Hans Thybo applying for management job in Norway

The Department of Earth Science at the University of Bergen, Norway, is to have a new department head, and one of the four candidates is the Danish professor of geology Hans Thybo.

Thybo was dismissed on 4th November 2016 from his post of professor at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH). The dismissal attracted attention from the international scientific community and was criticized by hundreds of scientists, including two members of the University’s own board.

The Danish Association of Masters and PhDs is currently leading a case of unfair dismissal on behalf of Thybo, and Thybo has demanded to get his job at UCPH back.

But in the meantime he is apparently also seeking new opportunities outside Denmark. This is according to På Høyden, the University of Bergen’s independent news media. The article outlines at the same time the controversy over Thybo for its Norwegian readers.

In competition with close colleague

The applicant field for the department job in Bergen is public, and according to På Høyden, Thybo already applied for the job in Norway before Christmas. He was at the time one of only two applicants. The application deadline was, however, extended and now also one of Thybo’s collaborators at the University of Copenhagen Professor Irina Artemieva, and a fourth researcher have sought the leadership position.

“It is a real ‘feather in our cap’ that Thybo wants to go to the University of Bergen. Thybo a renowned researcher, a strong leader and mentor, and he has led international research for a number of years,” says a local university staff member with ‘knowledge of the geo-scientific environment’ to På Høyden.

Hans Thybo himself says to the to the Bergen-based media that he knows the Department of Earth Science and that “the institution has a good portfolio that I would like to help contribute in developing.”

The University Post has asked Hans Thybo via email whether his Norwegian job application has any consequences for his dispute with UCPH, including his demand for getting his old job back.