As of the academic year 2023/2024, UMC Utrecht uses six academic job profiles when evaluating academics. Scholars who want to become associate professors (UHD) or full professors choose one of six profiles. They are then evaluated based on the activities and results associated with that profile. With this, UMC Utrecht expands its “value” scientific activities.
Choose from six job profiles
The six professional profiles of UMC Utrecht are: clinical researcher, academic educator, exploratory researcher, executive researcher, methodology and technology researcher, and evaluation researcher. A more detailed description of profiles can be found on the website, including assessment criteria and portfolio of qualifications. The six career profiles were introduced a year ago as a pilot for Associate Professor appointments.
“I am very proud of this,” says Dean and Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board Prof. Dr. Arno Hues from UMC Utrecht. “Through these six academic career profiles, we are making recognition and recognition at UMC Utrecht very tangible. The same development can be seen in other universities and UMC universities, based on the same idea, even if the terminology is different. It is an important step towards a broader recognition of academics.
Professional profiles fit the traditions of Utrecht
UMC Utrecht has been expanding valuable activities for a long time. For theses within the Graduate School of Life Sciences in Utrecht, for example, the following applies quality requirements It must consist of at least three Postable Chapters, in contrast to the previous requirements, which are sometimes informal, of not less than 5 scientific papers. PhD students also use one Self-assessment tool In preparation for conducting annual interviews with supervisors to assess all activities and competencies.
Another example is institutional research evaluations, in which an international panel of scientists usually evaluates research. UMC Utrecht also asked a panel of social stakeholders for an opinion. Reports can be found here.
Where does recognition and appreciation come from?
In the academic world, measurable and quantifiable research outcomes, such as numbers of publications or references to those publications, are overvalued when evaluating scientists. The great importance scientists have attached to this in recent decades has gradually made non-contributory academic activities less important in the professional lives of scientists, even though those activities are of vital importance to science.
In many places in the academy, for example, teaching is valued less than research. In research, many scientists focus on quickly making “publishable” research, which may come at the expense of researching complex, socially relevant questions. Partly for this reason, all universities and university medical centers in the Netherlands have agreements in the so-called “Recognition and recognition roadmap‘. In it, they promise, among other things, the development of different career paths.
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