Getting Started as a New PhD Student in the IS Group
Introduction
The first days as a new PhD student can be quite daunting – a new environment, a new
step in your education and perhaps even a new culture. In order to facilitate the process of
getting settled into the department and group, the following document has been
developed by current PhD students. This document is meant to provide some guidelines
and suggestions for questions arising during your first days here. It by no means is meant
to be a formal document as the information provided herein could change, and individual
experiences do of course vary. But, we hope that this document will help new students
get started in their doctoral journey here in the information systems group! Other more
formalized information about beginning at the University of Oslo can be found here:
http://www.admin.uio.no/opa/ps/velkommen-eng.html
This document is structured into three main sections. The first section contains
information about general logistics within the department applicable to most students.
This covers general items like the location of the department, gaining access to the
department, etc. The second section addresses additional items specific for international
students (non-Norwegian citizens) such as how to obtain a social security number and get
a work permit. The final section addresses items related to academic life in the Globally
Scalable Information Infrastructures (GSII) group, such as key documents that are
produced and the general structure of a PhD thesis.
Last updated: 11.10.2006
Section 1: Logistics in the Department
This section provides a list of information applicable to most new students within the IS
group.
Access - Access to the building and the Department
The center of the department is located in the Informatics building. This is where the
administrative personnel are located as well as your mailbox, etc.
The GSII group is concentrated within Forskningsparken I and II (next to the Informatics
building). For a map of the university see:
http://www.uio.no/english/student_life/campus.html
http://www.uio.no/om_uio/kart/
http://www.ifi.uio.no/adminf/kart/lokalt.gif
Two different access cards are required, one for each building.
Forskningsparken I:
The access card for Forskningsparken I is available through the Administration (currently
this is through Nina Modahl).
Forskningsparken II:
If you have an employee card (‘tilsattkort’) this is used as your access card to most of the
University buildings including Foskningsparken II. This card is available through the
kortsenteret located next to the campus bookstore, Akademika. You are able to get this
card approximately 3 weeks after the start date of your employment (note that you need
to have a personal number from the “Folksregister” first though). It is advisable to call
the kortsenteret Tlf: 22 85 83 00 to determine if your card is ready to be made. Your
employee card contains your photograph, personal number, etc. and also is used as your
library card, card to access the gym if you are a member, etc.
If you do not have an employee card, then this access card is available through the
Administration along with the access card for Forskningparken I.
Access - Access to a computer, Internet, E-mail, etc, and an office space
As a new student, in addition to access to the buildings (see above), you will also need a
key to your office space, and an e-mail and computer account. For these items, contact
your supervisor. He/she will help you with these matters and put you in touch with
“Drift” in the Informatics building who will help you with email and internet access.
Buddy - You and your Buddy
Starting a new position can generate mixed emotions – of excitement, trepidation,
anxiety, enthusiasm…...the list is long! In addition, it is always a shock to come into a
new culture, especially when you are also embarking on a new academic lifestyle at the
same time. In order to help students get orientated in the Norwegian, and academic
context, we have started a “buddy” system.
Last updated: 11.10.2006
One of the definitions of the word “bud” in the Oxford English Dictionary is “beginnings
of growth or development”. In the USA, the term “buddy” is used as a form of address,
like “pal”. Putting these ideas together, we have defined a buddy as a “pal” at work who
provides support in many ways.
During a new PhD student’s first few days, their supervisor will assign them a “buddy”.
A buddy is typically a peer who is slightly more senior in the PhD process (typically in
their second year). The purpose of this arrangement is to provide new students with an
informal source of knowledge and support and to help them become familiar with the
group and the department. The buddy system is an informal arrangement. In general
though, the buddy is there to introduce the new student to the department and group (like
convening a group lunch to introduce the new student) and to help in case of questions on
items included in this document.
The buddy system is only what the student and buddy put into it, but we hope that the
buddy system will create a feeling of camaraderie and support between people – no small
achievement!
Mailing lists, E-mail, etc.
