Writing a research proposal is a major undertaking, and it also comes with a significant cost. For most institutions, this cost is partly hidden: it is absorbed into researchers’ research time and embedded in the ongoing work of research support services. At the same time, artificial intelligence has become part of our everyday working lives, including the proposal development process. AI tools open up new ways of supporting and streamlining these processes, but what does this mean in practice?
In this session, Hiwa explores how AI tools can be used across different parts of the proposal process: from idea development and text structuring to more advanced forms of analysis. He will also elaborate on how these developments challenge the established system: call → proposal → funding body → evaluation.
Drawing on experiences, as well as relevant research, he will share reflections, examples, and dilemmas without offering definitive answers. The aim is rather to explore, test, and learn together.
Hiwa Målen’s career spans research, industry, and research management. With a PhD and postdoctoral fellowship from the University of Bergen, he has made influential discoveries in molecular biology, particularly in combating tuberculosis. In addition to his academic achievements, Hiwa has held key roles in industry as a Senior Engineer, Project Manager, and Improvement Coordinator. In these positions, he leveraged his project management expertise to educate emerging project managers and streamline corporate processes for enhanced efficiency and value creation. Returning to academia in 2016, Hiwa contributed as a Project Manager to establishing the Digital Social Science Core Facility (DIGSSCORE) at the University of Bergen- a premier infrastructure for advanced social science data collection and multidisciplinary research, recently elevated to national infrastructure status and funding. Until recently, he was a senior research advisor collaborating with researchers across all faculties applying for funding from national and international research programs, such as the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and Horizon Europe, assisting with securing external funding and coordinating application processes. Currently, as a Research and Innovation Manager at AI LEARN, a national center for AI research and human learning. Certified as a Research Manager by the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA), Hiwa is actively engaged in both national and international initiatives. He served as an expert in ERA Action 17 (2022–2024) and currently contributes to ERA Action 8, “A New ERA for Research Management,” on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. As the founder and chair of the AI and Research Management thematic group in EARMA, he also serves as the Norwegian Ambassador for the Horizon Europe project, RM Roadmap. At the most recent EARMA conference in Odense, Hiwa contributed on the topic “AI-Enhanced Human Touch,” presenting various AI tools and their applications. At the INORMS conference in Madrid, he was the main author of two accepted abstracts, including “Gen AI in Research Funding Management: Practical Implementation of Generative AI Tools in Funding Contexts.” Additionally, Hiwa has actively attended and contributed to the EARMA AI-Day events organized in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and he is a co-founder of a national AI thematic group funded by NARMA. As a board member of NARMA, he coordinates its national capacity-building program funded by the Norwegian Research Council and is a strong advocate for AI capacity building in research management. He has delivered courses and workshops on AI to more than 2,000 participants across Norway and abroad as of February 2025. Moreover, he dedicates 10% of his position at the University as an IT engineer to roll out AI initiatives across the institution. Recognized for his leadership, Hiwa was named one of the Top 10 International Role Models in 2015 by the Leadership Foundation, an honor presented by Crown Prince Haakon.
