Elections 2025

These are the candidates, and their self-presentations, for the election to the Board of the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences (SU). The election will be held from May 5 to May 7, 2025.

Norsk: Kandidater til valg til fakultetsstyret ved SU | Elections at SU

Permanent academic staff

Arve Leraand

Assistant professor, Department of Teacher Education (ILU)

Lenke til ansattprofil

I am the program leader for the three-year vocational teacher education at the Department of Teacher Education (ILU). Throughout my career, I have been involved in various development projects and transformation processes. I have worked in an academic environment that systematically promotes student learning and enhances the quality of education at NTNU.

I am running for election because I am committed to fairness and participation in NTNU's decision-making processes. For me, it is important to:

• Utilize employees' resources and strengths in the coming period
• Look forward in a constructive manner
• Work to ensure that employees and students are heard
• Contribute to ensuring that knowledge development is primarily guided by academic principles
• Be a critical, clear, and knowledge-based voice

In the board, I will work to ensure that employees are heard and that knowledge development is primarily guided by academic principles. NTNU faces great challenges that require us to stand together and build on common values. My very best quality is that I see people!

Eline Drury Løvlien

Associate professor, Department of Teacher Education (ILU)

Link to profile page

As an employee at ILU, I am very concerned about the economic challenges the SU faculty will face in the coming years. These issues already challenge the university's core values due to increased goal management, profit motives, and a corporate logic, which particularly affects the disciplines at SU. It also challenges the universities' role as open and critical institutions. There is therefore, in my view, a great need for critical voices to seek other solutions to these challenges. This is something I have missed in the major restructuring processes we are currently facing at SU. I want to contribute with my expertise and ensure that academically grounded, critical perspectives become part of the discussions taking place at the faculty level.

I work as an associate professor at the Social Studies section at ILU. Here at the Department of Teacher Education, we often talk about the concept of "global citizenship," which is about our role as citizens in a larger global context. This is central to my work as a researcher and educator, and I want to promote a greater focus on international solidarity in higher education. For me, this is not just about an economically sustainable university, but also a university that is sustainable in the face of the many geopolitical challenges we face. I am focused on our role as members of the global academic community, and I believe that the social sciences and teacher education play an important role in this work.

Heidrun Åm

Professor, Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS)

Link to profile page

My name is Heidrun Åm. I am a professor of sociology, specializing in technology and societal change, and I have board experience from research schools, the institute board, and the housing cooperative. I am running for election for the permanent staff on the faculty board because collegial self-governance is important at a university, and boards, such as the institute board, where I have participated for the past four years, or the faculty board, which I would like to contribute to in the next four years, are arenas for such co-determination. In connection with budget development in recent years and the decisions that have been made around it, we have seen that it is important for employees' voices to be expressed in the decisions that are made. Contributing to the faculty board is also a way to serve our academic civil duty. I have conducted extensive research on research management, and I believe it is crucial that university leadership focuses on creating favorable conditions for high-quality research and teaching.

Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair

Professor, Department of Psychology (IPS)

Link to profile page

I am a specialist in clinical adult psychology and a professor of personality psychology at NTNU. I am a former head of the Department of Psychology and have served two terms on the department's board. Currently, I am the editor-in-chief of the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, a member of DKNVS, and have recently served on the government-appointed Women's Health Committee. For many years, I have been a mentor in NTNU's Mentoring Program for female associate professors and lecturers. I have recently participated in research evaluation and program evaluation both nationally and internationally. My research interests include sexual psychology and clinical psychology, with many international collaborations. I have written and edited several books and have been extensively involved in dissemination work locally, nationally, and internationally.

Academia is entering a phase of restructuring and downsizing. I am concerned with ensuring that the voices of academic staff are heard and that their participation is secured in the inevitable restructuring processes that academia will face in the coming years. We must maintain high-quality teaching while ensuring that we do not become solely a research institute based on external funding, without free research time but with extensive teaching obligations. Research time must be specified in contracts and protected to preserve the unique character of universities. Above all, we must focus on mentoring young colleagues who face an even more challenging future.

