Ilse Derluyn
Dear UGent community,
Soon you will be choosing the rectoral team for the 2025–2029 term. As you know, I am running for the position of vice rector, together with candidate-rector Rik Van de Walle.
I made that choice because working at a university, and at Ghent University in particular, is an incredibly wonderful and enriching job. But also, because the university as an institution is indispensable to society – due to the intrinsic value of the knowledge it creates, of the answers it offers to societal challenges, of the critical voice it can represent, and of the opportunities it provides for young people to develop a multiperspectivist, critical outlook. For me, standing as a candidate for vice rector is a clear choice to help shape that kind of university and to make Ghent University an environment that is as enriching as possible for every student and staff member.
My passion for university-level policy has grown gradually, fueled by the extensive policy experience I have gained throughout my career. This includes serving as faculty diversity coordinator, as a member of various programma committees, and on both the research council and the board of governors. In these policy roles, I have helped build a work environment based on trust for staff members, a stimulating learning environment for students, and a financially healthy university in budgetary and organizationally challenging times.
The wellbeing of staff and students and the issue of inappropriate conduct have been very important to me over the past few years, both in my research and my policy-related responsibilities. Significant progress has already been made in these areas, but major challenges remain – for example, strengthening career guidance for all staff members, providing more support for international staff, encouraging dialogue and mutual feedback, improving support for those in leadership positions, and closely monitoring (and adjusting where necessary) the recently renewed disciplinary procedures. Rik and I regard the wellbeing of all staff and students as one of the most important priorities for the upcoming leadership term.
My research on the wellbeing of people with a refugee or migration background, as well as other vulnerable groups in society, has given me a broad knowledge base on many facets of wellbeing, diversity and inclusion. This wide-ranging, science-based knowledge base will support us, as a rectoral team, in further developing an inclusive “universitas”: a university where every student and staff member belongs and matters. I am convinced that in the years to come, we can – and must – continue to strive for recognition of everyone’s talents and continuously look for ways to connect people across differences in, for example, language, culture, living context, education or background.
Fostering connections between people requires attentive listening. In the run-up to these elections, I had the privilege of listening to many students and staff members – across different entities and groups – who shared their ideas about Ghent University today and tomorrow. Their input was immensely enriching. Rik and I are taking as much of it on board as possible in our program and in our future policy decisions. Listening and engaging in dialogue, being allowed to hold differing opinions, and ultimately making the best possible decisions: this is why I am running for vice rector. We need and want to do this, over and over again, in a university that places participation at its heart.
Although in my personal life I belong to a socially privileged group, I know – through my research as well as through my roles as a woman and a mother – the impact of stereotypes. We all harbour stereotypes in our minds. In our living and working environments, many of us – including myself – are sometimes inclined to surround ourselves with what is already familiar. Over the past years, our university has taken important steps regarding career opportunities for women. Nevertheless, barriers remain, and we must continue actively supporting women in their careers, along with other groups that find it less easy to navigate their way to or through our university. This ambition also motivates me in my candidacy for vice rector.
Ghent University’s diversity is also reflected in its research disciplines and study programs. Rik and I firmly believe that this breadth of disciplines and programs must continue to exist, even and perhaps especially if its value is questioned by society. Interdisciplinary collaboration among different study programs and research domains presents unique opportunities for better addressing complex problems such as climate change or other societal challenges, and for providing even better training to our students. Our diversity offers opportunities to learn from each other and continue to grow – whether in research, in teaching, or in societal engagement.
For Rik and me, a university is inextricably linked to the broader society. In my research and collaborations, I have repeatedly experienced how important and fruitful these mutual connections with society are – for researchers, societal actors, and students alike. Social engagement has always been an important driving force behind my choices. Ghent University has already created a great deal of space and support for the societal involvement of its staff and students. We want to continue building on this momentum by strengthening that space, sharing and showcasing the enormous expertise within Ghent University, and remaining a prominent voice in public debate. In doing so, over the next four years, we want to keep academic freedom and the essential link between academic teaching, scientific research, and social engagement high on the university and societal agenda, further develop it and protect it.
Our academic teaching and the economic and societal impact we achieve can only exist thanks to the excellent research conducted at our university. Research has always been central to my academic career. I stand for research that – first and foremost – makes a scientific contribution but also has an impact on society. Research that broadens perspectives, deepens our knowledge and thinking, is of high quality, seeks innovation, and is carried out with integrity on both scientific and societal levels. Research that looks outward, around the globe, working in equitable partnerships – including in the Global South – to strengthen one another. I look forward to, hopefully, having the opportunity to support all our researchers in fulfilling this critically important mission in the years ahead.
I also look forward to working together with Rik. Each of us brings our own experience, knowledge, personality, and talents. We complement each other in many ways. That complementarity makes us highly suited as a team to carry out our people- and future-focused program and to offer our very best to our university. I hope that our program, our experience, and our ambitions will convince you.
Ilse Derluyn