‘Young Academy Leiden wants to stand up for young researchers, especially in difficult times’
Young Academy Leiden (YAL) will change its board this month and welcome seven new members. Outgoing chair Julia Cramer and incoming chair Rachel Plak look back at the highlights of the past year and discuss YAL’s plans for the coming period.
Congratulations Rachel, you’re the new chair of Young Academy Leiden. What made you want to take on this role?
Rachel: ‘I’d been active in YAL for some time already and really enjoyed it, in roles including as coordinator of our outreach workgroup’. You feel increasingly responsible for the group – and within academia you see more and more things you would like to tackle. In the end, Julia asked whether being chair wasn’t something for me. I needed that push. That’s something I think many young academics can identify with: that you do like or find something interesting but wouldn’t necessarily see yourself in that role. Now I’m taking on the baton after a year as vice-chair.’
Hi Julia, so you feel confident handing over to the new chair?
Julia: ‘Absolutely, I know it’s in good hands! The good thing about YAL is that you grow together and learn a lot from each other. That makes it a nice and safe environment in which to develop as a leader. And our work together as a board this past year has been anything but hierarchical. So for me it doesn’t feel like I’m stepping back. It’s more like stepping aside, to make room for new people with new skills and energy, like our incoming vice-chair Ahmed Mahfouz.’
What were your highlights of the past year?
Julia: ‘I’m proud of how we implemented the theme of engagement. We’ve been in contact with many different colleagues within the university, from people from Administration and Central Services and the Executive Board itself to colleagues from Young Leiden University, the Leiden Teachers’ Academy and the University Council. And our monthly newsletter has helped us reach our community much better.’
Rachel: ‘My highlight is setting up the Social safety dialogue sessions together with Human Resources. Here people talk with their colleagues about creating a safe environment at the university: about not only the problems they experience but also the opportunities they see. The idea came about because we heard from our community that there is a gap between the intent of policy and its impact in the workplace. We wanted to give young academics a voice in making improvements here. Our next session is on 24 September and all staff are welcome: academic and supporting staff, from starters to very experienced staff.’
What are the biggest challenges for YAL this coming year?
Rachel: ‘We waved goodbye to the first batch of YAL members this year, and that got us thinking about how we want to move forward. When they set out, our founders had to keep explaining why they wanted a seat at the table. Now people know where to find us and we are involved in all sorts of different ways. This coming year we will have to make choices about the topics we want to focus on. It’s good to be extra vigilant about this, particularly given the impending cuts to higher education and science. YAL has always had an important position but in these difficult, challenging times we need to keep reminding people of the often vulnerable position young researchers find themselves in.’
Julia: ‘Another big challenge is the unabatedly high workload, in combination with worries about the future, especially among many of our international colleagues. That really will have to be addressed formally.’
What else would you like to get involved in?
Julia: ‘I think that connecting remains important. That could mean organising regular informal social events where you can enjoy lunch with colleagues or even just vent your concerns. But it could also mean connecting with Administration and Central Services and the non-academic staff. The collaboration with our project manager Suzanne Brinkman this past year has once again made us realise just how essential that is. And I hope that with Ahmed as the first international YAL vice-chair we can also take steps in further connecting with our international colleagues – and with our colleagues from the LUMC, where Ahmed is an associate professor.’
Rachel: ‘And then there are the connections with our founding members. They are, after all, colleagues who are moving up through the university and our community can lean on them.’
Julia: ‘Ideally, that is what you want as YAL: you launch talented researchers who put their heart and soul into academia. And they serve as role models to the next batch of researchers.’
Rachel: ‘It’s nice that you sometimes see a kind of informal mentoring develop. For me that is another part of a community like YAL: that you look out for each other.’
Seven new YAL members
YAL was founded in 2019 and serves as a platform to bring together enthusiastic young academics (post-PhD). The majority of the members are lecturers or assistant or associate professors who received their PhD less than ten years ago. The roles of chair and vice-chair rotate among YAL members, with the chair first gaining a year’s experience as vice-chair.
Next year, the YAL board will consist of chair Rachel Plak, vice-chair Ahmed Mahfouz and project manager Suzanne Brinkman. The new YAL members are: Adina Akbik, Caspar Jacobs, Michelle Spierings, Thanja Lamberts, Eduard Schmidt, Shivant Jhagroe and Arjan Louwen.
Text: Evelien Flink
Banner: Danique ter Horst