The Toppforsk programme
The Trond Mohn Research Foundation (TMF) supported the University of Bergen´s Toppforsk program with 68.5 MNOK in order to recruit five outstanding international researchers to the University of Bergen (UiB). The program´s total budget was 137 MNOK.
By being able to offer top researchers particularly favourable conditions and administrative support, this collaboration put UiB in a stronger position in the international competition for outstanding researchers.
The five Toppforsk researchers are:
- Stefan Kölsch, Department of Biological and Medical Psychology
- Michael Fellows, Department of Informatics (Fellows is now professor emeritus)
- Valeriya Lyssenko, Department of Clinical Science
- Don Kalb, Department of Social Anthropology
- Michael Baumgartner, Department of Philosophy
The Toppforsk initiative also builds on the Foundation´s and UiB’s long-standing collaboration through the TMF Starting Grants: The Starting Grant program funds excellent young researchers who are in the process of establishing and leading their own research groups, while the Toppforsk initiative brought internationally known researchers to Bergen.
Cultivating more world-leading research in Norway was one of the top priorities in the Norwegian government’s long-term plan for research and higher education. A larger proportion of the public funding of institutions involved in research and higher education was dedicated to achieving top quality.
Download the mini magazine that presents the programme and the Toppforsk researchers
The programme in brief:
Project period: 2015-2022
UiB’s Toppforsk programme built on the Norwegian government’s wish to establish more world-leading research communities at Norwegian universities.
The Trond Mohn Research Foundation (TMF) contributed NOK 68.5 million in order to ensure that the best researchers choose UiB.
An initial five-year agreement has been entered into with each of the researchers, enabling them to establish a top research team at UiB.
The total budget for the Toppforsk programme, supported by the Norwegian government and TMF, is NOK 137 million.
Creating New Treatment for Diabetes
Diabetes researcher Valeriya Lyssenko’s goal is to create new ways of treating diabetes. (only available in Norwegian)
Photo: Eivind Senneset. Source: UiB
Professor Valeriya Lyssenko participates in two other programs supported by the foundation:
Center for precise diabetes medicine
Putting Algorithms Into Practice
Professor emeritus Michael Fellows is passionate about mathematics, algorithms and informatics. This passion not only led to ground-breaking research, but also to playwriting and love.
Photo: Jens Helleland Ådnanes. Source: UiB
Identifying New Class Differences
Professor Don Kalb established a research group to study the increasing differences that the new capitalism brings in China, Europe and the Global South.
Photo: Don Kalb. Source: UiB
Publications from the project Frontlines of Value
How The Brain Processes The Unpredictable
Professor Stefan Kölsch researches brain and music.
Photo: Eivind Senneset; Source: UiB
Philosophy of Science and Logic
Michael Baumgartner is the founder of the Coincidence Analysis method that can be used widely across scientific disciplines.
Photo: Jan Von Holleben. Source: UiB
