the next paragraphs:

IT user account

An IT user account with a username and password will give you access to UiO’s IT resources. Usually supervisors will arrange this for you before your arrival, or the local IT support can assist you with that:

drift@geo.uio.no

The account will give you access to the Department’s servers, and an email address (username@geo.uio.no) will be assigned.

Project server access

Project server access must be applied for, and the local IT support (drift@geo.uio.no) should be contacted as early as possible as this may cut costs for the project.

Employee card (ID, library card etc.)

The employee card is a key card and gives access to buildings and floors inside the Geology Building. It can also function as a library card and an identity card, and give you access to sports facilities. For more information about how and where to get an employee card, a student card or a lending card, or what to do if you lose the card, see link below:

Keys

Keys to individual rooms within the Department are requested from the administration.

Tax card

You can read more about this on the link below.

Beware that the Pay Roll Office will deduct 50% taxes of your salary until they have received your tax deduction card. Excess tax will be refunded.

Human Resources

This is UiO’s electronic personnel administration service, where you file travel and outlay reimbursement claims, record working hours, apply for holidays and register sick leave and other types of absence. In the HR-portal you can also get access to your salary information. See more information in the section about the HR-portal under Employment conditions.

Parking

You will find information about where to park or how to get a sticker for your car here:

A temporary parking permit card for you or your visitor can be obtained from Senior Executive Officer Åsgeir Seland. See him in his office or contact him by e-mail, asgeir.seland[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no. If he is not available, ask someone in the administration.

Employment conditions

Employment conditions for permanent employees are established by legislation, agreements, regulations and handbooks. Your UiO employment contract will provide more information about the laws and agreements that govern your employment conditions.

You will find more information here:

Provisions you should be aware of as a newly employed:

Position

You can read more about job structure, working hours, promotion, external work etc. here:

In Norway we have the academic positions listed below:

  • Professor
  • Associate Professor
  • Professor Emeritus – a retired professor
  • Professor II – part time professor (20%) from external organisation
  • Lecturer/Senior Lecturer
  • Researcher
  • Postdoctoral Fellow
  • PhD Candidate
  • Research Assistant

In addition there are positions related to technical development (engineers/senior engineers) and administration.

Performance assessment interview

A performance assessment interview is a planned and personal interview which addresses the working situation of the employee. It can also be used as a planning and development tool. The employees at the GEOHYD-section will be offered this once a year or every second year. At present this is optional for all employees, but each employee has the right to request such an assessment interview. The interview will usually be with the Head of Section or the Deputy Head of Section.

More information:

Forms and outlines (in Norwegian):

Insurance

For an overview of the most important insurances that apply to employees at UiO,see

Leave of absence

An employee has an unconditional right to leave of absence in a number of specific situations. For more information on different types of leave (parental leave, care for family members, compassionate leave, research leave, educational leave) and the rules that apply, see:

Salary and payments

You can read more about salary and payments, advances, reimbursements, pensions etc. here:

Illness

If you are sick, you must notify your immediate superior immediately, register your absence in the HR-portal (within 3 days) and submit a medical certificate if necessary. Familiarise yourself with the routines, rights and obligations that apply to sick leave here:

Self-certified sick leave The main rule is that when you have worked at UiO for at least two months you can use self-certification for up to 8 days within 16 calendar days, for a total of 24 calendar days during a 12 month period. You can read more about this and the exceptions on the link above.

Extended employment period for postdoctoral research fellows and research fellows In cases of sick-leave of more than two consecutive weeks, the employment period for postdoctoral research fellows and research fellows is extended by a period equivalent to the sick-leave period.

HR-Portal

This is UiO’s electronic personnel administration service, where you file travel and outlay reimbursement claims, record working hours, apply for holidays and register sick leave and other types of absence. In the HR-portal you can also get access to your salary information.

Log in to the HR-portal

Username and password are required.

