Human Resources Strategy for Researchers

An elaborated recruitment process has been developed for academic staff and researchers, adhering to the principles of Open, Transparent, and Merit-based recruitment, as well as transparency in our employment conditions. Within recruitment, we are working on a toolkit to support academics in the recruitment process, paying attention to our employer branding, and emphasizing the quality of our HR data. Our international staff is supported by a dedicated 'internationals' department and can rely on support and information (link to the site).

Engaged leading, career development, skills & competences for researchers, doctoral schools...

The VUB invests heavily in training and development for all staff. The VUB LRN (learn) platform brings together training initiatives from different departments (P&O, Research, Education department). It contributes to building a learning organisation and an attractive work culture from a holistic perspective by creating development opportunities for all VUB staff members. In this way it aims to support employees and teams in successfully carrying out their tasks and enabling professional and personal growth within the work context. Specific training is being offered tailored to the needs of PhDs, postdoctoral researchers, and supervisors. In the upcoming years, we want to further consolidate and improve the training offer, both on specialist as well as transferable skills training and combine training formats and trajectories.  

Wellbeing, internationalisation, onboarding...

To promote psychological and physical wellbeing of employees VUB introduced several initiatives, such as the establishing the Wellbeing Team within People&Organisation and training initiatives under the umbrella of the VUB LRN platform.

Most of the (internal and external) wellbeing partners provide guidance and support for all staff (the confidential counsellors) and some have a focus on researchers such as the ombudspersons for PhD researchers. Also, multiple partners (the Brussels University Consultation Centre and the external prevention service) have been engaged to reinforce individual coaching, team coaching and support trajectories for staff. On top of that the Prevention and Environmental Service supervises all matters relating to (physical) safety and wellbeing, risk management and transgressive behaviour. With the development of its You Are Not Alone policy (YANA) the university is putting maximum effort into prevention and better support for victims (link Report it Helpline?).

Internationalisation is highly valued at VUB: we welcome international researchers to consider working at VUB and have invested in better information flows for professorial staff and support staff who want to hire international researchers. To provide an optimal start at VUB to all researchers, and especially to those coming from abroad, several initiatives are taking place to make them feel more at home in the first months. At the same time VUB also stimulates its researchers to go on a stay abroad and increase their international aspirations and experiences.  

The VUB supports its research community by raising awareness of ethical issues and providing guidelines how to address them. The VUB also provides a  regulatory framework, training and services to ensure researchers meet their ethical obligations and to obtain the necessary authorisations.  

• The VUB Charter for Researchers (link) stipulates good conduct and the ethical requirements and expectations for researchers and supervisors. 

• A dedicated Legal and Ethics Office provides training and support.

• VUB organises trainings and workshops on research ethics and integrity. It is also one of the main components of the doctoral training program. VUB cooperated with other Flemish universities towards creating an online research integrity course: Mind the GAP, which is mandatory for VUB PhD researchers. 

• Every year an Ethics Week takes place.

The Gender Equality Plan 2024-2026 gives an overview of the actions and measures within different domains related to gender and equality, targeted towards academic staff. Especially of interest in the context of HRS4R is the anti-bias training and the optimalisation of diversity monitoring aimed at developing evidence-based policies and targets.

Furthermore, the VUB aims at creating an inclusive and supporting working environment, respecting sociocultural differences, and stimulating professional and personal growth of researchers and their wellbeing.