Preparing the doctoral degree press release

Deadlines and responsibilities
The candidate sends their press release to the Faculty contact person, in accordance with the Faculty's own deadlines and procedures. The Faculty does a quality check of the press release before sending it and a portrait of the candidate to the Communication division (doktor@uib.no) at the latest one week prior to the doctoral defence.

Design
The doctoral degree press release is meant for journalists, news desks and the general newspaper-reading public. It is therefore important that both the text and the title are good and can be understood by the general public.

In order for the press release to be noticed and read, and possibly make the news, it is important to consider the following when preparing it:

• The title must be short and engaging, and capture the key aspects of the dissertation.
• Start with the most important points: conclusions and the results of the research!
• Talk about the consequences of the research, and any practical implications.
• Write in a simple language and avoid complicated jargon. Think of the reader as an intelligent, curious teenager who needs to understand what you are writing.
• Make sure that all the practical information is included and correct.
• NOTE! The press release must always be in Norwegian.
   

Length of the press release

• Title: Maximum 60 characters including spaces
• Copy: Maximum 2000 characters including spaces
• Personal information: Maximum 500 characters including spaces.

Photo
The Communication division no longer offers portrait photography. 

You can book portrait photography through the framework agreement or use regular photography shops that offer digital passport photographs and the like. Also check to see if there is an internal photography service in your Faculty or Department.

If you need information or advice related to portrait photographs etc., contact the Communication division.

If the candidate has their own photo, it must have a high resolution. NOTE! As the pictures will be used in print media, a higher resolution is required than for online publishing. The picture may be in colour or black/white.  (Minimum requirements: 301 (B) x 388 (H) pixels, resolution 170 dpi.)

Press release template

• Title: Brief and engaging (max. 60 characters with spaces)
• Introduction: Name, date and title of the dissertation.
  Example: On 15/15/2015, Ola Nordmann defends his PhD dissertation titled "Life under water" at the University of Bergen.
• Copy: Brief description of what the dissertation is about (max. 2000 characters with spaces)
• Personal information: Information about the candidate (max. 500 characters with spaces)
• Contact information: A telephone number and email address the candidate can be reached on. Make sure that the candidate has an employee page on the UiB website.

Distribution
The press release is sent to our press lists, and large local and national media outlets are included. The candidate may indicate any wishes for distribution to particular media outlets and local newspapers.