Not a Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Hands-on and value-driven

This is the 3rd episode of our mini-series on experiences with the recognition and rewards programme at Utrecht University. In the past episodes we have heard from Henk Kummeling, former rector magnificus on the chosen university strategy for the programme: to give space to front-runners and young people with energy.  We have also heard from Verena Seibel, one of those young faculty members that consistency and verifiability of the good intentions are still important, and mid-career academics should also see that senior faculty are contributing their fair share to the reform process. In this episode, we will hear from Paul Boselie, who is at the steering wheel of the open science programme about combining his executive task with his academic expertise on human resource management.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sanlifaez.substack.com [https://sanlifaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The proof of the pudding

Sanli talks to Verena Seibel, assistant professor at Utrecht university who has been in the lead of conducting a survey among assistant and associate professors for Utrecht Young Academy to evaluate how the new evaluation model of the Unviersity, TRIPLE, is perceived in practice. Their goal has been to provide input for improvements.  The results reveal a mixed and offer a critical perspective. The TRIPLE model has strong potential to create a fairer and more inclusive recognition system. However, its current implementation is seen as unclear, uneven, and sometimes detrimental to well-being. This is the second episode of our mini-series on execution of the Recognition and Rewards programme at Utrecht University. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sanlifaez.substack.com [https://sanlifaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Not a Boulevard of Broken Dreams

In this and the coming 2 episode, we will listen to 3 different experiences with the execution and outcomes of the reform programme at Utrecht University.  My first interview is with Henk Kummeling, who was the rector magnificus and a member of the University board when the programme was rolled out. He is currently the chair of the board of CoARA, an international coalition on reforming research assessment. In the next episode, we will hear from Verena Seibel, about her research at the Utrecht Young academy on the perception of young faculty members of the reform programme, and from Paul Boselie, Chief Open Science and the person in charge of executing the programme on behalf of the university board. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sanlifaez.substack.com [https://sanlifaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

I don't want to become a professor

Why do we choose an academic career? The answer to this question is different for every person, but if you ask me, we do not discuss it frequently enough, and perhaps not even reflect enough on it for ourselves. In this episode, I re-air a conversation that I had seven years ago with neuroscientist Wim Otte. This conversation had a profound effect on my own perception of an academic career, and several topics that we discussed are still relevant to this day. I may even say that they are at the heart of the recognition and rewards programme: Why do we do what we do in the university? And what do success and academic achievement mean?   Hear my 2018 conversation with Wim Otte. If you listen to the end, I have a surprise for you, This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sanlifaez.substack.com [https://sanlifaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science

One of the main pillars of the Dutch recognition and rewards program [https://recognitionrewards.nl/about/position-paper/] is to stimulate open science. But what does open science mean? Back in 2019, when the program started, open science was still an umbrella term [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-00026-8_2] covering many concepts from open access publishing to open source data and software, scientometrics, or citizen science. The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science [https://www.unesco.org/en/open-science/about?hub=686] was the first internationally accepted standard that provided an agreed definition, as well as a set of shared values and guiding principles for open science. The introduction to this recommendation reads: “Open science is a set of principles and practices that aim to make scientific research from all fields accessible to everyone for the benefits of scientists and society as a whole.” This Recommendation was adopted in 2021 by 193 countries, and so set a common standard for what it means to do open science. I was very fortunate to get the chance of recording this interview with Dr. Ana Persic during her visit to the Netherlands for presenting a keynote talk for the national Open Science Festival. She told me how they could reach consensus on a coherent internationally accepted recommendation on such a broad topic, and how she thinks open science can help societies to tackle complex social, environmental, and economic challenges and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sanlifaez.substack.com [https://sanlifaez.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]