The years as a PhD candidate are exciting and professionally developing, but can also be a strenuous time with a lot of work pressure and setbacks. Most PhD candidates at NHH are also employees at the school and this duality may create confusion about who to contact for what.
General
The head of department has the formal responsibility (personnel responsibility) for you as an employee. This responsibility may however be delegated to other people in the department management team e.g., PhD coordinator.
For most issues, your supervisors and the PhD coordinator for your specialisation are your two most important contact points. The PhD coordinator will help you navigate the PhD programme and research, while your supervisors are there to guide you through your academic journey.
The administrative staff at the department are also useful contact points and can help you with administrative issues.
Study-related
Your supervisors and the PhD coordinator at your department are the best starting point for study-related issues. The staff at the Section for Doctoral Education are also available for issues related to the PhD programme, and can forward important matters to the Vice Rector for Research who has the formal responsibility for the entire PhD programme at NHH.
If you experience challenges related to your study situation, we advise you to first discuss the matter with your supervisors and the PhD coordinator at your department. This could for instance be related to the fulfillment of the obligations stated in your PhD contract (courses, guidance, milestones, etc.), but also more practical challenges related to cooperation with the department and/or your supervisors.
If matters still cannot be resolved, the Section for Doctoral Education (phd@nhh.no) can be contacted and will forward the matter to the relevant instance (Vice Rector for Research, HR, etc.).
For matters related to your student situation at NHH, the Ombud for Students can also provide advice on the rights and obligations in student matters.
General information about exams at NHH can be found here and you may contact the Section for exams at eksamen@nhh.no for matters regarding exams/assessments.
If you experience problems with Studentweb, the platform where you register and withdraw from course(s)/exam(s), you may contact phd@nhh.no.
If you are not able to attend an exam due to illness, documentation must be sent to eksamen@nhh.no within the next working day of the exam date. The documentation must state the exam date and course code for the exam(s) you are unable to attend.
Please recall that for PhD Research Scholars, the only documentation for a valid absence from an exam is a sick note/sickness certificate (“sykemelding”) from a licensed doctor (GP) or specialist. The Sick note/sickness certificate must be dated before or on the day of the examination.
Practical employee-related
Most PhD Research Scholars are also employees at NHH. If you have employee-related questions, it will initially be natural to have a conversation with your main supervisor, PhD coordinator, head of department or the administrative staff at your department. Note that issues related to your position as a teaching assistant count as employee-related.
The Employee Handbook contains a lot of useful information related to your employment at NHH. Questions about your employment can also be addressed to hr@nhh.no.
For questions related to your salary payments, the Office of Finance and Accounting can be contacted at lonn@nhh.no. However, it is advised to first talk to the administration at your department.
IT support at NHH can be contacted using helpdesk@nhh.no.
Health and sensitive issues
Most PhD Research Scholars are also employees at NHH. In this case, you are employed at a department and the head of department has the formal personnel responsibility for you as an employee and is under the obligation of confidentiality. This responsibility may however be delegated to other people in the department management team e.g., PhD coordinator.
If you experience health issues which require a leave of absence, the department management must be informed. Please note that you don’t have to reveal the details of the health issue (diagnosis etc.). See the Employee Handbook for further information about sick leaves (self-certified and official sick leaves).
Norway has a public health system, where your first and most important contact point is your general practitioner (“fastlege”), who also can refer you to a specialist (gynecologist, psychologist, etc.).
Dentists and opticians can be contacted directly. This is also the case for Bergen Legevakt (Telephone: 116 117) or the Accident and Emergency Department at the hospital, should you need immediate emergency health care.
In case of an emergency life crisis, Bergen Kommune also has a service for that (Telephone 55 56 87 54)
As an employee, you also have access to the occupational health service (“Bedriftshelsetjeneste”) at your workplace if certain conditions are met. Access to these services goes through the department who then coordinates with HR. One of the services is immediate access to a psychologist upon referral from your general practitioner (“fastlege”). You will find information about the occupational health service in the HSE Manual.
If you experience extraordinary challenges in your work situation, for sensitive issues you are advised to contact the person at the department with the formal personnel responsibility for you. Note that information that you share with this person is subject to confidentiality. You may also contact the HR department directly.
The safety representatives (“verneombud”) or your union representative (“tillitsvalgt”) may also be useful contact points.
If you experience or observe any unethical conduct (“varsling”), you should not hesitate to report this. The procedures for that can be found in the employee Handbook.
Other
The PhD student association at NHH, NHHdoc, is a good support network both for PhD advocacy and social events. Other colleagues and peers are also part of your support network during your PhD.
