From April 25–27, DION teamed up with Startup Migrants for a 3-day crash course in entrepreneurship. Huge thanks to Startup Migrants for the collaboration, to our amazing speakers, and to everyone who joined us. It was an energizing and empowering experience, especially for early-career researchers and temporary employees looking to grow and thrive.

Over the course of the program, participants:
Heard real stories from founders about the ups and downs of starting a business.
Got a crash course on the legal side of launching a company in Norway.
Learned how to take an idea and start building it into something real
Picked up practical advice on how (and where!) to get started.

We’re excited to see where these new ideas and connections will lead!

DION’s Career Day Seminar wrapped up with an excellent turnout, with more than 60 participants across all of NTNU’s campuses joining us today.

A big thank you to Dr. Martin Bjerke from Equinor and Dr. Yaolin Ge from Sandvik Coromant for sharing their inspiring transitions from academia to industry after their PhD. Their insights led to lively discussions on navigating job opportunities in Norway, company values, hiring practices, and advice for international researchers.

We are happy to see such strong engagement from attendees in Trondheim, Gjøvik, and Ålesund, and DION looks forward to hosting additional events about career development for our temporary scientific employees at NTNU in the future!

At the Trondheim campus, DION collaborated with Forskerforbundet ved NTNU in early April to host two engaging events:

A movie screening of Sulis 1907

A pizza seminar for temporary scientific employees


These events aimed to raise awareness about the rights and regulations that apply to temporary scientific staff – from national and NTNU-specific laws and regulations to employment contracts, workplace conditions, and support systems. The seminar also highlighted the importance of establishing a positive supervisory relationship early and knowing where to turn when facing challenges such as conflict or breaches of rights.

Empowering researchers through knowledge is key to improving work environments and strengthening the research community.

We are excited to invite you to a DION Meet-Up, where you’ll have the opportunity to communicate face-to-face with the DION Board members from three campuses. This is a great chance to share your thoughts, ask questions, and get to know fellow members in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Date: 25th March 2025
Time: 16h00 – 18h00
Location: https://link.mazemap.com/qjzDGV0c

And yes, pizza will be served!

Please register your attendance on https://nettskjema.no/a/503250

We look forward to seeing you there!

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DION is NTNU’s interest organization for PhDs, post-docs, and other temporary scientific employees, which promotes interests of these groups at NTNU. https://dion.org.ntnu.no/

Dear PhDs, post-docs, and other temporary scientific employees,

Are you exploring career options after your time as temporary scientific staff? DION is excited to host a Career Day Seminar designed to help you navigate job opportunities in Norway! DION has invited Dr. Martin Bjerke and Dr. Yaolin Ge, who recently completed their PhD and successfully transitioned from academia into industry.  They will share their experiences and practical advice that can make a difference in the job hunt: 

• Insights on navigating job opportunities in industry.
• Experience sharing about transitioning from academia to industry, and key factors to focus on during the hiring process.
• If you are a non-Norwegian professional, how can you better prepare for seeking jobs in Norway?

 Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions during the Q&A session that follows.

Seminar agenda:

• 5:00 PM – Seminar begins, with each speaker presenting for around 20 minutes.
• After the presentations, enjoy food and the chance to have face-to-face conversations with the speakers.
• 6:30 PM, we will address any questions from Gjøvik and Ålesund campuses, which will be summarized for each speaker.

This seminar will be streamed to Gjøvik and Ålesund. Please sign up by the 15th of April to secure your spot. Pizza will be provided in the Trondheim campus.

Time & location:

Time: April 24, 5 PM – 7 PM

Location: Room S4, Floor 1, Central Building 1, Gløshaugen, Trondheim campus 

The location for the Ålesund and Gjøvik campuses will be provided afterwards.

Signup: 

Trondheim signup

Gjøvik signup

Ålesund signup

We look forward to seeing you there and hope this seminar provides valuable insights for your career journey!