Getting strated in the HR-portal

introduction-to-the-hr-portal.html Practical matters of HR-portal]

Where to get help

The web pages claims that the portal is easy to use, but if you experience problems (you are not alone!), see below for help:

Local contacts

  • Personnel Officer Elin Grete Enger Andresen, grete.andresen@matnat.uio.no (recording working hours and absences)
  • Finance Officer Elin Haug Dyrlie, e.h.dyrlie@geo.uio.no (recording travel and expense claims)
  • IT support, drift@geo.uio.no (technical problems)

If an issue cannot be resolved locally the local contact will forward the case to lonnhjelp@admin.uio.no

Travel

Business travel must be approved by your immediate superior and carried out in an environmentally friendly and a cost-effective way. Book through UiO’s travel agency (HRG) and use a credit card. See below for more information:

On the link below you can find information about what to do before you travel:

HRGs booking portal When ordering flight tickets and other travel logistics you must use UIOs travel agency HRG.To use the HRG booking portal you need to create an HRG profile:

You can also call HRG: Tel.: 32 25 50 10

All orders through HRG will be charged through the Department, and will not be a part of the travel expenses registered in the HR-portal.

Please note: The responsible project leader or Head of Section need to approve of the travel/travel costs BEFORE the travel is ordered in the HRG portal. He or she will then provide you with account information (e.g. a project number the costs will be charged to on the Department’s reception of the invoice later).

If you find that HRG does not provide the lowest price in their portal, find a flight on another web-site, and then send them the details of the flight by email (uio@hrgworldwide.com). They will usually give you a similar or lower price. If HRG will not provide the lowest price you can complain here:

Eurocard credit card You can apply for a Eurocard credit card at UIO. All transactions made with this card will be available in the HR-portal.

Travel insurance


Travel reimbursement

Business travel must be settled within one month of the completion of the travel. For more information and a careful description of how you fill in a travel claim, see

Trade unions, safety representatives and interest organizations

Trade Unions

For more information on trade unions at UiO:

The most common trade unions at GEOHYD are Forskerforbundet and Tekna. The trade unions usually offer different kinds of courses and reasonable prices on a range of insurance policies.

Safety representatives

Safety representatives shall safeguard the interests of staff in matters relating to the working environment and ensure that the Working Environment Act is observed, e.g.:

  • Ensure that the safety, health and welfare of all members of staff is properly taken care of
  • Ensure that all members of staff receive necessary instruction and training
  • Report work accidents
  • Be representative in the Central Working Environment Committee (AMU) and the Local Working Environment Committees (LAMU).

For the LAMU in Department of Geosciences, see hse.

Interest organizations - UIODoc

UiODoc is an interest organization for PhDs and postdocs at UiO. Their goal is to be a bridge between the UiO management and the PhDs & postdocs at UiO. They also arrange debates, seminars and social events. You can subscribe to infomail (mail once a month): subscribe

Contact email: uiodoc-styret@uio.no, and for more information: website,facebook

Organization

Department of Geosciences

Management

  • Head of Department: Brit Lisa Skjelkvåle (b.l.skjelkvale@geo.uio.no)
  • Head of Studies and Deputy: Annik M. Myhre (a.m.myhre@geo.uio.no)
  • Board: The board of the Department of Geosciences consists of representatives from both permanent and temporary academic staff, students, technical and administrative staff, as well as an external representative. You can read more about the board here

Administration

Head of Office: Kristine Aall S. Knudsen (k.a.s.knudsen@geo.uio.no) (On leave: Anne Cathrine Modahl)

Furthermore,

Section for Geography and Hydrology

Contact information – GEOHYD

Phone
+47 22 85 66 56
Fax
+47 22 85 42 15
E-mail
geo-hyd@geo.uio.no (general e-mail address, directed to: Anita Sørlie, Bernd Etzelmüller, Lena M. Tallaksen)
Postal address
P.O box 1047 Blindern, 0316 OSLO, Norway
Visiting address
The Geology Building, Sem Sælands vei 1, N-0371 OSLO
Map
http://www.uio.no/om/finn-fram/omrader/blindern/bl19/

