ON-Academia in Motion (English)

Nederlands

Dear collegue,

Engaging conversations. Sincere conversations. In-depth conversations. These are some of the key ingredients of a culture that is taking on a new form. Alongside policy, alongside resources, alongside behaviour. Asking the right questions, recognising which of a colleague’s concerns are valid and which narratives the organisation can no longer afford to perpetuate. And that meaningful dialogue must be able to take root in practice.

We were present with the national team and, in this newsletter, we highlight a few inspiring aspects that caught our attention.

To kick off the event, the CWTS’s Scientific Director @ludowaltman outlined how, as part of Academia in Motion, the university is focusing on various projects designed to ensure that both the quality of academic work (output) and the development of individual researchers remain sustainable and fruitful. A selection of concrete practices: the individual GROW feedback cycle, the LUMC PhD Framework, the Strategic Framework for Scientific Publishing, the Leadership Framework and the Leiden Ranking Open Edition.
The conversations that accompany these processes were addressed in detail in this workshop programme:

View the detailed slide deck for the full day’s programme here

The ‘Focus on Quality in Academic Work’ and ‘Leadership’ workshops yielded a useful list of takeaways, we’ve selected a few key ones:

Focus on Quality in Academic Work

• Quality is context-dependent. It should be discussed in relation to the strategic goals of each team, unit or faculty, rather than defined through a single university-wide standard.
• Open science should be integrated into regular work. It should not be treated as an extra task, but as part of everyday academic practice and faculty or team strategy.
• Overall sentiment: there is support for the ambitions of Academia in Motion, but successful implementation depends on time, clear priorities,local ownership, transparency and better connection between central strategy and daily practice.

Leadership

• Good leadership creates an environment where people feel heard, seen and able to flourish.
• Leadership exists at different levels: formal leadership roles, personal leadership and shared responsibility within teams.
• Leadership quality should be assessed more carefully. Being a strong researcher or teacher does not automatically make someone a good leader. Leadership qualities and behaviour should be considered when appointing people to leadership roles.
• Overall sentiment: leadership is seen as essential for making Academia in Motion work in practice, but it requires clearer expectations, better recognition, training, role modelling, and the courage to address poor leadership when needed.

We interviewed Rector Magnificus @sarahderijcke

'Operating at a team level places certain demands on people in senior positions'

In a conversation we had with Leiden University’s rector, Sarah de Rijcke, she indicated that, in her view, most of her academic colleagues realise that the current transition is a reality. 'The general mood now is: we have to get on with it, where are the results, come on, let’s get moving!’ (laughs). As far as she is concerned, maintaining that long-term perspective is primarily the responsibility of experienced colleagues. Read more here about De Rijcke’s drive to commit herself to Academia in Motion.

Plennary session, with @petraboerlage, Eduard Smidt, Timo Kos and Sandra Schuiten

Project leaders @cashenckens and @karlijnhermans, you’ve really pulled off something pretty awesome!

Take away for you, dear reader: be mindful of your own behaviour

Last but not least, we would like to share a lovely quote from Marieke Adriaanse, Professor of Behavioural Intervention in Population Health Management and chair of the Recognition & Rewards Committee in Leiden:

‘I’m very conscious of the standard I set through my own behaviour. That includes what qualities you value, and a good work-life balance.
That means saying when I’m finding it hard, that with three children, a good work-life balance can be complicated. I sometimes have to do things in the daytime that are asked of me as a mother: helping out at school, looking after a poorly child.
At one point, that was taking up more of my time, and I started working in the evening to get everything done. I can delay my emails to the next morning and act as if I’ve got everything under control. But then I wondered whether that’s a good example, so I discussed it with my team.
I told them the whole story and asked for help and support. I hope this will encourage them to do the same.

I also have a different way of celebrating with the team. When a paper’s finished, we publish it as a preprint and it’s shared, which means we can celebrate. We don’t wait for it to be published in a journal. We also celebrate new collaborations and initiatives, or if someone has done something innovative in our teaching. That’s how I try to make different forms of quality visible and to foster teamwork.'

Keep up the good work,

Best regards!

The National Programme team Recognition & Rewards