Function
UiO:Energy and Environment shall strengthen UiO’s research, educational, innovation and outreach activities within the priority areas and cross-cutting themes by:
- acting as a catalyst for initiatives aimed at interdisciplinarity, quality and scientific renewal
- acting as a coordinator, particularly for interdisciplinary initiatives, and for strategic interaction
- facilitating early-stage researchers, by contributing to network activities, mobility and other career-enhancing measures
- promoting science for society by:
- contributing to visibility, accessibility and relevance of UiOs education and research
- strengthen arenas for dissemination and outreach
- promote innovation and entrepreneurship
- act as a strategic unit to UiOs leadership, the faculties and the departments
Responsibilities
- UiO:Energy and Environment shall stimulate strengthening and scientific renewal, through strategic efforts and by offering various programmes and other activities. UiO:Energy and Environment shall motivate, facilitate and allocate resources to initiatives within the subject area. For example, through thematic meetings, seed funding and funding of larger interdisciplinary projects. Calls for proposals, priorities and allocations will be based on UiO:Energy and Environment's strategy
- UiO:Energy and Environment has a particular responsibility to keep abreast of academic developments in energy, climate and environment and for UiO lay the foundation communities to position themselves in relation to important thematic areas.
- UiO:Energy and Environment shall offer strategic support in the form of representation, financial support schemes and consultancy support. Specifically, UiO:Energy and Environment shall help to mobilize and coordinate UiOs effort towards calls for proposals under Horizon Europe as well as major calls from the Research Council of Norway.
- UiO:Energy and Environment shall maintain a high profile when it comes to rendering visible and facilitating meeting places within the entire spectrum of UiO:Energy and Environment`s scope.
- UiO:Energy and Environment will support the development of educational programmes at UiO, both through funding mechanisms and through development of the initiatives own courses
- UiO:Energy and Environment will, in collaboration with the other strategic initiatives, lower the barriers to interdisciplinarity within both research and education
- UiO:Energy and Environment will contribute to fulfilling the ambitions of UiO's comprehensive climate and environmental strategy, and help develop UiO as a role model within energy, climate and environment.
Organisation
UiO:Energy and Environment is organised as a strategic initiative reporting to the University Board represented by the Rector. The initiative is open to participation from all units at UiO with activities within the scope set out in the strategy. UiO:Energy and Environment is an interdisciplinary initiative, and this must be reflected in its organisation. Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Social Sciences are the faculties with the largest activities within the scope of the initiative. The board is chaired by the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Social Sciences is the host unit for the initiative.
Organisation of initiative
- Rectorate (owner of the initiative)
- Host Faculty (Faculty of Social Sciences)
- Board consisting of appointed representatives from the faculty/museum/centre level, chair of the board from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science
- Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), may be appointed by the Board if desired
- Director and staff
Appointment, function and compostion of the board
UiO:Energy and Environment's board is appointed by and reports by the chair of the Board to the University management. The Board has seven members. The members represent thee units with the largest activities within the scope of the initiative. This is to ensure greater strategic anchoring and participation in the expanded scope of the initiative. The deputies represent units with somewhat lesser activity. Furthermore, the Board has an employee and a student representative. The deputy student representative has the right to meet and speak. Members are appointed for a period of two years, with the possibility of extension.
The Board has a quorum when more than half of the members are present. In important matters, the Board shall have agreement as the goal for its work, but decisions can be made by simple majority. In the event of tied vote, the chair’s vote is decisive.
The role of the UiO:Energy and Environment Board is of a strategic character. The Board shall treat matters of significance for the establishment and realization of the initiative within the framework of UiO:Energy and Environment's mandate, budget and other general guidelines given by the University Board or rector.
The Board makes decisions on the following matters:
- Approval of the budget for UiO:Energy and Environment activities
- Approval of the general academic framework and strategies and overall organization of the activity
- Initiatives for UiO:Energy and Environment’s work of promoting research, education,
- Innovation and externally oriented activity
- Guidelines and principles for allocation of seed funding and other strategic funding
- Allocation of larger thematic research groups and convergence environments
- Approval of the annual accounts and the annual report for UiO:Energy and Environment’s activities
The Board shall consider and give advice on questions of major organisational changes that affect UiO:Energy and Environment (including any proposals for merging or expanding UiO:Energy and Environment with other initiatives/units), and provide input to UiO on overall strategies and dispositions that will include or have a major impact on UiO:Energy and Environment`s scope.
The composition of the board for 2023-2024 can be found here.