Management

Technical Staff

  • Head Engineer Jon Tolgensbakk (on sick leave at present)
  • Senior Engineer Trond Eiken (trond.eiken@geo.uio.no)
  • Senior Executive Officer Anita Sørlie (anita.sorlie@geo.uio.no) (Thursdays and Fridays)

Acadamic staff

You will find an overview of the academic staff by following the link. If you search for tags like hydrology, cryosphere etc. in the Search for people field on the webpage for the Department you can find groups of people working as specialists in the different fields within the Department (or try searching the UiO main page).


Information channels

Information is a line management and leader responsibility. Your leader is responsible for arranging the internal flow of information where you work. The leader is also responsible for external information and dissemination with respect to the unit’s field.

Web

The University’s website is UiO’s basic internal source of information. It is one of the largest websites in Norway, and you will find the information on several levels:

Email lists

Employees will automatically be put on the most relevant lists in the organization. As a PhD student you will be put on the Department and Faculty e-mail lists after your contract is accepted by the Faculty. In the meantime you should be included in the ansatte-midl@geo.uio.no list. If you discover that you are not on a list in the Department, or you want to subscribe to a list, you can register by clicking on the relevant list here. Down below is a presentation of the most commonly used lists:


Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences:

  • ansatte[alfakrøll]mn.uio.no Information to all employees at the faculty

Department of Geosciences:

  • alle[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Information to everybody in the Department
  • ansatte[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Information to employees in the Department
  • Ansatte-vit[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Information for permanently employed scientific personnel in the Department
  • Ansatte-midl[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Information to temporary employees in the Department
  • Stipendiater[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Information to all PhD candidates employed by the Department
  • Kvinneralle-vit[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - For all female academic employees
  • all-others[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Guests etc. at geosciences
  • ans-emeriti[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Pensioners
  • ans-post-doc[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Postdoc’s employed by the Department

GEOHYD section:

  • geohyd-alle[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - Information to all persons in the section, link
  • geohyd-midl[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - A list for PhDs and postdoc’s in the GeoHyd section. To subscribe, send an email to Irene (i.b.nilsen@geo.uio.no) or Markus markus.engelhardt@geo.uio.no, or register here.
  • Geohyd-Monday-meeting[alfakrøll]geo.uio.no - The Monday Meeting is a regular event for GeoHyd members (every Monday, 14.00, room 317). Objective of the meeting is to briefly give an update on each

participant’s state of work and discuss the aims of the upcoming week.

Personal profiles on UIOs webpages

On www.uio.no you can search for people in the “Find staff and students” search field. All employees have their own personal profile. Make sure your personal profile on the UIO webpages is updated. You can find more information on the link below where you can e.g. insert a photo. Note: CRIStin (see the section about CRIStin) is linked to these personal profiles, and the work you publish in CRIStin will also be published on your profile.

If your name and email are not registered on the GEOHYD webpages, please send an email to Anita Sørlie (anita.sorlie@geo.uio.no) or ask your leader to send an email to Gunn Kristin Tjoflot (g.k.tjoflot@geo.uio.no) who will update the webpages.

Ongoing projects and research networks at the GEOHYD section

There are several projects ongoing at the section, financed from EU, NFR, Nordic sources and others. You will find a list of these projects on the following link. A project list will be given for the next update of this overview (in version 2.0).

GEOHYD Lunch Seminars

Every Friday there is a lunch seminar giving employees and students at the section the opportunity to present their work. Guests at the section are also encouraged to present their work. It is an informal event where the listeners enjoy their lunch while the presenter is speaking. Usually the presentations last for 30 minutes giving time for questions and discussion afterwards. Chris Nuth is in charge of these events and is the one who sends out seminar invitations (christopher.nuth@geo.uio.no).

