Program
- Presentation of the process of reorganizing Science at Kew by Kathy Willis.
- Presentation of the project FRONT, with a particular look at the gender perspective in reorganizations, by Solveig Kristensen and Mona Bratlie.
- Questions and comments from the floor. We aim for a constrictive exchange of ideas and opinions.
A short summary of the issue
The Natural History Museum at University of Oslo (NHM, UiO) is in a process of discussing and preparing a new strategic plan, which may lead to some sort of reorganization of the Department of Research and Collections. Professor Kathy Willis was appointed in November 2013 to lead Kew’s Science Directorate, and is leading the development of a new science strategy for Kew. In 2015 the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at UiO got support from The Norwegian Research Council for their project on gender equality called Female researchers on track (FRONT). This project is represented by Professor and Vice Dean Solveig Kristensen and Assistant Director Mona Bratlie. Even if there certainly are differences between United Kingdom and Norway in academic culture and labour rights, we believe that there is a lot to learn from the reorganization at Kew. We also believe that we have similar challenges when it comes to gender equality and how not to lose the track of this aspect in a demanding and hectic process of reorganization.