Skip to ContentSkip to Navigation
About us

Talent development

Current situation

Talent Development is a core theme at the University. Interested secondary schools can follow pre-university education at our School’s Academy. Our undergraduate students can choose to do a Minor, follow an Honours programme or enter our University College, depending on their interests and talents. Our Master’s students can choose between a regular and a Research Master’s programme and can follow an extra-curricular Honours Programme. Moreover, the faculty Graduate Schools give our Research Master’s students and PhD candidates various opportunities to develop professionally.

We have a tenure track system for talented researchers, and our Rosalind Franklin Fellowships are an extra initiative launched to attract talented female researchers. We also provide academic leadership training for our tenured staff, facilitate the further development of teaching quality by UTQ and STQ, and have a Dean of Talent Development, whose job is to scout and support talented researchers in their careers.

All our students, PhD candidates and staff can make use of various support facilities, which include an extensive range of courses and special programmes such as our Talent Travel programme. This helps them explore their interests and abilities and plan their next career move, be it inside academia or elsewhere.

Vision

Talent development is fundamental to excellence in research and teaching: if you do not attract and develop talented people, you cannot achieve and retain sufficient excellence. The University therefore strives to be a community in which talent is recognized and can blossom. Our staff, PhD candidates and students are given ample opportunity to train and develop their specific strengths. Learning to work in an international context and together with others are key elements of their training alongside social responsibility and an entrepreneurial mentality. The University is thus able to provide society with a competent and knowledgeable workforce that will significantly help solve the challenges in the world.

Students

All students follow appealing programmes that stimulate the development of specific talents and impart the necessary knowledge and competences to allow them to perform at the forefront of society. Highly talented and motivated students are offered extra challenges via for example the University College and Honours, Research Master’s programme, the possibilities for enrolment in more than one degree programme.

PhD candidates

The Graduate Schools provide an environment in which Research Master’s students and PhD candidates can flourish. In this interdisciplinary international setting they work with prominent academics on challenging research questions while simultaneously being trained for a career in academia or elsewhere.

Staff

The University wants to make use of all academic talent available. Therefore we aim at attracting female and male talent from all over the world. For this, the University offers favourable employment conditions such as the tenure track system and ample development opportunities, making it an attractive employer for local and international research and support staff at all stages of their career. The research staff are actively encouraged and supported to develop their research and teaching skills, while the development of support staff focuses on the specific skills and versatility that they require. Special attention is paid to early career researchers (post docs en starting Tenure Trackers) and their career development and perspectives.

Aim

To attract, retain and develop the most talented students and staff, in keeping with the University’s ambitions in terms of education, research and societal impact.

In order to achieve our aim we will:

  • offer good international programmes to all students and extra challenges to the most motivated students with exceptional abilities
  • continue, via the Graduate Schools, to provide an environment in which Research Master’s students and PhD candidates can flourish and be trained as innovators in academia and elsewhere
  • offer attractive employment conditions to talented staff
  • realize a stimulating inclusive academic community in which students, PhD candidates and staff can develop their talents in cooperation with others and with the support of management and the organization

Strategies

In order to offer good international programmes, we will apply the international classroom concept to our degree programmes. We will also attract more international students and staff in order to create the necessary international context. International students will be attracted to the University as it increases its visibility and status in international networks and starts international branch campuses. They will also be attracted to the extra challenges already available, such as the Honours programmes.

By adapting the Research Master’s and PhD programmes to today’s demands and the diverse career options of students and PhD candidates, we will attract and train talented young researchers from diverse backgrounds and from all over the world.

Talented research staff will be drawn to the University by the attractive career opportunities. The tenure track system and especially the Rosalind Franklin Fellowships will continue and will appeal to all talented researchers, both male and female. In addition, the career paths available to researchers will be expanded in order to improve the career prospects for teaching and talent. Moreover, we will look into our secondary benefits such as childcare facilities and partner support to help us attract and retain talented staff.

In order to stimulate staff development we will further expand our range of programmes and improve staff mobility options. We will also actively help talented graduates and staff who are at an early stage of their careers to plan and develop their careers. If they wish, we will also help them find work at other renowned institutions.

We will ensure an inclusive academic community by extending our focus to inclusive leadership, intercultural awareness and competences, social responsibility and cooperation in the staff training programme. We will also provide a safe and accessible working and learning environment.

Last modified:03 September 2021 10.32 a.m.
View this page in: Nederlands