As a senior advisor in the Directorate for e-Health, Inger Anne Tøndel works with information security at the sector level in the health and care sector. She has more than fifteen years of research experience at Sintef Digital, and thus has a lot of knowledge in the field. Nevertheless, she chose to pursue a doctorate. Tøndel believes it is important to build mutual understanding between research and industry.

Position: Senior Advisor, Directorate for e-Health

Highest education:
Ph.D. in Information Technology from NTNU. Title: "Prioritisation of security in agile software development projects"

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What do you work with today?

- At the Directorate for e-Health, I work to strengthen the efforts on information security in the health and care sector. In part by providing guidance and disseminating knowledge about security, contributing to making good priorities at the sector level, and providing security knowledge into important national initiatives in the sector.

Why a doctorate?

- I was encouraged to write a doctoral thesis when I worked as a researcher for Sintef Digital, eventually accepting as it was on a topic I was very interested in. It was a project where I knew there would be a research collective I could be part of, as well as some companies I was interested in working with. It was a really good opportunity!

- The aim of my doctorate was to provide tools and methodologies to software developers for them to better assess the risks associated with software security. The goal is software with security built-in from the start, as it's vitally important for us as individuals and society to have robust software.

How was writing a doctorate?

- I had incredibly skilled supervisors both at NTNU and at Sintef Digital, who were very committed to the work. Some pushed me to learn new things and challenge my approach. Others were good at telling me when I’d done enough. Both were equally important, creating a nice balance for me to deliver my best. Through NTNU, I also participated in the "Researcher factory", where I got to spar with professors, postdocs, and Ph.D. students.

A work I could be proud of

- I had worked for a long time on an article about the study we were working on, about how companies prioritize security in their projects. It was submitted to a reputable journal, where it was rejected. It was frustrating, but it is common for articles to be rejected and needing improvement before finally being accepted. This is a great way to get feedback and improve as a writer and researcher. It's a nice experience that all the back and forth have made the result much better. In the end I felt that this could add real value, something I could stand for and be proud of.

We need researchers because we are a knowledge society

- It's not important for everyone to get a Ph.D., but it is important for some to get a Ph.D. If we are to keep up with the rest of the world, Norway needs researchers. We need researchers because we are a knowledge society.

- We need people who can bridge the divide between academia and those who perhaps have a more practical approach. We need research results put to use, and we need researchers to have access to the challenges faced by business and the public sector. This becomes much easier if we understand each other. If you're really interested in a topic and want to spend a few years exploring it, you should definitely consider pursiuing a doctorate!