Ove Østerlie

Associate professor, Department of Teacher Education (ILU)

Lenke til ansattprofil

I have been employed at NTNU since 2016, following the merger with HiST, where I started in 2013. My work includes teaching, supervision, and research in physical education and digital learning, and I am a recognised Excellent Teaching Practitioner at NTNU. In recent years, I have focused especially on how digital technology can be meaningfully integrated into higher education—both to enhance student learning and to further develop our own teaching practices.

I am running for election because I want to contribute to a faculty board that works strategically, knowledge-based, and with broad involvement. I have experience from the Research Committee at ILU and have served as a deputy member of the department board. I also lead an international research group and actively participate in academic networks across national borders. I believe our faculty has great potential to strengthen its international profile and to better facilitate collaboration, academic development, and innovation.

As a representative of the academic staff, I will work to:

• Strengthen quality and innovation in higher education, with a particular emphasis on the sustainable use of digital technologies
• Support recognition and development of teaching excellence and merit systems
• Ensure fair and supportive conditions for research, development, and interdisciplinary collaboration
• Promote a more active commitment to international engagement and research partnerships
• Safeguard openness and real academic participation in the faculty’s decision-making processes

I am standing for election with the ambition to contribute to a strong, outward-looking, and future-oriented faculty!

Per Esben Svelstad

Professor, Department of Teacher Education (ILU)

Link to profile page

I am a professor of Norwegian and teach at the Department of Teacher Education, where I have worked since 2018. As an employee at ILU, I have been a deputy member of the Department board (2021—2025) and have contributed to the project Men in School. Facilitating diversity and meaningful debate are core issues for me as a researcher, teacher, and not least as a board member. Academic freedom of expression and staff involvement are not just nice values; they are fundamental to the university as a critically thinking collegium.

In a time of economic turmoil, it is more important than ever to protect the working environment. Academics go to great lengths to meet expectations and work beyond normal working hours. I will work to ensure that expectations are adapted to our framework conditions and that SU recognizes the breadth of academic tasks. Dissemination, international cutting-edge research, and practice development are all important tasks, and our different career paths constitute a strength. We cannot all do the same things in equal measure. In line with this, administrative tasks must be kept to a minimum.

Artificial intelligence offers great opportunities but also requires increased awareness of issues such as cheating and resource use. As a social science faculty with important professional education programs, SU should lead the way in nuanced approaches to AI.

If you agree with these issues, I hope you will consider voting for me. Best wishes for the election!

Riina Kiik

Professor, Department of Social Work (ISA)

Link to profile page

1. I have worked at NTNU since September 2007. I was born and raised in Tartu, Estonia. I have been the head of the department at NTNU before, during, and after the merging. I have been closely involved in the development and planning of the Helgasetr campus project. I love NTNU and I am proud to work at NTNU. I care about NTNU as a place of study and work. Students and employees are the most important resources we have.
2. We are in a transition process, where strategic directions must be clear to make demanding priorities. SU has a great academic breadth that is exciting and offers endless opportunities for interdisciplinarity. The transition also requires new thinking, does SU have any additional perspectives that can be explored?

I am particularly concerned with:

1. Greater freedom of action for the departments where the core tasks are solved, it is important for the well-being and motivation of employees and students. YES, to good leaders, colleagues, and students who motivate.
2. Good and sustainable study programs. To achieve this, employees must continue to have time and space for research and to be able to develop research-based teaching.
3. Attractive workplace now and in the future. Here, campus development will be important in terms of how workplaces will be designed.
4. An important prerequisite for making good decisions is openness in communication, including in situations of crisis.

I will stand for and promote proposals that contribute to stability in turbulent times, good dialogue, and long-term perspectives in transition processes.

Stefan Geiss

Professor, Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap (ISS)

Lenke til ansattprofil

I am a proud and ambitious researcher and lecturer working on topics relating to political communication, news coverage, and media effects with a focus on Computational Social Science.

It is important for me to actively contribute to securing the good environment for research and teaching – which I have enjoyed and want to enjoy in the long term future – for all of us at the SU faculty. Others did this job for me when I started as an associate professor at NTNU in 2017. Now I know the language, structures and processes well enough and have gathered experience from administrative tasks in two different universities in two different countries. I feel it's my turn to take responsibility, as a candidate for the faculty board.

Much is changing in the university sector that is challenging for us as individual employees and for us as a faculty. I feel it requires both a strategic approach, innovative and creative ideas and good work with the valuable input and suggestions from individuals and departments.

