There is an interdisciplinary commitment to education and research at the Faculty of Medicine (MED). The last faculty board meeting of the year on 13 December (link in Norwegian) decided unanimously to establish the Sustainable Health Unit (SUSTAINIT). The unit will be a knowledge cluster comprised of the existing units Centre for Global Health, Centre for Sustainability in Health Education (SHE) and a new Pandemic Centre.
The knowledge cluster will contribute to the implementation of and critical reflection on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, both nationally and internationally. The unit will also contribute to local, regional and global capacity building, and will help to strengthen UiO's role in dealing with future pandemics.
Dean Ivar Gladhaug is pleased to have "put in place this significant new initiative that will strengthen and lift the faculty's focus on sustainability in education and research."
Independent units with joint leadership
The three centres included in the knowledge cluster will continue to be independent units with a joint manager, Eivind Engebretsen. The knowledge cluster will have a joint administration with an international scientific council. The use of resources will thus be streamlined, and the educational and research environments will be able to work more closely together.
“The Sustainable Health Unit (SUSTAINIT) will strengthen education and research at the Faculty of Medicine. While SHE focuses on education, the other two will focus on research and capacity building. Together, the units will be a robust knowledge cluster, with a strong central base and will thus be a broad and interdisciplinary academic environment for both students and researchers. The synergy effect of these will provide vigour and scope for a significantly increased sustainability focus in health”, says the incoming Head of Unit Eivind Engebretsen.
Contact
Incoming Head of Unit: Eivind Engebretsen
Incoming Head of Administration: Ingeborg K. Haavardsson