KNAW Grant Week 2024

11.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.

‘Career options’ walk-in consultation hour 

Morris Beks, Center for  Career and Development, KNAW 
https://www.knaw.nl/nl/werken-bij-de-knaw/loopbaanmogelijkheden 

Are you familiar with your career options and would you like a personal interview to discuss your professional future? During the walk-in consultation hours organised by the Centre for Career and Development, you can have your LinkedIn profile and your CV checked, participate in a speed-coaching session, ask questions about the courses that the Academy offers, and find out how the Academy will support you when your contract ends and you enter a work-to-work process.

Opening and lecture

12.30 p.m. – 1.45 p.m.

Lecture: Doing Research that Matters

Timothy Stacey, Utrecht University 
https://www.uu.nl/staff/TJStacey     

We all want to contribute something to society. And yet somehow, when we start trying to measure and honour that contribution, people get turned off. In this interactive session, we collectively explore the future we are trying to bring about, and how to use the language of impact as an ally in our struggle.

Timothy Stacey is a Researcher at the Urban Futures Studio, Utrecht University, and a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, University of Victoria, Canada. He uses concepts from the  study of religion (myth, ritual, magic, tradition, and play) to explore what inspires people to take ethical, political and ecological action. He is also co-founder of AltVisions, a burgeoning international, interdisciplinary network aiming to promote alternative visions of a shared political future that challenge both the established order and reactionary populism. 

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Getting ready for your ERC Consolidator and Starting grant proposal  

Ester Verhoeven and Mariëlle Brouwer, RVO  

https://www.rvo.nl/ 

When are you ready to apply for an ERC Grant? When does your research idea have sufficient ‘body’ for you to submit an ERC Grant application? What are the dos and don’ts? 

The workshop consists of three parts: 

• ERC funding: eligibility, objectives, scope  

• Your profile  

•  Thoughts on Frontier Research + Q&A 

In this workshop, you will learn about the ERC Grant application procedures, the statistics, the dos and don’ts when applying, and how to best prepare yourself. This workshop is for early and mid-career researchers who are looking to set up their first, or consolidate their existing independent research team. 

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Individual Grants; overview of the Funding Landscape 

Aya van den Kroonenberg, Yellow Research 

https://www.yellowresearch.nl/

This workshop helps you to get ready to become a competitive candidate for prestigious individual national and European research grants. 

The workshop starts with a brief overview of the main European and Dutch research schemes, with particular attention for individual grant schemes for young post-docs, such as Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships, VENI and Rubicon, including eligibility criteria for the Principle Investigator. 

The focus will then turn to your CV. What are important ingredients of your CV and what are the evaluation criteria of the above funding schemes relating to the applicant of an individual research proposal? 

At the end of the workshop, you will have a thorough understanding of the basic principles for writing national and international competitive individual research proposals.

2.15 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.

Pitching your research and yourself 

Marieke Hohnen, Hakuna Matata 

https://www.hakunamatata.nl/

Pitching your research in an attractive and concise way is challenging. This is even harder when your audience does not have a background in your discipline, such as when you have to present your research to a broad committee for a grant. Many scientists find it even more challenging when they have to highlight their own achievements and expertise. But like it or not, pitching your research, and yourself, is an important part of your career as an academic.

This interactive workshop focuses on:

• Preparing and structuring your pitch for different audiences,
• Engaging your audience right from the start,
• Practicing your pitch and gaining more confidence.

Under the guidance of Marieke Hohnen, experienced trainer from Hakuna Matata in science & media, you will work in small groups to improve your pitching skills and learn how to engage different audiences. These skills will come in handy not only during grant interviews, but also at conferences and symposia.

This workshop is for researchers who are or want to be working on writing a personal Grant. Participants will be asked to fill in an intake form and send it back one to two weeks before the workshop.

11.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.

‘Knowledge Utilisation’ walk-in consultation hour 

Niek Dubelaar, Knowledge Transfer Office, Academy

https://portus.knaw.nl/en/fix-find/what-does-knowledge-transfer-office-kto-do

Are you curious how you can increase the impact of your research and would you like a personal interview to discuss your options? During the walk-in consultation hour organised by the Knowledge Transfer Office, you can explore the different routes towards impact, and find out how the Academy can support you in this process.

After registration, please let us know (kto@knaw.nl) what question you’d like to discuss with Niek and we will allocate a time slot for you.

1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m.

Behind the scenes: how to get a grant

MakeBelief and Dreamscape, how a life scientist and humanities scholar acquired (ERC) funding

Francesca Siclari, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience – KNAW

Ernst van den Hemel, Meertens Institute – KNAW 
https://nin.nl/author/siclariherseninstituut-knaw-nl/

https://meertens.knaw.nl/medewerker/hemel-dr-e-van-den-ernst/ 

During this lecture, Francesca and Ernst will share their insights, tips and tricks on how to get a proposal funded. They will reflect on their career paths and what have been key decisive moments, enabling them to create impact as an academic. Both recently obtained grants: the ERC Starting grant Dreamscape “The Electrophysiological Landscape of Dreams” and the ERC Consolidator grant MakeBelief “The Religious Politics of Theme Parks in the 21st century: Imagineering Religion, Heritage and National Sentiments”. 

