It’s been a year since the Postdoc Network @ UT was founded. Is this network here to stay?
Ghanbarzadeh-Dagheyan (founder and adviser): ‘Yes. I dare say things are going well. One of the reasons for starting this network was the relative isolation postdocs experience, so we wanted to bring people together. Our WhatsApp group now has more than a hundred members, and our meet & greets are well attended, with more and more new faces. In the meantime, we’re working on joining the national network, PostdocNL.’
Nakopoulou (vice-chair): ‘Currently we are having discussions towards securing annual funding, just like other networks at UT such as PE-NUT and the Young Academy. We’ve had already good discussions with several deans and the HR department and feel their support. We’re asking for a very modest budget, which would help us offer activities to postdocs and anchor our network within UT.’
What do you aim to offer the postdoc community through this network?
Ghanbarzadeh-Dagheyan: ‘We organise social events to foster a sense of community, but also content-driven sessions such as scientific illustration or a grant writing workshop. Interestingly, the workshop we held last March resulted in three submitted grant applications, one of which was successful. We are proud of that. But, not every postdoc aspires to an academic career, so we also focus on events about working in industry. In addition, we provide practical support on legislation, procedures, health insurance, housing, and other matters. We plan to create a comprehensive guide on living and working in the Netherlands.’
Are postdocs sufficiently seen and heard as a group?
Nakopoulou: ‘That’s exactly one of the issues we want to highlight. We’re kind of in limbo between the position of PhD candidate and assistant professor, working on temporary contracts. But for us this temporality is a constant. This is what we want to voice and tackle. It’s not even clear how many postdocs there are at UT, because officially we fall under the job category ‘researcher 4’. But not every ‘researcher 4’ is also a postdoc. On paper and in practice, it’s one of the least well-defined roles in academia. Yet postdocs have their own unique concerns, questions, and needs. If no one voices those, they won’t be heard.’
What kind of issues are we talking about?
Nakopoulou: ‘For example, we learned that in the case of paternity leave, a postdoc does not automatically get a contract extension under current regulations. The temporary nature of postdoc contracts is already a concern, but it’s under even more pressure now due to budget cuts. The university no longer gives embedding guarantees, so we cannot apply for grants like Veni, Vidi or Marie Curie Global, which could lead to a permanent position either. That adds to the strain.’
Ghanbarzadeh-Dagheyan: ‘In some ways, postdocs can also help UT in the current situation. In principle, every postdoc is fully focused on research, but there are people who want to contribute to teaching. Given the reduced availability of student assistants, that could help UT colleagues out. Our network can play a role in that too.’
Where do you hope the network will be in five years?
Nakopoulou: ‘Continuity is key. We also want board members to stay involved after stepping down, so that knowledge and expertise aren’t lost. And hopefully, stable funding will be arranged soon.’
Ghanbarzadeh-Dagheyan: ‘Exactly. That should help us gain institutional recognition. We’re on the right track, but we need more stability and continuity. The stronger this network is embedded in this university, the better we can represent the interests of postdocs.’