The university has several means of accessing your e-mail, including Webmail,
Thunderbird, Eudora, Pine and Outlook. Some find webmail the ‘easiest’ to use, here,
just go to webmail.uio.no and enter your assigned username and password. More
information can be found here: http://www.usit.uio.no/it/student/english/mainpage.html
The main mailing list within the GSII group is “global-inf@ifi.uio.no”. Contact Ole
Hanseth (oleha@ifi.uio.no) to get yourself onto the mailing list once you have sorted out
your ifi email address. Another important mailing list is for the PhD students in the
group. This mailing list is “global-phd@ifi.uio.no”. Contact Jennifer Blechar
(jennifjb@ifi.uio.no) to get onto this mailing list. An overview of the publicly advertised
mailing lists within IFI is available here: http://ifi-lists.uio.no/mailman/listinfo
Supplies - Office Supplies
The centre of the department is located on the second floor of the Informatics building.
Here, there is also a supply closet for office supplies including paper, pens, staples, etc.
This can be utilized by staff and PhD students free of charge.
Support - Technical Support - DRIFT
Technical support is run by IFI-Drift. This is located on the third floor of the Informatics
building or alternatively through drift@ifi.uio.no or telephone number 22 85 27 14.
Websites – Important/Useful Websites
The Department website: http://www.ifi.uio.no/
The GSII Group website: http://www.ifi.uio.no/forskning/grupper/is/GI.html
The Design Group website: http://www.ifi.uio.no/forskning/grupper/is/design.html
The library: http://www.ub.uio.no/umn/inf/ (note that many conference proceedings and
Last updated: 11.10.2006
journals are accessible online via the library wevsite. Also many other
journals are accessible from medical journals to social sciences and so on)
Room Booking: http://folk.uio.no/gisle/fp2/ (note to gain a username or password for this
system contact Gisle Hannemyr at gisle@ifi.uio.no)
Roombooking at the university: http://finnrom.uio.no/
IS World is a site that is useful to quickly understand many aspects of doing a PhD in IS:
Main website: http://www.isworld.org/
PhD resources: http://www.isworld.org/phd/phd.htm
Websites - Creating a Personal Website
As a student and/or employee with the University, you are allowed to create your own
personal web page. Having a personal web page is a great way to inform others of your
research and develop contacts. Instructions for doing this are located here (in Norwegian
only):
http://www.usit.uio.no/it/web/tjenester/personlig.html
Who’s Who – Some People in the Department
Anne Cathrine Modal – is responsible for all expenses, etc.
Narve Trædal – is head of the department
Grete Andresen – is responsible for personnel matters such as holidays, sick leave, etc.
Ole Haneth – is head of the GSII group
Tone Bratteteig - is head of the Design group
See: http://www.ifi.uio.no/adminf/administrasjon.html for a list over all administrative
personnel.
Last updated: 11.10.2006
Section 2: Special Logistics for International Students
This section provides additional information specific to International students joining the
group.
Bank Account – Opening a Bank Account in Norway
Opening a bank account in Norway is very easy, once you have your Personal Number
obtained through “Folksregister” (see “Personal Number” section for more details). Just
go to the Nordea bank branch on the main campus (near the post office and bookstore),
and they will help you.
Campus Life – What is going on around UIO
The UIO campus has many facilities including a bank, restaurants, small grocery store,
etc. Details about what is available on campus can be found here:
http://www.uio.no/english/student_life/campuslife.html
Personal Number – Folkeregister in Norway
In Norway, all residents have an 11 digit personal number which is a number
identification needed to open a bank account, gain access to the medical system, etc.
Foreigners temporarily residing in Norway are able to get a temporary or permanent
personal number once they have obtained their residence permit. These are issued
through the “Folkeregister” by submitting the form “Notification of move to Norway
from abroad” located:
http://www2.signform.com/Scripts/Signform.dll?SignForm&LANG=NO&COUNTRY=
NO&ARCHIVE=FTH&MODE=PIC&DB=SF&COMP=188403&HELPCOMP=0&PAT
H=/26396/14614/78977/99458/188403/&REF=1
Transportation – Getting around in Oslo
Oslo has a rail and metro system (‘t-bane’) as well as many bus routes to help get around
the city. This is managed by Oslo Sporveien. Information about timetables and fares are
located here: http://www.sporveien.no/templates/Page____180.aspx. For bus and rail
transport outside the Oslo area, see http://www.trafikanten.no/,
http://www.nsb.no/internet/en/index.jhtml
Transportation to and from Oslo airport (code: OSL) is available through a high speed
train (Flytoget) or airport bus (Flybussen). Information about these are available here:
http://www.flybussen.no/oslo/, http://www.flytoget.no/default.aspx?id=105
General information about Oslo including transportation can be found through the Visit
Oslo webpage: http://www.visitoslo.com/indexe/.
