1. Cathy Braathen - Recommendation
Through my 6 years as the Managing Director of the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), I
had the pleasure to learn to know Cathy Braathen. In our major efforts to develop and succeed
with the Longyearbyen CO2 lab project, she contributed to and handled many of our outreach
activities. Between 2008 and 2013, Cathy was employed as Outreach officer at the UNIS,
starting in a 60 % position that was increased to 80 % as the project flourished, based in
strong support from private/oil companies, the Research Council of Norway and Gassnova.
Her role was mainly to promote the project, by bringing forward results attained by the
scientists, targeting politicians, decision makers, the general public and the science
community: We are proud of the impact we made, becoming one of the most visible
university projects ever in Norway, known well beyond Europe, attracting numerous profiled
visitors, and covered by many newspaper articles and TV broadcasting.
Cathy’s task in our efforts was the design, implementation and maintenance of a web-page for
the project (co2-ccs.unis.no), including a web forum for partner collaboration and file sharing
through a FTP-server database. Other tasks were the editing-writing of more than 40
newsletters, and designing of brochures, leaflets, posters and slide shows. Further, she
contributed with translations and other management work. Cathy also contributed with skill
based activities for smaller organisations and projects hosted at the UNIS, such as a website
designed for the Polar Academy of Science.
Cathy Braathen has noticeable attentiveness and enthusiasm around her work. During the
years at UNIS, she worked very hard to improve her insight into software solutions that
brought the technical work of our outreach efforts to the forefront. She is a person that is very
dedicated to assigned tasks. As a team player, she contributes with ideas and insight that
stimulate creativity, and is loyal to decisions. I will wholeheartedly recommend Cathy for all
types of work, and especially in the modern outreach/communication sector, where I believe
her qualities have the most to offer.
Trondheim, 2nd
March 2016,
Gunnar Sand
Vice President Projects, SINTEF, P.O. Box 4760 Sluppen, NO-7465 Trondheim, Norway
Managing Director (until 2012), University Centre in Svalbard, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway