This project aims to foster responsible research and academic climates on all levels of TU/e through building community and improving responsible academic assessment practices. With funding from the Open Science NL grant (2024), the project encompasses three pillars: (1) developing a database of good academic practices (revolving around Recognition and Rewards principles and including open science), (2) creating interventions for our institutional appointment advisory committees (BACs) through a combination of research, policy, and community dialogue, and (3) building a vibrant internal and external community.

Building on research expertise and policy experience, this line of work focuses on improving the careers and working conditions of early career researchers in the Netherlands. It identifies key pain points across academic career stages and translates empirical evidence into practical recommendations, ranging from individual-level best practices to systemic policy reforms. Selected work displayed here includes expert  contributions to national reports and presenting findings to universities, funders, and other stakeholders.

In this line of research, we investigated PhD candidates’ (N = 391) perceptions about their research environment at a Dutch university and assessed whether their perceptions are related to their career considerations. Results indicate that those who experience a less healthy research environment (including experiences with unethical supervision, questionable research practices, and barriers to responsible research), more often consider leaving academia as well as their current PhD position. We formulated recommendations based on our results, extant literature, and discussions with university decisionmakers.

In this project, we draw on value theory in social psychology to conceptualize the range of motives that may influence research-related attitudes, decisions, and actions of researchers. To conceptualize academic research values, we integrate theoretical insights from the personal, work, and scientific work values literature, as well as the responses of interviewees, survey participants, and experts about values relevant to academic research. We relate our conceptualization and item proposals to existing work and provide recommendations for future measurement development.

In contemporary academia, overlapping crises — from the reliability of research to the precarity of researchers' careers — underscore significant inefficiencies and lack of sustainability in scientific practices.

Many of these challenges are particularly evident in the experiences of early career researchers. In this project, we reflect on some of these problem areas, drawing from research on PhD candidates' career considerations (see Leaving academia project) and other related work on researchers' values (see Academic research values project).

I have been involved in various projects connected to my experiences as a designer, researcher, and social psychologist in the past couple of years. This section summarizes some of my side projects and prior works and gives a brief (but not all-encompassing) overview of my expertise, skills, and interests.