The region has one of the world’s highest concentrations of businesses and research facilities within marine and maritime areas, and UiB, with its state-of-the-art knowledge and infrastructure is deeply embedded in this marine “ecosystem”. This provides our ERs unique opportunities for developing their careers in close connection with a variety of highly relevant academic and none-academic actors. In addition to training, the PMO encourages cross-sectoral engagement, and our ERs are active in local discussions, industry secondments and collaborations. Through our training and external connections, we are providing the ERs with experiences that should open a broad range of career options.
The PMO facilitates awareness on potential societal and political implications of their research and encourage participation in broader debates, especially in the field of marine sustainability.
The ERs are actively writing scientific articles, and several already have papers published. We expect the number of publications to significantly increase over the remainder of the Programme. We have had a 2-day session with a professional science communication consultant and will be repeating this. Focus is on writing and communication skills for both academic and not-academic target groups. UiB aligns with the H2020 principles of Open Access and the ERs receive training in open access publishing and data management through the UiB Library, which holds many Open Access agreements with the largest academic publishers.
Many of our fellows are very active and visible, both within UiB, our region and internationally. They attend events and conferences. They organise meetings and workshops and they engage in marine policy issues. Many fellows have attended conferences, presenting posters and oral presentations at local, regional, and international levels. A number have also chaired conference sessions, workshops, training camps and symposiums. The fellows are also active across all social media platforms, both individually and under the SEAS banner (LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, TikTok). The fellows themselves are largely in control of this content. They also run their own blog and podcast series.
Their research impact so far is difficult to assess, as many (most) of them are still in an early phase of their research, conducting various types of data gathering, e.g. through research cruises, lab experiments, and/or developing analytical models. Some have previous postdoctoral experiences and others have recently completed their PhDs.
Most of the ERs have taken on teaching responsibilities, usually compensated by their respective departments through somewhat extended contracts. The ER’s expertise is thus having impact on the academic training of future generations.
So far we don’t have any research being identified of commercial value and no issues with IP rights. Two ER-projects are related to salmon immunology, an area that potentially might have impact on the Norwegian fish farming industry. We also have one ER (soon one more) working on marine natural product chemistry, also a field with high industrial potential. Two ERs are involved in project with high relevance for maritime security industry, and two others on underwater communication, to mention just some. We also have those directly involved in marine policy and governance aspects, with potential for societal innovations.