Don’t forget that many places including transportation links may have student discounts.
Work Permits - Work permits, Visas, etc.
All students residing outside the EEA need a residence and/or work permit to remain in
Norway for a period of more than three months (some need a visa to enter Norway).
Last updated: 11.10.2006
Others including those in Europe need a residence and work permit if they are to work in
Norway. Many find this a frustrating experience. However, it is important to have your
residence and/or work permit in place as soon as possible and on time. It is not only a
legal requirement, but you also need the work or residence permit, for example, to obtain
personal number or a tax card.
A residence permit (“oppholdstillatelse”) is required if you are a student (without salary)
while a residence permit as well as a work permit is required if you receive any type of
salary from a Norwegian source. In order to obtain these documents, you need a formal
acceptance letter and/or employment offer from the University and need to send this
along with the other required documentation to the Norwegian Directorate of
Immigration (UDI). Details on the documentation needed and the process are available
through the UDI website:
http://www.udi.no/default.aspx?id=2112
Details from the University are located here:
http://www.uio.no/english/student_life/firstweek.html#residence
It is worth noting that as a student, you are allowed to take on part time employment of
no more than 20 hours a week (as long as it does not interfere with your studies!). Again,
see the UDI web page for more details.
Last updated: 11.10.2006
Section 3: Academic Life in the GSII Group
This section provides information about general academic life in the GSII group such as
important documents, the PhD process, etc. It is important to note here that the
department has different ‘types’ of PhD students – some are hired as a ‘Stipendiat’
(research fellow), some are Quota students, etc. The information presented here should be
relevant for all students unless otherwise noted.
Documents - Required/Important documents or forms
There are several administrative documents or forms which are required or important for
your PhD. These include your PhD application, your employment contract (if you are
hired as a ‘Stipendiat’), Upgrade document and yearly progress reports from you and
your supervisor.
• PhD application
The Phd Application includes the overall timeframe of your PhD as well as your PhD
plan. This PhD plan lists the courses which you will take as part of your required (30
credits) course-work.
• Employment Contract
The employment contract is issued to you if you are hired as a ‘Stipendiat’. This
contract lists the terms of your employment.
• Progress Reports
At the end of each calendar year you and your supervisor need to complete a progress
report. This report assesses your progress against your plan (included in your PhD
application) and your general progress with the PhD, your relationship with your
supervisor, etc. One document is created by you and one by your supervisor. Both are
signed and are kept by the administration. The progress report for you to fill in is
located here:
http://www.matnat.uio.no/forskning/utdanning/rapport_kandidat_eng.pdf
• Upgrade Document
The Upgrade Document is to be completed by PhD students (this should be
considered as mandatory for those starting on or after January 2006) to assess their
progress in detail. Details of this document and the relationship between you and your
supervisor is located here:
http://www.ifi.uio.no/forskning/grupper/is/forstudenter.html
Events - Interesting/Important Events
Group Lunches – The group usually meets for lunch informally in the Cantina sometime
around 11:45 every day.
Group Meetings – Group meetings usually take place every other week. These are held in
room 4.418 in forskningsparken II. The days and location for this varies from semester to
Last updated: 11.10.2006
semester, so ask a fellow student which days the group meetings are occurring this
semester!
Group Discussion Meetings – The group arranges various discussion groups and
meetings targeted towards PhD students. These include writing seminars and PhD
discussion
groups.
Information
about
these
is
located
here:
http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~knutst/giwiki/doku.php?id=start
Group Seminars – The group also arranges various seminars. Information about current
seminars is available via the group webpage at:
http://www.ifi.uio.no/forskning/grupper/is/ISRS-no.html
PhD Days – these are arranged twice a year, normally around February and October
(although the dates vary from year to year). Topics covered in past PhD days can be
found at http://www.ifi.uio.no/~phddays/ The PhD days workshop is an opportunity for
students to present and obtain feedback on their research in an informal and friendly
manner. All students within the group should consider it mandatory to participate in the
PhD Days workshop.