GEOHYD section trips - Isegran

Every autumn we have a section trip to Isegran in Fredrikstad. On this section trip we discuss many topics related to the section e.g. teaching, presentation of new employees, how to share knowledge etc. And in the evening we have a nice party giving a great opportunity to get to know each other better.

Scientific organizations (National)

  • Gæa, the student association at the Department of geosciences
  • [1], a climate association for students of climate-related studies, but open

also for others

Work Support

UIO has a webpage for employees where you can find information about, for example, tools and services, work support, service functions etc.

Local administrative support

Department of Geosciences’ administration:

IT-support

The Department’s IT-support is located on the second floor in the Geology building. Opening hours on the door is for students. Employees can pay them a visit at any time during working hours.

Email: drift@geo.uio.no

Printers

Here you will find information about the different printers in the Geology Building.

How to print a poster

You can print your poster yourself using the poster-printer machine at the institute. To be sure you get the right dimensions you can define the right size of the poster in Power Point before you start to work on it, and then export this to PDF when you have finished it. It is very easy to plug in a USB in the machine and find the PDF you want to print.

The poster-printer is located in the basement, in the old library (Floor: K1, Room: K44).

Ask the IT-services for help if it's out of paper.

Project server access

Project server access must be applied for, and the local IT support (drift@geo.uio.no) should be contacted as early as possible as this may cut costs for the project.

Research administrative support

As a researcher there are several support functions the administration can provide. Your first stop should be the administration at the Department of Geosciences or the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, but some of the services available are located centrally, at the Department of Research Administration.

CRIStin

This is a place where all organizations connected to research in Norway register their published work. This is also important for funding purposes.

The organization shall contribute to the achievement of three long-term goals:

  • To give Norwegian researchers access to relevant information as a basis for their work
  • To render Norwegian research visible, both nationally and internationally
  • To streamline the everyday work of researchers and research institutions – more research, less administration

It is mandatory to register

  • Monographs
  • Academic articles in anthropologies
  • Academic articles include review articles in periodicals, series and on websites (ISSN titles).

Publications in these three categories are included in the performance-based budgeting model and in the reporting to the Ministry of Education. Within the specified deadline, the researcher must go through all his/her publications to check that the entries are correct and that the list of approved publications is complete.

Read more about Cristin here:

NB! The information you register in CRIStin will also be published on your profile at UIO’s webpages.

Questions regarding the registration can be forwarded to Senior Librarian at Science Library, UiO, Marit Sørlie, marit.sorlie@ub.uio.no.

Open access publications

It is UiO’s goal that research results shall be openly available to individuals, the public sector, trade and industry, and the global research community. The section would like you to publish in fully Open Access Journals, as does the University and the Research Council of Norway (NFR). However, they usually have higher charges than closed journals. Authors must apply for financial support through publication funds to cover article processing charges. If there is no money left in the fund, a project/the section can cover the charges. Clarify with your nearest leader before submission.

Publishing funds

UiO

Guidelines

Norwegian Research Council

The Department can now apply for a 50% refund from the Research Council for open access paper costs. This means the following: If you get an invoice for an open access publication, put on the following number on the invoice: 152200-000000-103809 The Department will gather all costs, and apply for a refund from NFR once a year. Important:

  • The support is not only for NFR projects, but for all
  • NFR seem to only support open access journals, not open access option in other ones
  • NFR will support only journals that are listed as level 1 or 2 in CRISTIN
  • NFR will support up to 50%, not more

For those of you under NFR projects: You are VERY STRONGLY encouraged by NFR to publish open access, and you are OBLIGED to ensure open distribution of your articles from your institution web site. (For non-open access journals, the version to be distributed is typically the accepted manuscript version. This depends on the journal's copyright plan.) See, romeo, [http://www.forskningsradet.no/no/Nyheter/Loft_for_apen_tilgang_til_forskning/12539 97027663?lang=no forskningsradet].

Receiving guests

Keycards and the standard office key are handed out by the Department of geoscience administration. Åsgeir Seland (asgeir.seland@geo.uio.no) can be contacted about accommodation etc.

