UMB Annual Report 2005: Summary in English
Joanna Boddens-HosangNew visual profile: Due to the transition to university status and the associated change of name, UMB has had to extensively revise its visual and PR profile. The university is based on 150 years of strong traditions in the fields of agriculture and food production.
UMB is proud of this position and wishes to continue these traditions. At the same time, the University Board has clearly stated that UMB, via its new status and name, shall increase public awareness for the broad scope of academic fields actually covered by the institution’s activities.
A major strategy for promoting UMB’s new position was the development of a new visual profile. This process demanded extensive work throughout 2005, and was effectuated at the start of 2006. The common theme for all education and research at UMB is “life”, and this characteristic is now being emphasized. The new logo thus shows that UMB is truly a “living” university, since it mainly consists of a biogramme in constant transformation. The biogramme changes from day to day, its ‘point of departure’ being 1 October 1859, the founding date of the original agricultural college at Ås.
University management
In May 2005, Professor Knut Hove was re-elected as UMB’s rector. His second term commenced on 1 August 2005. Furthermore, the University Board decided to appoint two prorectors in fixed-term positions (50 % position for 4 years each). In September 2005, the Board appointed Associate Professor Trine Hvoslef-Eide as prorector for education, and Professor Morten Bakken as prorector for research. Both prorectors are part of UMB’s day-to-day academic-strategic management, acting as the heads of the Education Committee and the Research Committee, respectively.
UMB’s departments and centres
In 2005 the University Board decided to change UMB’s Centre for International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric) into a department with the same status as the university’s other departments. UMB thus now consists of the following departments and centres:
Dept. of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, IHA
Dept. of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, IKBM
Dept. of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, INA
Dept. of Economics and Resource Management, IØR
Dept. of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric
Dept. of Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning, ILP
Dept. of Mathematical Sciences and Technology, IMT
Dept. of Plant and Environmental Sciences, IPM
Aquaculture Protein Centre, APC
Animal Production Experimental Centre, SHF
Centre for Plant Research in Controlled Climate, SKP
Centre for Continuing Education, SEVU
Centre for Integrative Genetics, Cigene
Internationalisation
In 2005 the University Board approved UMB’s International Strategy 2005-2010. The strategy includes goals for educational and research activities, and a vision for developing an international campus focusing on the students’ needs.
Measures implemented in 2005 include:
• Periodic programme evaluations by international evaluation committees;
• Orientation about the follow-up of the Bologna process and the development of common European standards for Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees;
• Assessment and revision of study programmes to harmonise UMB’s degree requirements with common European standards;
• Enabling UMB’s students to spend part of their degree programme at a foreign partner institution;
• Promoting cultural diversity in student dorms by co-housing Norwegian and international students;
• Providing student housing to international students throughout their entire study programme.
The number of UMB students studying abroad was about the same as in 2004, while the number of incoming students through bilateral and Erasmus agreements declined. UMB cannot find a definite explanation for this trend.
In 2005, UMB established or extended 30 new student mobility agreements within the Erasmus, Erasmus Link and Nordplus programmes, in addition to bilateral agreements. The table shows the agreements with the highest student mobility activities.
UMB is one of the most active Norwegian universities regarding internationalisation of study programmes.
Enrolment and recruitment
Both the numbers of applicants and actually admitted students were considerably higher in 2005 than in 2004. However, this is not a real increase, but is mainly due to changes in admission registration procedures. Nevertheless, UMB observes an increasing interest for its study programmes among young people interested in higher education.
Continuing education
UMB’s activities in the field of continuing education are coordinated by the Centre for Continuing Education (SEVU). The respective departments are responsible for the curriculum of continuing education courses. SEVU’s programmes are primarily designed to meet specific needs and issues in business and industry, and are thus quite different than the regular study programmes. UMB cooperates closely with both the public and the private sector on the development of staff training programmes, and services include both open and tailor-made, commissioned courses. The activities are externally funded by course fees or commissioned training assignments.
The turnover of UMB’s continuing education totalled about NOK 12 million in 2005. Of this, NOK 9 million was external income derived from course fees and commissioned work. About 1/3 of the turnover was linked to commissioned courses. A total of 1, 119 persons participated in continuing education programmes/courses in 2005 and of these, 374 took final exams.
