Diversity is a high priority at VU Amsterdam. Therefore, more and more colleagues with a disability are hired. Only it rarely concerns jobs with an academic position. To increase the inclusiveness of VU Amsterdam in this area, it is important that more people with an occupational disability get the chance to do a PhD. After all, a PhD is an important step towards a scientific career. This is why VU Amsterdam recently made subsidies and extra guidance available for 10 PhD students with an occupational disability.
Unfortunately, many people with occupational disabilities experience barriers to apply for a PhD trajectory at all. Reasons for this may be that they need extra guidance and are afraid to ask for it or that they are afraid of being rejected immediately because of their disability. Indeed, it happens that promoters have question marks about the suitability of a person with a disability for a PhD trajectory. Often the question marks are based on misunderstandings.
To lower the threshold for both promoters and future suitable PhD candidates with an occupational disability, VU Amsterdam has made a project budget available for 10 PhD candidates with an occupational disability who are in the target group register, which covers the first year of the PhD trajectory. In addition, extra guidance will be made available for both the PhD candidate and their promoters. A specific choice was made for PhD students who are in the target group register, as this is the group that generally has the most difficulty taking the first step towards an academic career.
The extra support comes from the Participation Service Point and from the specially appointed supervisor of PhD candidates with an occupational disability: Evelien Wolf. Evelien herself has an occupational disability and is in the final phase of her PhD trajectory. She also has extensive experience as an internship tutor supervising students doing their clinical internship for the master's degree in Clinical Neuropsychology, which includes frequent discussion of personal pitfalls. From both her professional and personal experience, she shall support future PhD students with an occupational disability who are on the target group register in successfully completing the PhD track.
Terms and conditions
Are you thinking of opening the vacancy for your PhD project to a PhD student with an occupational disability and want to be eligible for the funding and extra guidance? Then these are the conditions:
The vacancy text and the application process should explicitly state that exceptions are made for PhD students with target group registration compared to regular PhD students on the following points:
- A PhD student with a target group registration may apply for min 0.7fte, because a full-time participation job is about 0.7 regular fte. There are people with a disability who can work more than a full-time participation job, therefore it is possible to work more than 0.7 regular fte.
- A PhD student with a target group registration may be given priority over a regular PhD student if suitable because of disadvantage.
- There is one year of additional funding for the PhD trajectory, this funding consists of the salary cost for the first year, a bench fee and the cost for an additional supervisor.
- An extra supervisor is available for PhD students with target group registration and their promoters.
- A maximum of 10 PhD projects (minimum 1 and maximum 2 projects per faculty) are eligible for this funding and extra guidance.
Any further questions?
Please contact Evelien Wolf (e.t.wolf@vu.nl).
Of course, we also want to encourage (co)promoters to hire PhD students with an occupational disability through the regular route. If you are curious about how you can be supported in this, please contact Renée van Scheppingen of the Participation Service Point of VU Amsterdam (participatie.hrm@vu.nl).
Off to a more inclusive university!