The INTPART project ‘Bergen-Harvard Cancer Studies: A Partnership for Excellent Education and Research’ was established in 2016 as a collaboration between CCBIO at University of Bergen (UoB) and the Vascular Biology Program (VBP) at Boston Childrens Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In the INTPART project, ‘Bergen-Harvard Cancer Studies Phase 2: Continued Partnership for Responsible Education, Research and Innovation’, CCBIO has continued the successful activities from phase 1, and expanded its scope to further strengthen responsible education, cancer research and innovation through long-term international cooperation with world-class research institutions. CCBIO's focus on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has now been fully integrated in all project activities.
In terms of course portfolio, three popular PhD courses have been continued and a new course on Health Innovation has been established. The PhD course CCBIO903: Cancer research: Ethical, economic and social aspects (5 ECTS) have been held a number of times, including fall 2021 and 2022. The course will run again in 2024. The course is the only of its kind within cancer research education in Norway, and gives important contributions towards students’ ability to reflect and reason around ethics, economy and societal considerations regarding their own research projects.
The INTPART course CCBIO908: Scientific Writing and Communication (2 ECTS) was established in the INTPART phase-1 project, and has been continued in the phase 2 project (2021/22/23). This has been a very successful course, with a high level of student attendance and engagement. Participation increased further with the offer of digital teaching during the pandemic, especially by candidates outside of Norway.
The INTPART Flagship-course CCBIO907: Cancer-Related Vascular Biology (6 ECTS) took place in Bergen in March 2023. PhD students from UoB and visiting students from abroad got the opportunity to learn from and connect with excellent Harvard Medical School faculty on campus at UoB for two weeks. Two open CCBIO special seminars were arranged on campus as part of the course. Lectures focused on extracurricular skills development like crafting a pitch, the art of scientific storytelling, scientific communication, how to work constructively in interdisciplinary teams and how to benefit from the mentor mentee relationships in science.
The research community at Harvard is arguably the leading and most innovative in the world within cancer research and development, and this INTPART project has contributed to the innovation capacity of Norwegian cancer research by learning from the close and productive collaborative relationships between academia and medical industry in the Boston area. As part of this effort, CCBIO introduced a new course, CCBIONEUR912: Health Innovation (5 ECTS), where topics within innovation and entrepreneurship were communicated. The course was held for the first time fall 2021, with significant contributions from local, national, and international partners. The course was the first PhD course on the topic health innovation at the medical faculty at UoB.
In terms of curriculum development, two books have been published in the INTPART phase 2 project. From the biomedical and clinical environment, a textbook: Biomarkers of the Tumor Microenvironment (ISBN: 978-3-030-98949-1) was published by Springer in 2022. INTPART project leader Lars A. Akslen edited the book in collaboration with Randolph S. Watnick from the Vascular Biology Program, Harvard Medical School. From the responsible research and innovation environment, a book: Precision Oncology and Cancer Biomarkers. Issues at Stake and Matters of Concern (ISBN:978-3-030-92611-3) was published by Springer in 2022. This book was edited by Anne Blanchard and Roger Strand, UoB.
The lab visit program, where students from CCBIO (UoB) stay in research groups at our INTPART partner, the VBP at Boston Children's Hospital & Harvard Medical School, was established in phase 1 of the project, and this successful activity was continued in Phase 2. Due to the pandemic, no lab visits were possible in 2020-2022. Three PhD students travelled to Boston from Bergen in the spring semester 2023, and two PhD students will travel in the spring-semester 2024. Also, the CCBIO-VBP Research Network Meeting, that was arranged successfully in phase 1 in Iceland in 2019, was initially scheduled for 2021 for INTPART phase 2, and has been postponed to 2024. During the pandemic, we successfully implemented the use of digital tools and hybrid solutions that allowed us to retain much of the educational activity online in 2020 and 2021. Despite successful outcomes in terms of completed courses and co-publication of curriculum, the physical interactions important to achieve the goal of the project to maintain a strong long-term collaboration in research and education has suffered due to restrictions during the project period.
Through this project proposal, the Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO and Vascular Biology Program, a world-class department from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard School of Medicine aim to reinforce and expand the partnership on integrated excellent education and research, promoting a sustainable strong partnership. During the Phase-1 project, we achieved strengthened research education at master and PhD levels; increased the student and faculty mobility; and increased international research collaboration. With the aim of strengthened responsible cancer research, innovation and research education in the Phase-2 project, we consolidate and strengthen the success activities from the Phase-1: Cancer-Related Vascular Biology course (6 ECTS), Scientific Writing Seminar and seminars on mentoring and career development. We continue the successful Lab visit program, where students from CCBIO have participated in Harvard research groups (6-12 weeks). Seminars on research dissemination and communication are developed in Phase-2. Also, a novel course initiative is presented in Phase-2: Innovation in Cancer Research. Further, we aim for a gradual transition from RRI as a parallel activity to biomedical activities, to RRI constituting an integral part of research and educational activities.
The CCBIO-INTPART project clearly gives added value to higher education and research at our institution, also with added effects to the partner institution. Strengthened ELSA/RRI collaborations and integration is expected to impact national and international health policy environments, truly strengthening the impact of CCBIO research and education well beyond the university community. The inclusion and active integration of junior group leaders at both sides of the partnership in the Phase-2 project, enables and support long-term perspectives and sustainability in the partnerships, and the increased female ratio of project participants promote sustainable gender balance.
Funding scheme:
INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research