果冻传媒

Dean Kees Storm of Applied Physics and Science 果冻传媒 is the great instigator of Everyone Professor. In his 2018 inaugural lecture, the brand-new professor had already argued that some things could be more modern and less hierarchical within the academic world. He summarized this under the heading Everyone Professor.

For example, Storm contends that all assistant and associate professors should be granted the right to award doctorates. In addition, he proclaimed that all permanent academic staff should be allowed to call themselves professors and wear a gown on official academic occasions.

Much discussion

鈥淚 posted my message on Twitter, where the discussion erupted. I started talking to many people about it, and eventually, The Young Academy of the KNAW picked up the idea. They, and especially then-chair Marie-Jos茅 van Tol, really gave it a push. They did most of the work, sought support for the idea, and ensured that Everyone Professor was put on the agenda at Dutch universities.鈥�

It's makes me proud we all managed to pull this off together.

Kees Storm, dean Applied Physics and Science 果冻传媒

Everyone Professor will also become a reality at his university starting November 1, six years after Storm had expressed the idea in his inaugural address. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud that 果冻传媒 is going to do this. The time is ripe. It also helps that the Executive Board is sympathetic to the idea. Our rector (Silvia Lenaerts, ed.) comes from Flanders, where these rules already apply. The first time I talked to her about it, she was surprised that we weren鈥檛 already doing this at 果冻传媒.鈥�

The gown as a life event

Storm fondly remembers the first time he was allowed to wear a gown when he became a professor. 鈥淚t seems purely cosmetic, but it does mean something. It鈥檚 a big life event for a lot of scientists.鈥�

With a gown, you present yourself as an expert in your field, even if you are not yet a professor.

Kees Storm, dean of Applied Physics and Science 果冻传媒

鈥淎 gown is not like the king鈥檚 ermine robe. Wearing it does not set you apart but shows you belong to a group. It is a uniform that makes people equal. By wearing a gown, you represent the university's tradition and values. You present yourself as a bearer of reliable knowledge, an expert in your field, something you can be even if you are not a professor.鈥�

The title

Storm thinks the title of professor will ensure that the outside world has a clearer perception of the expertise of our scientists. 鈥淚t gives young scientists additional opportunities to raise their profile on TV talk shows, for example,鈥� Storm thinks. 鈥淭he media like to talk to someone who has 鈥榩rof.鈥� in front of his or her name because that exudes authority and knowledge.鈥�

鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 always have to be a gray-haired gentleman telling what he has discovered in sixty years of research. Of course, I am short on that score, but young scientists can also, and I often think better, convey the important messages of science 鈥� for example, around climate and energy transition 鈥� to the younger generation. It also seems to be a positive development when the younger generation sees and hears recognizable role models more often.鈥�

International context

HRM policy advisor Julma Braat, who was involved in the introduction of Everyone Professor, says that being allowed to use the title of professor is especially important in an international context. "Because different customs apply internationally, an assistant professor may come across as less experienced compared to a colleague from another country who can call themselves professor."

鈥淲e want the professor title to become a catch-all term for our permanent academic staff, just as it is abroad. This measure can level the international playing field because it will remove the distinction we used to have.鈥�

We want the title 鈥榩rofessor鈥� to be a catch-all term for all of our permanent academic staff.

HRM policy advisor Julma Braat

Right to award a doctorate 鈥� ius promovendi

At our university, the right to award the title of doctor to a PhD student was reserved for professors. Under certain conditions, associate professors could also be granted this right for several years.

In practice, that meant that as an assistant professor, you could have intensively supervised a PhD candidate for four years without receiving credit. Because it is the professor who nominates the candidate at the defense committee meeting and the professor who speaks the laudatio at the end (although in many PhD awards, that is already the actual supervisor), and it is the professor who gets to award the coveted degree.

Assistant professors often do most of the work in a PhD trajectory, but don鈥檛 get the recognition for it.

Kees Storm, dean of Applied Physics and Science 果冻传媒

Storm: 鈥淚 hear from UDs that this right to award a doctorate is fundamental. They often do most of the work but don鈥檛 get the recognition for it.鈥�

鈥淵ou might say, 鈥業t鈥檚 nothing more than a handshake and handing over a cylinder; what difference does it make?鈥� but it鈥檚 the conclusion of a significant phase in someone鈥檚 education. It鈥檚 the end of your journey with the PhD student. You should then be able to conclude that yourself by vesting them with the doctorate.鈥�

The next step

The University Council issued a positive recommendation for Everyone Professor in late September. Following the Executive Board鈥檚 final decision, Everyone Professor is expected to take effect at our university from November 1.

Policy advisor Braat said the university will not proactively determine which UDs are eligible for the ius promovendi. 鈥淚t is up to the assistant professor to take the initiative and complete the online form. They then go to their dean with that and, when approved, the dean will submit it to the 果冻传媒-wide Doctorate Board to assess whether the UD meets the .鈥�

Dean Kees Storm can鈥檛 wait: 鈥淎s soon as it鈥檚 allowed, I鈥檒l send the form to all principal investigators in my department who are eligible for the ius promovendi.鈥�

Tip for novice gown wearers

Finally, Storm has a tip for his colleagues who will soon be allowed to wear a gown for the first time: 鈥淒on鈥檛 put a jacket on underneath. I made that rookie mistake and walked around the first time bathed in sweat in my gown.鈥