For an e-mail account etc. contact the local IT-section (drift@geo.uio.no).

There are two options:

  • Full guest account where the guest can use the servers and software available on the computers at the institute.
  • Internet account

Teaching

Fronter

Fronter is a teaching portal where information about the courses is given to the students, and where teachers give feedback to student’s assignments or provide information. For access rights to the courses you are involved in ask your “emneansvarlig” to send an email to Gunn Kristin Tjoflot (g.k.tjoflot@geo.uio.no). For login

Pedagogical courses

All PhDs and postdocs can apply for a basic pedagogics course for university employees. The course does not give any ECTS-points, but is required for employees in permanent positions at universities in Norway. The course is considered very useful by all who have taken it. Note that all courses will be held in Norwegian, except Teaching and learning in higher education. Here a link for more information.

Courses offered by the Department

Semester dates: Spring semester: 5 January 2015 – 19 June 2015 Autumn Semester: 10 August 2015 – 18 December 2015

You can read about the study programs and the courses offered by the Department here:

Information regarding admission, important dates during the semester and courses offered by the Department will be given by the Study Administration.


Master students – list of topics and keywords within each discipline

Information will follow soon.

Issues related to guidance of master students

Information from the Section Leader or the Study Administration will be given.

For PhDs

In Norway a PhD-candidate has both the status of a governmental employee and a student.

PhD on track

PhD on Track is a resource for PhD students who are beginning their research career, and who would like more information - and literature for research purposes, and information on how to publish research.

Project description

Project description should be handed in to the Study Administration/Anne Gunhild Innes (a.g.innes@geo.uio.no) within two months after you start the PhD position. This must be accepted by the faculty for you to be a PhD-candidate. Anne is also responsible for the administrative paperwork related to your PhD.

Project description: Should be 4-10 pages. Application form and contract for admission.

Courses

The educational component must contain no fewer than 30 and no more than 40 credits (in accordance with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The “MNSES9100 – Science, ethics and society” course is mandatory for PhD students (5 ECTS).

UNIS – University Centre of Svalbard

As a PhD-student at a relevant program at a Norwegian University, you may spend a semester or some weeks at Svalbard. How to apply, and their University webpage.

The third semester reporting for doctoral candidates

In the third semester you will be invited to discuss the progress of your PhD with a committee.Here you find the procedures.

Completion and disputation

More information is found here.

Funding

Grants

Kristine Bonnevie Travel Stipend (PhDs and Researchers/Post-Docs)

Grant for female PhDs and Post Docs/Researchers. When you apply it’s important to have an invitation letter from the institute you are going to visit and a letter of recommendation from your supervisor. One should be aware that the application process can be time consuming.

The Leiv Eiriksson mobility programme (PhDs)

The Leiv Eiriksson mobility programme aims to contribute to the long-term escalation of R&D collaboration with the USA and Canada by allowing more Norwegian researchers and research recruits to spend time in the U.S. or Canada, and more researchers and research recruits from the U.S. and Canada to spend time in Norway.

Hans and Helga Roysh Grant (PhDs)

This stipend is meant for promotion of geology and physical geography. The stipend is only given to persons under 35 years. About the grant, its application form.

Industrial Liaison (IL) (Staff and students)

You can apply for 10000 NOK for conferences and for travel expenses etc. for staff and students at the Department of Geosciences. These grants are primarily for those who do not have own projects with much money. IL provides an opportunity to visit conferences or partners at other universities for shorter visits. The funds are primarily for MSc/PhD/postdocs. There are four deadlines each year, and you must apply for money BEFORE the event. For conference participation, IL normally demands an oral/poster presentation for participation.

Marie Curie Individual fellowships (Researchers/Post-docs)

The goal of Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill acquisition at multi- or interdisciplinary level through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility.

Norwegian Hydrological Council (Bachelor, Master, PhD)

Information will follow.