PhD-forum

Dear fellow PhDs of OsloMet,

This is a short note to inform you that funds have been set aside centrally for those who are still facing problems with working normally. The coordinators/leaders of the different PhD programs at OsloMet have been notified about this.

During the first rounds of compensations in 2020, a bit more than ⅓ applied and got compensated, ranging from just a couple of days to 1 year! OsloMet prioritize our working conditions, and will continue to do so.

While 2020 has been a year of readjusting to new work conditions, it should in no way be seen as normal or regular conditions for working. We see it as completely normal that some will still be struggling, either substantially or just from working 97% instead of 100%. Over time, it adds up. Some might not have noticed it before now, that things are starting to add up a bit more than at first thought. Others are finding themselves at new stages of the PhD where it is suddenly harder to work under these conditions. In addition, for those starting their PhD under COVID-19, the important first year of being integrated and socialized into your academic milieu, might be going slow – too slow – and thus causing new types of delays. And for others it is the isolation, the uncertainty, the loneliness and the constant pressure taking its toll on mental health. It might be a combination of many very small issues combining into something that is noticeable.

Whatever the reason, whatever the cause(s), please know that it will be possible to apply for further compensation/extensions. 3 days, 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months – it will undoubtedly vary from person to person of those who are still being affected.

However, for those that are not in the finishing months of their degree, we advise that it is best to wait until we approach a more normal situation again. This is beneficial to you as it secures that you only need to apply once, and not continuously throughout the year. In addition, creating and maintaining a plan together with your supervisor to ensure progress is also an important tool in both tracking your work and making visible those things that are externally affecting the project and connected to COVID-19.

If you already know now that you will later apply, it could be wise to send an e-mail to either your supervisor or your closest leader about it (Don’t worry, In the Norwegian work context this is quite normal to do.). Another option would for instance be to keep a diary of what affects your work throughout the next few months.

We are here for you, if you have any questions! Or if you just need some peer advice!

Signed,
PhD Forum OsloMet

The University of Agder is hosting a panel discussion on the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on PhDs and Postdocs. According to the event website:

“UiAdoc is organizing a panel discussion on the topic of “The Pandemic effect on PhDs and Postdocs and Potential Solutions”. We have invited representatives from UiA, Forskeforbundet, Young Researchers Academy, and The Association of Doctoral Organisations (SiN) to be the panelists in this event and talk to us about how their organizations are managing this critical situation.”

The event takes place on Zoom and is open to PhDs and Postdocs from outside of the university.

You can register for the event here.

While corona makes it impossible for us to do our regular OsloMet PhD Nights and we recognize the challenge that arises from the resulting Zoom fatigue, we nevertheless felt the need to do a webinar of something very relevant to the majority of us: writing an article-based thesis.

We invited OsloMet associate professor Kristin Solli and her co-author Lynn P. Nygaard for a talk. They have recently published the book Strategies for Writing a Thesis by Publication in the Social Sciences and Humanities . In addition, Kristin Solli is in many ways the OsloMet resident expert on all things research writing-related.

A 30-minute talk was followed by a 30-minute Q&A where all attendees could ask questions by using the chat option in Zoom.

Kristin started by asking all participants to send in a challenge they have run into when writing the thesis.

As you can see from the results below, corona was the obvious thing people were struggling with. Aside from that, there was many different writing related issues – which was touched upon in the presentation later on.

For instance, while the ideal way of writing a thesis is to follow the top trajectory depicted in the slide below, in most cases the realistic way will be to juggle the layout, as depicted in the second trajectory.

The full presentation can be found here:

If you want to learn more or couldn’t make it to this seminar, the OsloMet Academy and Kristin Solli will hold the following workshops this spring:

1. Writing for International Journals Workshop at Oslomet will be March 4^th and 5^th

Sign-up here: https://ansatt.oslomet.no/oslomet-akademiet/-/kalender/30504/view

2. Kappe workshop at Oslomet will start April 13^th

Sign-up here: https://ansatt.oslomet.no/oslomet-akademiet/-/kalender/30506/view

Thank you to all 99 of you who showed up. We hope you found the webinar interesting! Please do not hesitate to send in your requests for future webinars by contacting us!

Are you writing an article-based thesis? Working on your narrative (“kappe”)? Or can’t get enough of the great academic writing courses at OsloMet?

Rector Curt Rice has expressed that all PhD students who apply for corona compensation will receive it. While this central compensation is good news, individual applications are nevertheless needed in order for OsloMet to be refunded for these expenses. But how do we apply?