50 of the IOR Centre's researchers, project managers and PhD students were gathered at Sola strandhotell for a day of good talks, inspiration and socialization.
This article was publised 21st February 2020.
An important part of the agenda this day was to give the Centre researchers an introduction to the so-called "Deliverable Forums". The goal is to make a concrete list of deliverables for our industry partners. What will our partners gain after eight years of intensive research conducted at the IOR Centre. To achieve this list of deliverables within the first phase of the Centre's lifetime (till November 2021) we have to collaborate across research tasks and themes, and in close dialogue with our industry partners.
Another part of the Centre gathering was to discuss the future of the IOR Centre – phase 2.
The young voices
At a team gathering like this, you are bound to listen to the familiar voices of your old colleagues. To give the participants some new and inspiring input, #DenNyeOljen came to update us on the young people's view on the Norwegian oil and gas industry.
#DenNyeOljen is an independent project organized by Norwegian Oil and Gas. Their mandate is to travel around the country to share their reflections on big issues like energy, technology and climate change.
To sum up; the first thing kids in Norway think of when they hear the word "oil" is pollution.
"This has changed in just one year. When we asked the same question back in 2018, pollution was mentioned only by a few. Now 1 of 3 associate the oil and gas industry with CO2 emissions," Tuva Kvåle in #DenNyeOljen explained.
But the picture is more nuanced than that. A large part of today's young people realize that oil industry revenues are needed to develop new, green technology.
The Centre – phase II
The Centre management is getting ready for phase II of The National IOR Centre of Norway. To get there, the management team asked for feedback from the researchers and students present at the gathering.
"I think the Centre need to have a practical approach combined with academic freedome for the researchers," Tien Nguyen said. He is the newest PhD student at the Centre and got to meet his new colleagues for the first time this day.
"Regardless of how long the petroleum industry will last in Norway, IOR will be an important discipline in the rest of the world for years to come," PhD student Andre Morosov said.
The feedback from the researchers, PhD students and project managers is of great importance for the further work of planning the second phase of the IOR Centre.
Text and photo: Kjersti Riiber