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Researchers are truly the new gold. Government funding for young researchers (OJO funds) is, however, under pressure. We are seeing high dropout rates among PhD students and the results of the Employee Satisfaction Monitor for the “ABAP” group are largely negative. The training opportunities for young researchers must not be compromised in any way. That is why we will monitor the scope and effectiveness of the use of OJO funds for the training of “ABAP” and young “ZAP”. Internally, we are committed to reviewing the resources for start-up funding so that PhD students can be assured of funding for the entire duration of their PhD. The differences in status and salary between self-funded doctoral candidates and those funded according to the Flemish salary scales also remain a point of concern. We will map out the scale of the financial differences, how many doctoral candidates are in a precarious situation, and what measures are needed to give them a fair pathway and chance of success.

Together, we make KU Leuven

Thank you very much for the vote of confidence you have placed in me during what has already been an intense campaign. Now we are steaming ahead to the final round of voting! Because if you really want to bring a breath of fresh air to the university, you need to know exactly what is going on, what the needs are and how we can realistically address them. In short, you need to know KU Leuven inside out so that we can move forward together and leave no one behind. That’s why I am keen to continue the dialogue with you, because yes, together, we make KU Leuven.