Julebord – This is the departments Christmas dinner. Every year in early December the
department organizes a dinner. This is a great opportunity to get to know others in the
department at a fun and informal gathering. E-mails are distributed about this during
November. There is no formal ‘dress code’ for the julebord, however most find this a
nice opportunity to get dressed up a bit.
For general events around campus including many events of interest to those new to
Oslo/Norway see: http://www.uio.no/english/student_life/spevents.html
Funding - Conferences, travel budget, etc.
As a student at the University, there are several forms of funding available for traveling
to conferences, etc. depending on your PhD situation (e.g. where you are funded, if you
are hired as a ‘Stipendiat’ or work on a project, etc.). Typically, students in the group are
funded in one of four ways (or a combination of these):
- Externally funded (through some private organization)
- Research Council founded
- Department funded
- Project funded
Each of these has their own procedure for approval of funding for travel and expenses
and should be coordinated with your supervisor.
In addition, other sources of funding exist from the group and the Department. Questions
related to funding should be discussed with your supervisor.
Program - PhD Program Structure
The PhD program at the University of Oslo is typically a three year full time program. In
some cases, if you are hired as a Stipendiat for example, the PhD can also be four years
Last updated: 11.10.2006
with 25% teaching responsibility. The option chosen here will depend on many factors,
including funding opportunities, the needs of the department, etc. However, this is
something that is arranged (in most cases) prior to the start of your PhD and is included
in your PhD application.
In general, as a PhD, you have 30 credits of course requirements which need to be
fulfilled (20 of these must be UIO/IFI courses, the rest can be taken elsewhere if desired
and with approval). INF5210 – Information Infrastructures is one course which should be
considered as mandatory by PhD students starting on or after January 2006. Other
courses need to be document and agreed in your PhD application.
Publications – Registering Publications in FRIDA
As you proceed in your doctoral journey and develop papers that you present at
conferences or in journals, it is important that these are registered in the University
system - FRIDA. The reason for this is of course to ensure that others are aware of your
hard work and that the department is recognized for any formal publications.
Registration reminders are usually sent out at the end of the calendar year. The link to
FRIDA is https://wo.uio.no/as/WebObjects/frida.woa/3?inst=185
Instructions in English are available via Drift.
Reporting – Expense reports, per diems, etc.
There are two forms of reporting your travel expenses:
If the refund (travel costs) requires daily allowance for food, etc., then one should
compile a form from the Reiseregning program located on the network drive here:
P:\gratis\reisereg\reiser23.exe
From this program you need to save the travel expense, print it out, sign it and give it to
Anne-Cathrine Mohdal (who is in charge of accounting in the administration).
If the refund does NOT require daily allowance (travel without daily allowance, books,
electronic equipment etc...) then one can fill in this form, print it and give it to AnneCathrine: http://www.admin.uio.no/opa/ls/ls-skjema/utleggsrefusjon.rtf
Further information about refunds of expenses can be found on this site:
http://www.ifi.uio.no/adminf/intern/okonomi/index.html
In terms of reporting of progress of the PhD, etc, see the ‘Documents’ section above.
Requirements - Requirements for your thesis
The general course requirements for your thesis are included in your PhD
application/contract. Any changes in your course work need to be approved such that
credit earned is counted towards your required credits if desired. This needs to be done
through a written form called ‘Søknad om endring av pensumplan’ (located at
Last updated: 11.10.2006
http://www.ifi.uio.no/forskning/utdanning/endrepplan.pdf). The PhD application also
includes the time plan for your PhD, which is used as a basis for discussion for yearly
progress reports.
The PhD thesis within the GSII group can either be a collection of papers (article-based)
or a monograph. The paper based thesis tends to be the more popular option and consists
of, as the name suggests, a series of papers. Along with the articles, the thesis contains a
thorough introduction, summary and conclusion. While the formal requirements vary, the
article based thesis within the GSII group typically consists of 4 to 5 papers, all of which
have at least been accepted for a peer-reviewed conference and one of which is a paper
accepted
to
an
international
peer-reviewed
journal
(see
http://www.ifi.uio.no/forskning/grupper/is/ressurser.html#tids for a list of suggested
journals). Note that when using co-authored papers in your thesis, you will need to
obtain co-author statements that clarify your contribution in relation to your co-authors.
