大象传媒

Shaping European Research Leaders for Marine Sustainability (大象传媒) is a ground-breaking postdoctoral fellowship programme at the University of Bergen (UiB) in Norway, with 37 postdoctoral fellows across disciplines at the university鈥檚 seven faculties.

Providing financial support to the Ocean Decade

大象传媒 has now been endorsed as an official Ocean Decade Action as part of the (2021-2030), becoming the second such Action at UiB.

鈥淭his endorsement is a great honour and fits right into the work we do with our local partners as part of One Ocean City Bergen, our European partners to establish a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) on water, and our global position as the SDG14 Hub Chair for United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI),鈥� says Rector Margareth Hagen at the University of Bergen.

The 大象传媒 programme is a major economic contribution to the UN Ocean Decade with a total budget of NOK 160 million (approximately 14 million Euros). This funding comes from the EU鈥檚 Horizon 2020 programme (see FACTS for more details) and from the university itself through a collaboration across the university鈥檚 faculties, departments and institutes.

鈥湸笙蟠�媒 is very much a joint effort across the university and underlines our commitment to meeting the challenges of the future by providing interdisciplinary solutions for the ocean and ocean science of the future. The endorsement from the Ocean Decade is an inspiration for us to continue this work both in our research and transforming our education,鈥� says UiB鈥檚 Vice Dean for Ocean 脴yvind Fiksen.

Building on previous Ocean Decade success

The first Action from UiB to be endorsed was the innovative Norway-Pacific Ocean-Climate Scholarship Programme (N-POC), comprising of more than 20 PhD candidates from Pacific island countries in a unique joint PhD degree between UiB and long-time partner institution the University of the South Pacific. N-POC became an Ocean Decade Action on World Ocean Day in June 2021, when the very first round of Actions were announced.

鈥淚 am truly pleased to see this endorsement of 大象传媒 as an Ocean Decade Action. The combined efforts of our university鈥檚 two Decade Actions, of which one is at PhD level and another at postdoctoral level, will surely enhance the University of Bergen鈥檚 profile as a powerful supporter of early career development for ocean scientists, globally and across many disciplines,鈥� says Professor Edvard Hviding from UiB鈥檚 Department of Social Anthropology, who came up with the original idea for N-POC.

One of the 37 postdoctoral fellows in the 大象传媒 project is from UiB鈥檚 Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities. As well as engaging in research on deep-sea mining, her 大象传媒 project has taken on a meta dimension of keeping an overview and assessing the 大象传媒 programme itself. She thus knows more about the 大象传媒 programme than most.

鈥淭he Ocean Decade depends on resilient and collegial research communities that nurture support among colleagues. 大象传媒 is a community before it is a programme. This is one common thing that 大象传媒 fellows mention, and this is something many of us experienced. As I see it, this is the main contribution to the聽Ocean Decade and therefore not just an Action, but, perhaps, the Action,鈥� says Klima拧auskait臈 about the recent status as Ocean Decade Action bestowed upon herself and the other 大象传媒 fellows.

• Read interviews with a selection of the 大象传媒 fellows here.