At VU Amsterdam, we value a good study and work environment, characterized by mutual respect, attention, and understanding. Students, PhD candidates, and staff must feel safe and be able to make optimal use of their talents. Therefore, we place a strong emphasis on social safety through training for staff and students, new governance, and a team of well-trained confidential counsellors. What is new is that VU Amsterdam no longer distinguishes between confidential counsellors for staff and confidential counsellors for students; the new confidential counsellors are available for both groups.
Registered Confidential Counsellors
Over the past year, work has been done behind the scenes to establish a professional, centralized team of eight confidential counsellors: a team that is approachable and accessible to everyone. The strength of this new team lies in thorough training, mandatory registration with the National Association of Confidential Counsellors (LVV), and the greater number of available hours per person. The confidential counsellors remain independent and can be consulted in complete confidentiality.
With this step, we strengthen the quality, expertise, and visibility within our university. The team works closely together and provides professional, accessible, and high-quality support to students, PhD candidates, and staff.
Coordinating Confidential Counsellor
To ensure the new team functions effectively and is as accessible as possible, a coordinating confidential counsellor was appointed at the end of last year: Marieke Veldema. She is the first point of contact and, in addition to her coordinating duties, focuses on conducting conversations and providing information, advice, and support where necessary.
Farewell to decentralized confidential counsellors
The new team starts at the beginning of the new academic year. Consequently, we will be saying goodbye to the current decentralized confidential counsellors in the course of this calendar year. We are very grateful to them for their years of commitment, dedication, and the valuable conversations they have had.
Contact
As of September 1, the current email addresses vertrouwenspersoon-personeel@vu.nl and vertrouwenspersoon-studenten@vu.nl will be discontinued. For questions, information, or to request a meeting, you can send a message to: vertrouwenspersonen@vu.nl from that moment on.
The new team starting in September consists of:
- Erika van Es
- Joan Hooyman
- Edwin Koster
- Peter Vertin
- Nicky van Oostrum
- Mariëlle Rozemond
- Marieke Veldema