The form for completing this located here:
http://www.matnat.uio.no/forskning/utdanning/docs/co_author_declaration_eng.doc
It is good practice to obtain these co-author statements once articles are completed rather
than waiting until you submit your thesis.
The following websites help in providing guidance:
PhD guidelines:
http://www.sv.uio.no/studier/forskerutdanning/english/course_guidelines.html
This site also includes suggestions regarding co-authored papers.
On an article based PhD:
http://www.sv.uio.no/studier/forskerutdanning/english/phd_article_based_thesis.html
Submitting your Thesis – the process of submitting
Documentation and forms for submitting your thesis are available here:
http://www.matnat.uio.no/forskning/utdanning/disputasavikling.html.
However, much of this is only in Norwegian so if you have any difficulties, be sure to ask
your Norwegian speaking colleagues!
The committee is an important part of your overall doctoral defense. The committee is
typically comprised of 3 people; the 1st and 2nd opponent, which are external to UIO and
the 3rd opponent, which is an internal UIO resource. The 3rd opponent is thus the
students’ main point of contact with regard to the committee and that person is
responsible for organizing the committee, the trial-lecture topic, answering questions
from the PhD student, etc. The supervisor and student together are responsible for
selecting and securing the committee. Thus, you can provide input into this process and
should be proactive and start thinking about the structure of the committee early. At least
6 months prior to the target defense date, the student and supervisor(s) should agree on
the committee and secure the participation of the committee members on a specific date.
This is extremely important as it can be difficult to coordinate the schedule of 3 active
faculty members!
Last updated: 11.10.2006
Once the committee is selected and available, the formal process of submitting your
thesis can begin. The first step that needs to take place is that a paper form documenting
the committee members must be completed and submitted to the administration for
approval. Once approved, administration needs to send each committee member a copy
of your thesis. You can assist and speed the process by printing 4 copies of the thesis and
submitting these to administration. This is the formal point of actually submitting your
thesis. Note that the copies of your thesis that you submit to the administration/committee
members must be the near final version as only small changes (e.g. spelling errors, typeo’s. etc.) are permitted to your thesis once it has been submitted to the committee. In
some cases, not all committee members may want a printed copy – some may be happier
with a pdf version. This can also speed the process. If you would like to, you can
therefore contact the committee members and ask if they would like a pdf or printed
version of your thesis. Administration will also send you a document with the specific
procedures for the thesis submission process and needed information from you, such as
an abstract to be made publicly available when your defense is announced, etc.
At least one month prior to your defense, you will be provided with the committees’
recommendation if they find your thesis ‘worthy’ to defend. You will also get comments
back from the committee about your thesis and should use these as you prepare for you
defense. The comments from the committee in the evaluation report are likely to be
repeated at the defense, as well as be reflected in the topic of the trial lecture. If you need
clarification on any items, you should contact your third opponent. 2 weeks (10 working
days) prior to your defense, you will be given the topic of your trial lecture. Again,
contact your third opponent if you need more information or have any questions.
When it comes to actually printing your thesis, the department pays for 60 bounded
copies of your thesis. If you want additional copies to be printed, you will need to pay for
these yourself. You need to do all formatting of your thesis but UNIPUB, the company
that does the printing, can assist if you have any questions. They also have a website
which can guide you in the process (http://www.unipub.no/OmDrAnder_Unipub.htm).
This is again in Norwegian, but use the email address there if you have any enquiries.
They are very helpful, and can for example provide a test print of the thesis. However,
UNIPUB does not do any editing or formatting unless you pay for this separately (this
cost is not covered by the department). Once you have the thesis formatted, you will need
to convert it into PDF before sending it to UNIPUB. Note that this must be one PDF file,
so if your thesis is a collection of papers, these must all be merged into one PDF file.
Information about how to make a PDF out of a range of different word (and perhaps PDF
files)
you
can
find
at
USIT,
and
described
in
detail:
http://www.usit.uio.no/it/forfatterstotte/pdf/acrobat_eng.html . Be aware that formatting
takes time (at least, if you want to make it look nice). Once the PDF is created, this is
submitted to UNIPUB for binding. Here, UNIPUB also needs a requisition from the IFI
administration (which you will have from the responsible in the administration).
Last updated: 11.10.2006