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/ Cursor nummer 2 nummer 7

jaargang 42, 16 maart 2000


English page

Untitled Document Post-Docs Stay on for Dutch Career

AIO Overleg, the organisation for post-docs at TUE, are lobbying for better salaries and more academic career possibilities. They say TUE do not work hard enough to recruit promising young researchers, all the best people are taking jobs with commercial companies. “Many post-docs jobs would not be filled if it weren’t for foreign graduates, for whom salaries at TUE are still better than they could hope for at home,” says Mireille Reijme, of AIO Overleg.

“We all enjoy working with colleagues from other countries, but we think the fact that in the next few years more than half of the post-doc population will be foreign is a bad sign for Dutch science. So we don’t think there should be less foreign post-docs, but post-doc jobs should be made more attractive to Dutch graduates,” she continues. Other universities, like TU Delft are already doing this. A post-doc in Delft has a different title and receives 4000 guilders per month in salary from the outset. The initial salary at TUE comes to less than 2500 guilders.


AIO overleg execs Martijn Klabbers, Mireille Reijme and Marco v.d. Sande. Photo: Bram Saeys

70 % Stay

One of the things AIO Overleg are afraid of is that much scientific knowledge will be lost when foreign post-docs return home. However, according to Marloes van Lierop of the Stan Ackerman Instituut, this may not be a realistic problem. She explains: “Last week we had a group of twenty people finish one of our two year courses. Ten of them were Dutch, ten of them were foreign. Eight foreigners had found jobs in the Netherlands. About 70% of foreign post-docs stay to work for Dutch companies. Many people from Eastern Europe want to stay on. Only the Chinese can’t accept jobs here, as their own government has made their return a condition for being able to travel abroad.”

Van Lierop is very pleased with the increase in foreign post-docs. “The international atmosphere is a real plus. But there are a few things that need adjusting. We want to spread the nationalities more across the courses, that’s important for successful integration. And the level of English language skills needs to improve. This also goes for many Dutch post-docs and even some Dutch teachers.” She says foreign post-docs are generally the brightest and most ‘adventurous’ people at their own universities and are extremely well-motivated. “It’s a big step to come here. Many foreign post-docs show more discipline and study skills than we are used to here.”

More Active

Professor Rutger van Santen of the Chemical Technology department is also pleased with the foreign post-docs in his department. “One of my post-docs from Bulgaria is now supporting student free study hours. I have found that many foreign post-docs are good at supervising graduating students. My foreign post-docs have a very different work culture, they are more active than their Dutch counterparts.”

Negative

Reacting to the AIO Overleg campaign for better career opportunities: “I’m quite surprised at their negative idea of their own future. We train people for top jobs out there in the world. Ninety per cent of our people leave the university, only a small group stays on for an academic career. In the future, there will not be enough highly educated technical people to fill the need in our society. I think we should be glad people want to come to the Netherlands from abroad to fill these positions. That’s the way America became a leading nation in science. And by the way, many Dutch graduates take jobs in the United States if they can.”

One of the things AIO Overleg would like to see improved in post-doc jobs is the quality of supervision. Supervisors don’t have enough time and there is not enough discussion about the work being done, says Mireille Reijme. “The good thing about our jobs is that we get much more freedom than we would if we worked for a commercial business. We ourselves formulate a research plan. This is great, but we could use more help with the framework. This is especially important to foreign post-docs who are more bound by the time limit of four years than we are because of visa regulations. People are often forced to finish their research sooner than they should.”

“There are also quite a few post-docs who are working on their own. We should be able to visit more conferences and colleagues abroad if necessary. Travel funds have been disappearing with cost saving operations during the last few years,” Mireille Reijme continues. “This is also important to foreign post-docs who are more on their own than the rest of us. Some of them are so concentrated on work they are really living like slaves. Power structures in foreign universities are different and some people are scared to ask professors anything, or get into a discussion with them. We think debate is part of good research.”

New Members Wanted

AIO Overleg is looking for more active members, and would welcome foreign post-docs who are interested. AIO Overleg protects post-doc interests and organises all kinds of work and leisure related activities./.

Untitled Document ICT Leads to More Pressure at Work

The fact that ICT has irrevocably influenced the way people work is clear. Rathenau Instituut have now also researched possible improvements in working atmosphere due to ICT. The results of this study indicate that use of ICT often increases pressure at work. According to researchers, ICT saves time because the daily grind becomes more efficiently organised in many ways. At the same time, this time saving is rendered valueless because the time is immediately filled with other work. According to researchers, increased use of ICT does not lead to less or poorer quality of social contact with colleagues. E-mail is often used as an internal communications tool, for example to replace memos. Social contact in the workplace remains unaffected. It might even get better, as there is more time for social contacts because of ICT.

Career Advice

At STU (Studenten Service Centrum) students , designers and post-docs may request advice on their careers up to half a year after graduation or dissertation. This spring, various training courses and workshops were held focusing on career orientation, job application, assessment centres and psychological tests. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact STU’s Service Desk, De Hal 1.45, extension 8015. You can also order a program booklet specifying activities concerning career advice from them.

Construction of Knowledge Portal to Start this Year

Construction of the Kennispoort (knowledge portal)ennispoort), the joint offices of the Chamber of Commerce and TUE, is to start in October 2000. The Kennispoort will be built next to an adjusted Limbopad. The Chamber of Commerce will use two wings with about 4500 square meters of office space. The ground floor has about 2000 square meters destined for joint use, including a Front Office. The other wing remains in possession of TUE, who are planning to hire out three offices to Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij, NV Rede and Open Universiteit.

The English page in Cursor is written by journalist Paula van de Riet. She can be reached at extension 4441. Email: engcur@stud.tue.nl

Untitled Document Orientation Run

On Thursday March 23, sports club All Terrain is planning an ‘Orientation Run’ around the Studenten Sport Centrum. Anyone interested is invited to take part in this run in the dark. In one hour, participants are expected to collect as many ‘points’ as possible in Eckartbos and around Karpendonseplas. The start is at 7 p.m. at the sports centre. You can run alone or with a friend. Participants will start three minutes apart, to prevent people following each other. Entry is free. You may enter up to one hour before the competition in the sports centre or by e-mail: www.run.to/all.terrain.

Lecture on Depleted Uranium

‘Use and Risks of Depleted Uranium’. This is the title of a lunch lecture by dr. Albert Keverling Buisman on Tuesday March 21. Keverling Buisman is a radiation expert from Energie Centrum Nederland (ECN) and was an expert witness for the parliamentary inquiry on the plane crash and its aftermath in Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam. Depleted uranium was found in the wreckage of the crashed plane. Whether the stir this caused was justified will become clear during said lecture. The lunch lecture will be held in collegezaal 5 in the Auditorium from 12.45 to 1.45 p.m.

Better Use of Copyright

Scientists should be less eager to give away the rights to their work, states mr. Wilma Mossink, staff member at the Open University’s ‘dienst Juridische Zaken’ (legal affairs service). Mossink was contracted by ‘Stuurgroep voor Wetenschappelijke Informatievoorziening’ (or group for scientific computerised information provision) IWI to research how universities handle copyrights. IWI want to see clear terms for copyrights included in employee contracts. They are talking to scientists about the use of scientific publications.

A booklet was published by ‘stichting SURF/IWI and is available from SURF. Phone: 030-2346600. E-mail: pietersen@surf.nl.














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