Evaluation of individual research units - Norges forskningsråd

More documents

Recommendations

Info

University of Nordland Faculty of Biosciences & Aquaculture 40 Evaluation of biology, medicine and health research in Norway (2011) Description of institution The Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture was created in 2008 from the former Department of Fisheries and Natural Sciences at Bodo College. There are five research units in this faculty: Aquatic Animal Health & Welfare, Reproductive Biology, Seafood Quality, Marine Ecology and Marine Genomics. The former three focus their research efforts on aquaculture and the latter two on marine ecology. The faculty established a Masters program in 2005 and a PhD program in 2009. The faculty is staffed by 10.2 principal research scientists, seven senior research scientists, two postdoctoral fellows and 7.5 technicians. The faculty also includes 16 general technicians not directly assigned to the research groups. At the time of this assessment there were 17 PhD students in the faculty. The research groups are divided between two laboratory complexes, with the aquaculture research units located at the Morkvedbukta Research Station and the marine ecology groups located on the main campus. General evaluation & recommendations With the reorganisation in 2008, the faculty took a major step in implementing many if not all of the recommendations identified in the previous evaluation. As a result of the reorganisation and the establishment in 2011 of the University of Nordland, we believe the faculty has the structure necessary to succeed. Scientific quality has increased progressively over the past five years. The relatively young professional staff appear to be enthusiastic. However, some members of the panel felt group structure was fragmented, and thought it would be useful to consider merging groups into a consolidated unit with an emphasis on aquaculture. Although the new faculty has hired some good young researchers, we noted they may need help in securing funding for students and for additional technical support. We largely supported the faculty’s strategic plan but pitfalls inevitably emerge when new departments are established. We hope the faculty will continue to nurture international collaborations. Follow up of previous evaluation The 2000 evaluation included Bodo College Faculty of Fisheries & Natural Science, which subsequently evolved into the Faculty of Biosciences & Aquaculture at the new University of Nordland. The previous evaluation had four recommendations: i) Increase faculty publication rate. This has been accomplished, especially after the reorganisation of the faculty into five research units, although the Reproduction Biology and Seafood Quality Groups have relatively weak publication records. ii) Develop a strategic plan capitalizing on strengths and develop approaches for improving faculty weaknesses. This was accomplished through the reorganisation.
Evaluation of biology, medicine and health research in Norway (2011) iii) Develop stronger links with researchers at other Norwegian universities. This target was partially met with the faculty reorganisation. iv) Develop a more focused research direction for the faculty. This goal was achieved by the reorganisation. Evaluation of individual research units Aquatic Animal Health Grading of scientific quality Very Good Description of unit The Aquatic Animal Health unit conducts research on fish-health management practices in the Atlantic salmon and cod aquaculture industries. In particular, the group examines the effects of stress on the fish immune system and other aspects of fish health, fishpathogen-environment interactions, and diagnostics. The group is staffed by two principal scientists, two senior scientists, one postdoctoral fellow, two technicians and, at the time of this assessment, seven PhD students. The staff come from diverse countries and most are male. Funding has been solid in recent years, but the group is dependent on both industry contracts and competitive grants and is therefore affected by the economics of the aquaculture industry. General evaluation & recommendations This unit is a solid contributor to the faculty. The strategic recruitment of international expertise in aquatic animal health is a major reason for the initial success of the program. As result the unit has several international collaborative projects and many industrydriven projects, supported by an excellent wet-lab. There is a favourable ratio of PhD students to researchers, particularly given that the PhD program was only approved in 2009. At present the unit has a low proportion of Norwegian PhD students, which could affect the unit’s ability to secure funding from the Research Council and other national or local sources. It may be helpful to conduct outreach to ensure potential graduate students in Norway are aware of the Aquatic Animal Health Group. The range of research topics currently being pursued is broad given the number of staff and their expertise, and may lead to a reduction in research quality. The research in a high proportion of publications was completed elsewhere. We were surprised there are no staff who are clinical veterinary professionals, and thought although the group has access to veterinary consultation it might be useful to add this expertise. We offer four suggestions: (i) reach out to Norwegian and other Scandinavian students as potential PhD candidates, (ii) hire an additional faculty member with a background in clinical veterinary medicine, (iii) narrow the primary research areas and concentrate on topics that complement the expertise of current staff, and (iv) consider merging or expanding some research groups, as described below. 41
Page 1: Public Health and Health-related Re
Page 4 and 5: © The Research Council of Norway 2
Page 6 and 7: 2 Evaluation of biology, medicine a
Page 10 and 11: Statement from the Panel To the Res
Page 14 and 15: 10 Evaluation of biology, medicine
Page 24 and 25: Evaluation of individual research u
Page 48 and 49: Seafood Quality Grading of scientif
Page 62 and 63: Fish Biology & Population Genetics
Page 64 and 65: Marine Plankton Grading of scientif
Page 72 and 73: Deep Sea Species Grading of scienti
Page 74 and 75: Observation Methodology Grading of
Page 84 and 85: Section of Plant Pathology Grading
Page 94 and 95:
Norwegian Polar Institute 90 Evalua
Page 96 and 97:
92 Evaluation of biology, medicine
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
SNP Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
2. Organization and methods 100 Eva
Page 106 and 107:
102 o Gender and age balance in aca
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Dialog og tilbakemelding 106 Evalua
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Vedlegg 2 Avgrensning og organiseri
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
124 2. Fungal systematics Evaluatio
show all

Evaluation of individual research units - Norges forskningsråd

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?