Although many challenges are time-critical, I am committed to promoting the long-term sustainable development of the Faculty and how it defines its role within NTNU. I am confident that I can offer that, and use my skills for the benefit of the SU faculty. I have the impression that I share priorities and preferences with many other employees at SU. Therefore, I ask for your trust and the opportunity to represent you in the SU faculty board.

Temporary academic staff

Jakob Bonnevie Cyvin

PhD student, Department of Geography and Social Anthropology (IGS)

Link to profile page

I am a PhD candidate at the Department of Geography and Social Anthropology (IGS) where I research plastic pollution. Over the past 8 years, I have held various student employment and recruitment positions at Department of Geography (IGE) and ILU. I lead an interdisciplinary VR education project with participants from several departments at NTNU and internationally. With the wide academic variety under our faculty, I believe I can communicate with many people. I have been a board representative at the Department of Geography, the Department of Geography and Social Anthropology, a deputy in the faculty board, occasionally attending meetings, and thus have experience with board work.

I am passionate about giving learning activities as much prestige as good research. This requires support environments, institutional anchoring, access to academic resources, pedagogical competence as well as the purely academic content. As a representative elected from temporary employees, I will do my utmost to promote this employee group. Many feel pressure and hard days, while others feel free and privileged. There are also great variations in how we are received, the follow-up, and the support we get: I hope to be a clear voice for the best of all.

It is problematic that today one needs good Norwegian language skills to sit on the faculty board, and a large part of this group is therefore excluded as candidates. I will specifically listen to those of you who do not speak Norwegian well enough to stand for election yourselves, and as far as possible, contribute to making this more inclusive in the future.

Marius G. Vigen

PhD student, Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS)

Link to profile page

I am currently in my third year as a PhD candidate in sociology at the Department of Sociology and Political Science (ISS). My research focuses on urban development and how groups of experts collaborate in planning socially inclusive cities. This year, I am running as a candidate for the Faculty Board at the SU Faculty representing temporary academic staff.

Since the fall semester, I have represented temporary staff on the department board at ISS, while also participating in a working group at NTNU focusing on the career development of temporary employees, both within and outside of academia.

Running as a representative for temporary staff is motivated by concerns about the faculty’s financial situation and the reduction in autonomy among its departments. The Faculty Board is a key body for making informed decisions that provide predictability for the departments. Changes in the framework conditions of the sector contribute to increased uncertainty for temporary staff. It is therefore important that the decisions made by the Faculty Board promote and support our group of employees in a way that ensures security and conditions for research and teaching activities at the departmental level. I will work to ensure that the decisions made by the SU Faculty Board do not impact temporary staff negatively.

We have a broad variety of disciplines at our faculty, and it is important that opportunities for basic research (grunnforskning) and teaching experience for temporary staff are not reduced by the financial challenges we are facing. As we are a large and international group of employees, I am committed to making sure that everyone feels included and heard in matters that concern us at the faculty.

Sanna Ørsjødal Brattland

PhD student, Department of Teacher Education (ILU)

Link to profile page

In spring 2023 I started working as a Ph.D.- Candidate in the Social Studies Section at the Department of Teacher Education. My project focuses on democracy and citizenship education, and I have previously worked as a teacher in adult education and as a coordinator at the Falstad Centre. I find it exciting to gain insight into how democratic processes function here at NTNU. Through my two years as a representative for temporary employees on the institute board at ILU, I have gained valuable experiences. Understanding board work at the institute level as a representative for the faculty board, provides useful insights into decision-making processes and challenges at various levels.

I am running for election as a representative for temporary academic staff because I want to be a clear and constructive voice for our employee group during this time of change in academia and society. I aim to promote the interests and perspectives of temporary employees in the university's processes, ensuring that we are included and considered when decisions affecting us are made. Additionally, I will work to be an accessible link between the faculty leadership and our employee group.

Technial-administrative staff

Jens Rohloff

Senior advisor, faculty administration

Link to profile page

I am a former student and have worked at NTNU as a researcher for more than 20 years. In 2017, I changed from NV Faculty to a research adviser position in the Research Section at SU Faculty. Based on many years of work experience, I have gained broad insight into the university's organization and interaction between department, faculty and central level, both as an employee but also as an employee representative through my various roles as safety representative, LOSAM member at NV and SU Faculty, board member of Forskerforbundet local branch, and as a board member of SUs faculty board for the technical-administrative staff in the period 2021–25.

