LNVH Newsletter May-June 2017

LNVH Nieuws

LNVH Spring Symposium 2017: 'Women in Media - You are invited!'
On Thursday, May 18 the LNVH Spring Symposium 2017: 'Women in Media - You are invited' took place in the Muntgebouw in Utrecht. Moderated by Petra Stienen, the symposium focused on the theme of visibility, especially in areas that are not necessarily scientific: in newspapers, television, radio and social media channels. Janneke van Heugten (platform VIDM) explained about the current state of representation of women in different media. Stieni Bosma (editor Pauw), Rosemarie Buikema (Professor of Arts, Culture and Diversity, UU), Hans Laroes (editor-in-chief of KRO-NCRV), Rens Vliegenthart (Professor of Communication Science, UvA) then offered their perspective on barriers and opportunities. In the workshops, participants turned theory into practice: for example in dealing with unexpected questions, in getting your op-ed published, and in explaining about your own research in a talk show setting. Curious about the tips & tricks? Check the summary of the day [in Dutch] here.

LNVH OPZIJ chair for gender-related research
LNVH and OPZIJ have decided to join forces in launching a joint chair to promote the advancement of women in academia. The purpose of the LNVH OPZIJ chair is to further promote the careers of female researchers in the top echelons of academia in the Netherlands. It is also specifically meant to support research on gender-related issues and to improve the visibility of such research. The appointment is for a two-year period and should preferable lead to an appointment as full professor immediately thereafter. The chair is open to female associate professors in all academic disciplines, however the chair holder's research must have a clearly identified link with gender-related issues. The chair holders themselves will propose the specific theme (field of study/leeropdracht) of the chair. More information about the chair can be found here.

A commemorative sculpture of Johanna Westerdijk
Johanna Westerdijk was not only the first female professor in the Netherlands, she was also the director of the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures over a period of 50 years. During this time the fungal collection for scientific research became the biggest in the world. The name of the KNAW-institute has officially changed into the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute on February 10, 2017. In honour of Westerdijk, artist Judith Pfaeltzer is working on a bronze bust, which will be placed in the green, open space in front of the Westerdijk Institute on the Utrecht Science Park on August 31, 2017. Two thirds of the money needed is already collected because of gifts from the Westerdijk Fonds and a private benefactor. For the remaining amount, a crowdfunding campaign has been started. Every benefactor will be - if desired - mentioned on the website of the Westerdijk Institute. You can contribute to the bronze bust here.

Royal decoration for Angela Maas
LNVH board member Angela Maas (professor of cardiology for women, Radboudumc) was recently appointed by His Majesty as Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Congratulations!

Algemeen nieuws

Report on pay gap at VU University
During the conference Women and Science Careers at VU University Amsterdam on May 18, Belle Derks (Professor of Social Psychology at Utrecht University) presented the results of her research into the pay gap between men and women at the VU. The outcome: in the case of scientific staff, women get paid 13,6 percent less than men. The VU study is a follow up on the research conducted by Derks last year on behalf of the LNVH. Read more about the results from the VU research and a report of the meeting here [in Dutch].

NWO Gravitation Programme
Once again six research teams of top scientists from various Dutch universities have received funding to jointly set up excellent scientific research programmes in the coming years. The Dutch Minister of Education Culture and Science, Jet Bussemaker, has made 18.8 million euros available for each programme, which is a total amount of 112.8 million euros. An overview of the funded projects can be found here. Good news in terms of gender equality: four of the six main applicants are women and a large proportion of the researchers within the consortia are women.

NWO VIDI Grant
NWO has awarded 89 experienced researchers a Vidi grant worth 800,000 euros. The grant enables them to develop their own innovative line of research and set up their own research group. The total number of applicants was 590, making up an award rate of 15%. The award rate amongst women is 17%. More information

KNAW members
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences has selected twenty-six new members. Academy members are prominent researchers active in all the disciplines. This is including the new members resulting from the extra election round for women sicentists, as part of the Westerdijk Year. New members are nominated by peers from within and outside the Academy. Curious about the new members? Check the KNAW website.

L'Oréal/UNESCO For Women in Science
The call for the international L'Oréal/UNESCO Award For Women in Science has been opened. The 2018 Awards will designate five outstanding researchers in the Life Sciences, selected by an international jury for their outstanding contribution to scientific advancement. Each of the Award Laureates will receive €100,000. Deadline for proposals is June 16. The laureates of this programme are quite succesfull: among them are 2 Nobel Prize laureates and one president. More information can be found here.

Honorary doctorate for prof. dr. Marion Koopmans
Prof. dr. Marion Koopmans, Head of the Department of Viroscience of the Erasmus MC, has received the degree of Honorary Doctor from the Technical University of Denmark. Professor Marion Koopmans was honored with the degree of Honorary Doctor cause she is a well-known and respected virologist with a large interest in international cooperation. Read more.

Appointments

• Monique van Dijk hgas been appointed Professor of Nursing Science at the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam. 
• Rosemarijn Höfte has been appointed at the University of Amsterdam as Professor in the History of Suriname since 1873 in comparative perspective.
• Judith de Jong has been appointed to the strategic chair “Zorgstelsel en Sturing” - Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University.
• Sera Markoff has been appointed professor of Theoretical High-Energy Astrophysics, with a focus on relativistic compact objects and astroparticle physics, at the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) Faculty of Science.
• Ingrid Meulenbelt has been appointed as professor molecular biology of osteoarthiritis at the department of Reumatology of the Leiden University Medical Centre.
• Ewa Snaar-Jagalska has been appointed Professor in the field of cellular tumor biology within the Faculty of Science at the Institute of Biology Leiden.

Attending and participating

The STEM Gender Equality Congress will take place in Berlin on 8 and 9 June. The event brings together researchers, policymakers, administrators and entrepreneurs to discuss how to change gender inequality in science and industry.

On Friday 16 June, Bessensap 2017 will be taking place in the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam. This is the number one event where researchers, journalists and press officers come together to share knowledge and to network. For more information, visit the NWO website.

GENERA is a H2020 project aiming at the implementation of customised Gender Equality Plans in the physics research institutes and university departments. Ultimately, GENERA will form a network for monitoring gender equality in physics institutes and university departments. On June 27, a first meeting toward such a network is taking place at the Science Park in Amsterdam - more information can be found here.

NWO organises an information meeting for researchers who want to apply for a Veni, Vidi of Vici grant on July 6. Practical information is given and selection committee members, NWO secretaries and researchers who have already acquired a Veni, Vidi or Vici share their experiences during a question and answer session.

For our study concerning female leadership, UvA researchers are looking for women in management positions. The study takes 10-15 minutes and among the participants, 3 bol.com gift certificates worth 50 euros each will be raffled. Would you like to help these researchers gain more knowledge on female leadership? Please fill in the survey via this link.

Vacancies and calls

University of Amsterdam: Professor of Applied Statistics

Wageningen University: Full Professor of Business Management and Organisation (BMO)

University of Twente: Professor in Design Engineering

VU University: Professor Environmental Health and Toxicology

See the vacancies via Academic Transfer

Web information

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