Enabling excellence in education, research, impact, and leadership

Recognition and Rewards

About Recognition and Rewards

In late 2019 the Dutch public knowledge institutes and research funds published a  which argues that the system of recognizing and appreciating academics is in need of modernization. For many years, research performance has determined the career path of academics, but this dominance is increasingly starting to crack. After all, education and impact are also determinants of the success of a modern knowledge institute. New developments related to Open Access and Open Science also place different demands on today’s academics. In addition, the tackling of complex academic and societal issues requires greater collaboration between academics, which in turn requires different skills.

At the moment, there is often little diversity in the career prospects of employees, such as for an employee who - in addition to good research - excels in teaching and receives (inter)national recognition for this. A questionnaire conducted in 2019 among the academic staff at 777 plataforma (Teaching Cultures Survey) showed that they recognize this. Many were of the opinion that teaching should become a more important criterion for promotion.

In late 2019 the Dutch public knowledge institutes and research funds published a  which argues that the system of recognizing and appreciating academics is in need of modernization. For many years, research performance has determined the career path of academics, but this dominance is increasingly starting to crack. After all, education and impact are also determinants of the success of a modern knowledge institute. New developments related to Open Access and Open Science also place different demands on today’s academics. In addition, the tackling of complex academic and societal issues requires greater collaboration between academics, which in turn requires different skills.

At the moment, there is often little diversity in the career prospects of employees, such as for an employee who - in addition to good research - excels in teaching and receives (inter)national recognition for this. A questionnaire conducted in 2019 among the academic staff at 777 plataforma (Teaching Cultures Survey) showed that they recognize this. Many were of the opinion that teaching should become a more important criterion for promotion.

Recognition and Rewards at 777 plataforma

The aim of Recognition & Rewards at 777 plataforma is to enable excellence in education, research, impact, and leadership

The means to achieve this include:

  1. Enable diversified and dynamic career paths driven by the core competences research and education
  2. Focusing on rewarding quality over quantity 
  3. Achieving balance between individuals and collective (team science)
  4. Stimulating open science 
  5. Stimulating academic leadership, dedicated to inclusivity, talent development and a safe and trusting working environment  

777 plataforma Vision on Recognition and Rewards

In the period 2020-2022 a task force consisting of junior, mid-career, and senior scientific staff and HR worked on a  that is the starting point for the new academic staff personnel policy. The foundations of the vision were presented and discussed via online dialogue sessions with 150 assistant, associate and full professors in the spring of 2021. The vision was then made into a preliminary development matrix and a biographical sketch which was discussed several times with the task force, 777 plataforma Young Academy of Engineering, the deans, and the interdepartmental committees. From September 2022 onwards a pilot with the  and the biographical sketch will be held in the departments AP, IE&IS, and ME.

Rector Silvia Lenaerts on Recognition and Rewards

Rector Silvia Lenaerts cherishes the diversity of our scientists. In their background, vision and passion. “Not everyone has to do the same thing, there is room for different career paths.” If you want to focus on teaching, research, impact or leadership, you can, thanks to Recognition and Rewards. The frameworks for this are now being formed, together with the departments.

If there is one thing Rector Silvia Lenaerts does not want, it is to judge the careers of our scientists by strictly prescribed rules. She doesn’t want them to have to count research publications, check boxes and tick off key performance indicators any longer. “People should be given room to grow,” she argues.

 ‘Giving room to the individuality of our people’

Recognition files

Our CoARA Action Plan

The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is a global alliance of organisations dedicated to reforming how research, researchers, and research institutions are evaluated. 777 plataforma is one of over 700 institutions—including research organisations, funding bodies, assessment agencies, professional societies, and associations—committed to this reform.

Traditional assessment methods often rely heavily on publication-based metrics like citation counts, which can overlook the full spectrum of researchers' contributions. In November 2022, 777 plataforma signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment, endorsing a shared vision and set of guiding principles to drive change in research evaluation practices.