NTNU is in an exciting but also demanding phase regarding changed financial frameworks and the university's future development. NTNUs unified campus sets the framework for the university's physical and geographical research, education and knowledge infrastructure and will shape the organization's activities for many decades to come. As one of the five largest faculties at NTNU with the highest number of registered students in 2024, SU Faculty is strongly affected by the reorganization and physical relocation. At the same time, overall processes are underway, such as digitalization and the introduction of new electronic systems within finance and administration. Furthermore, collaboration with society, business, and internationalization will also affect both the university's core activities within education and research and have an impact on how NTNU and SU function as a workplace, now and in the future. The faculty is a large employer for well over a hundred technical-administrative employees. I want to represent and support their important work through my board involvement and contribute to influencing strategy processes, measures and the use of instruments that ensure that the faculty can attract good students, researchers and technical-administrative staff.

Per Ivar Chutko

Advisor, Department of Geography and Social Anthropology (IGS)

Link to profile page

I have been working in administrative positions at NTNU for 14 years. I have participated in many working groups and forums at different levels, and I am familiar with most areas within educational administration, from disciplinary education, teacher education, interdisciplinary-, thematic- and applied study programs, to international educational collaboration. As study administrative coordinator at IGS, I work closely with the management and program leaders. All of this has contributed to my ability to discuss and advise on portfolio development and how we should best organize ourselves. I have experienced how important it is that we, together, find good solutions across academic communities and organizational levels.

You should vote for me because I am passionate about my job – and yours. I have broad knowledge of the higher education sector, NTNU, and especially the department level. The Faculty Board needs a strong administrative voice and the perspective of the departments. Understanding the needs of our core activities requires close connection to the academic communities, research, teaching, and the students. I have that connection. These are crucial perspectives as we develop the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences in light of the economic and demographic changes facing the higher education sector.

Sissel Sæther

Advisor, faculty administration

Link to profile page

I work as an advisor in the HR section at the faculty.

I have been at NTNU for many years now and during this time I have been a versatile administrative employee, working both at the department and faculty levels, as well as collaborating extensively with central administration. This has given me a good insight into the entire NTNU, and our faculty in particular. My tasks also span across all our departments, so I have a good understanding of what is happening at SU. In the past year, I have been a deputy in our faculty board, and it has been an interesting and valuable learning curve.

My focus areas will be to work to promote SU as a good workplace for all of us. This will be through diversity and inclusion, ensuring that all employees and students have equal opportunities to succeed, and I am committed to further developing the university's research environments. In light of the issues we have had on the table during the time I have been part of the faculty board, finances will also be important in the time to come, as SU should continue to be a leading institution for research and education.

As a person, I am interested and engaged in our workplace, and I would like to contribute to the further development and success of our faculty.

Trond Viggo Grøntvedt

Advisor, Department of Psychology (IPS)

Link to profile page

I am 41 years old and have worked at NTNU (mainly at IPS) since 2010. I currently hold a position as an advisor in research administration at IPS, I have a PhD in psychology, and I am also a deputy safety representative for the second term.

My background gives me a unique perspective – I know "both sides of the table." As a PhD candidate and postdoctoral researcher, I have experience with the challenges our academic staff face, especially in balancing teaching, publishing, and increasing demands for external funding. At the same time, in my current role as an advisor, I have seen the pressure we administrative staff are under; short deadlines with sometimes high work pressure, uncertainty related to cuts, constant demands, and more bureaucracy from both the faculty and central administration.

I feel that the voices of the departments are very little heard in overarching processes, and with my candidacy for the faculty board, I want to contribute to more transparency and better representation. The main tasks of the university, and the increased demand for external funding, are best carried out with a professionalized administration that can facilitate the daily work of academic staff.

Therefore, I will work to ensure that more decisions are made where the needs are best known, that issues affecting our daily work are clearly communicated, and that the staff group has a real voice in the board.

I hope to have the opportunity to represent you and make a difference.

Contact

If you have questions, the Election Board SU will be pleased to answer: valg@su.ntnu.no