Faculty of Arts researchers awarded with Vidi grants

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded a Vidi grant of €800,000 to Faculty of Arts researchers Vânia Correia de Aguiar and Alberto Godioli. With this grant, the researchers can develop their own innovative line of research over the next five years and can establish their own research groups.

Aguiar receives a Vidi for her research Language development after paediatric brain tumours.
Cognitive disorders in children with brain tumours may occur due to damage caused by the tumour or due to necessary medical interventions. The researchers will study these children’s language abilities in relation to the treatment followed, consisting of surgery only or a combination of surgery, chemo, and proton radiotherapy.

Godioli receives a Vidi for his research Humour in Court.
Defining the legal boundaries of free speech is difficult – even more so when humour is involved. National and international courts often have an inconsistent approach to offensive humour. Building on insights from humour studies and literary theory, this project aims to improve the handling of humour in free speech regulation.

NWO Talent Programme
Vidi grants are intended for experienced researchers who have been conducting successful research for some years after gaining a PhD. Alongside the Veni and Vici grants, the Vidi grant is part of the NWO Talent Programme. Within this programme, researchers are free to submit their own topics for funding. In total, 402 researchers submitted their research proposals in the hope of acquiring funding during this round of Vidi applications. Sevent-eight of these proposals were honoured.