Agreements with the highest student mobility activities
Major partner institutions receiving UMB students / No. students
Makerere University / 74
Den Kgl. Veterinær- og Landbohøjskole / 52
Tribhuvan Vishwavidalaya / 37
University of Alaska-Fairbanks / 19
University of British Columbia / 17
Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet / 13
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia / 11
Technische Universität München / 17
Nova Scotia Agricultural College / 10
Wageningen University / 9
Major partner institutions sending students to UMB / No. students
Ecole Supérieure d’Agriculture d’Angers / 26
Den Kgl. Veterinær- og Landbohøjskole / 23
Technische Universität München / 19
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel / 8
Ecole nationale d’Ingénieurs des Travaux agricoles de Bordeaux / 7
Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet / 6
Helsingin yliopisto / 5
Nova Scotia Agricultural College / 4
Wageningen University / 4
Universidad de Córdoba / 4
UMB’s student life strategy for 2006-2010
In 2005, UMB completed the design of a student life strategy. The strategy is based on a vision that UMB shall be a unique university environment, in which the students’ academic and personal development are characterised by equality and solidarity between students and staff, responsibility and active participation in the academic community, with respect and tolerance of cultural diversity. Through active participation on the university’s committees and executive bodies, UMB’s students are to have true influence on the university’s development. UMB thus contributes to enhancing the students’ ability to cope with a complicated, dynamic and turbulent society.
The strategy places considerable emphasis on UMB’s international academic environment, which promotes cultural diversity and intercultural understanding, thus providing students with the professional, social and emotional basis for their future in an international, multicultural society.
Research
UMB’s departments continue to focus on the consolidation and strengthening of research teams. In 2005, four such teams applied for recognition as Centres of Excellence (SFF), and two others joined forces to apply for approval as a Centre for Research-driven Innovation (SFI). Four individual scientists applied for stays at the Centre for Basic Research (CAS). Furthermore, UMB initiated a 6-year human health programme in 2005. This programme aims to develop and disseminate the university’s expertise in the fields of food, nature and environmental sciences, e.g., through relevant research and the development of Master programmes in preventive and rehabilitative health. Three teams of scientists have been established: Food and Human Health, Human Health and Development, and Nature, Human Health and Quality of Life.
Research output, measured as the number of scientific articles published in national and international peer-reviewed journals, increased by 11% from the year before.
R&D activities
The results regarding research output in 2005 were thus satisfactory, but UMB will now place increasing focus on the publication of articles in journals that are most profitable according to the financial incentives issued by the Ministry of Education and Research. Academic staff mobility (including PhD students and postdocs) is high, but UMB would like to increase the number of incoming visiting researchers. The university’s participation in EU-funded projects is considerable regarding the number of projects, although rather moderate with regard to the total turnover of grants.
Doctorate programmes
In 2005, UMB admitted 11 more students to various doctorate programmes than in 2004. Due to delays in finalizing the doctorate-degree agreements, the funding sources for new PhD students in 2005 have not yet been registered. In addition, UMB has re-assessed all doctorate agreements in order have better control over the active agreements. Via the Norwegian joint student administration system, the registration routines for doctorate students are being improved. As of autumn 2005, UMB had 288 active agreements with doctorate students.
A total of 49 doctorate degrees were completed at UMB in 2005, up from 40 the previous year. This increase, however, lies within the normal annual variation, and there is no reason to assume that this reflects a trend towards increasing the output of doctorate degrees. A positive development is that 63% of the completed doctorate degrees were accomplished by women.
International research
UMB’s researchers participate in 14 projects within the EU framework and radiation protection programmes, in addition to numerous EU networks. UMB and other affiliated research institutes forming the “Campus Ås” have initiated a strategy to become more involved in the 7th Framework Programme, which will commence in 2007. The goal is to increase the number of projects and the total financial turnover, and to work towards coordinating at least one project within the programme.
UMB is also following up the bilateral research and technology agreement signed by Norway and the USA in 2005. In cooperation with the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the University of Minnesota and UMB have established extensive cooperation in the fields of food safety and bioenergy, involving a total of six research teams. The cooperation agreement will be further strengthened in 2006, aiming at joining forces in a longer term.
Commercialization
Researchers at UMB made 22 inventions in 2005, and the university has taken over the property rights for six of these. A license agreement has been signed, and six patent applications were submitted. Currently, additional patents within the same field are being developed in order to increase the value of the individual patents.
The innovation centre ’Biopolis’ was reorganized in 2005, so that Bioparken AS now has the operative responsibility in commercialization projects. The goal is to create new and strengthen existing commercial enterprises in the Follo region (the area south-east of Oslo, in which Ås lies). Biopolis is part of Oslo Bio (the Life Science cluster in Oslo). Via Oslo Teknopol, Biopolis is also part of an EU-funded network called AgroBioCluster, through which UMB has access to knowledge about experiences from other similar business clusters in four other European countries. In 2005, Biopolis consisted of about 25 employees from various enterprises with offices at UMB, 10 incubator businesses and one newly established business on the UMB campus.
Financial Result 2005
Funds are allocated to UMB from the Ministry of Education and Research (UFD), other ministries and from the Research Council of Norway (NFR) for research and other projects. In 2005, income from NFR amounted to NOK 129,8 million, slightly down from 2004. At the end of 2005, NOK 63,6 million in NFR-funds was carried over to 2006.
The turnover of externally funded activities declined from NOK 115,7 million in 2004 to NOK 101,6 million in 2005.
The full annual report (in Norwegian, including English summary) can be downloaded here.
Updated: 04.10.06
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