Be inspired by how your peers handled the grant application jungle.

Francesca Siclari is group leader of the ‘Sleep and Dreams’ group at the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience and aims to understand how the brain generates sleep-related conscious experiences in both physiological and pathological conditions (sleep disorders). 

Ernst van den Hemel is senior researcher at the NL-Lab and Meertens Institute of the KNAW Humanities Cluster. He studies (national) identity and religion, with a special focus on the role of emotions and the use of media. 

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Getting ready for your VENI proposal 

Aya van den Kroonenberg, Yellow Research 

https://www.yellowresearch.nl/

Are you considering applying for a VENI grant?

NWO recently implemented major changes to the Talent Scheme. In this workshop, we will explore the elements of preparing a successful VENI proposal and help you understand the changes and how they affect your application. You will learn about all aspects of the VENI proposal in a broad outline. 

The following will be discussed: introduction and context (comparison with other grants), target group, evaluation procedure and criteria, VENI project development, knowledge utilization, strategic planning of submission.

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Societal Impact of your research 

Isabelle Hommes and Juliëtte Boughouf, Thrive Institute (PhD Academy) 
https://thriveinstitute.nl/

Curious to kick-start the valorisation journey of your research? 

With THRIVE's experience at the intersection of science, innovation, and practice, our trainers will guide participants beyond writing the valorisation paragraphs of your grant application. We address common misconceptions about impact, showcase examples of successful science communication and research-informed policy, and present practical frameworks for implementation. 

By the end of the workshop, you will have a clear understanding of how to embark on your valorisation journey, equipped with actionable steps to begin making a meaningful impact with your research through and beyond grant applications.

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Creative writing for Academics

Marie Beauchamps, MarieB. Atelier 
https://mariebatelier.org/

This workshop makes space to explore creative writing techniques in your academic writing practice. 

The choices we make when we write have profound effects on the reality that we observe. Giving an account of our observations requires a multitude of styles of writing to achieve the greatest accuracy. Finding the most accurate style of writing for a particular purpose sometimes implies letting go of a seemingly neutral style of writing, instead embracing a plurality of voices, such as staging a dialogue or exploring a more poetic style. This workshop aims to explore what happens when we loosen up the frame of our habitual academic writing practice, inviting multi-layered stories to bubble up and become part of the conversation unfolding on the page.

In this interactive workshop, Marie Beauchamps will lead you through a series of hands-on exercises to make you experience creative writing within your academic practice. There will be time for peer-review, and we will take time to reflect on what it takes to make space for creativity within our academic work. 

The workshop is open to PhD students and researchers of all levels.

Participants will be asked to bring a text of their own to work on during the workshop. It can be an outline, a very first draft, a finished article, or everything in-between, as long as they feel comfortable working with it for the time of the workshop. 

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Media training 

Lennart Wesel, Hakuna Matata 
https://www.hakunamatata.nl/

You want to learn how to best address the reader, the audience or a journalist in your story? During this workshop you will learn to break away from the standard story about your research project. Preparing a catchy introduction, for instance, is half the work.

After the Media workshop participants:

• know why they want to communicate with a wider audience; and have formulated a personal goal;

• can make their research concise, attractive and introduce it in a comprehensible manner and tailor it to a specific target group;
• can deal with unexpected or critical questions and know how to stick to their own story.

The Media workshop is aimed at PhD students in the final phase of their PhD, or researchers who have recently obtained their PhD.

In preparation, the participants are asked about their learning goals and the content of their (most important) research. An intake form should be filled in and returned to the trainer 1-2 weeks in advance of this workshop.

11.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m.

‘Career options’ walk-in consultation hour 

Morris Beks, Center for  Career and Development, KNAW 
https://www.knaw.nl/nl/werken-bij-de-knaw/loopbaanmogelijkheden 

Are you familiar with your career options and would you like a personal interview to discuss your professional future? During the walk-in consultation hours organised by the Centre for Career and Development, you can have your LinkedIn profile and your CV checked, participate in a speed-coaching session, ask questions about the courses that the Academy offers, and find out how the Academy will support you when your contract ends and you enter a work-to-work process.

1.00 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.

Lecture:Sciences, Humanities, and the "Generative Turn" in AI
Max van Duijn, Leiden University 

Since the "generative turn" in Artificial Intelligence, there has been much debate about the capabilities of systems such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Are they merely reproducing superficial language structures ("parroting"), or do the underlying models achieve actual forms of understanding, reasoning, and creativity? Through examples from recent research conducted in my lab, I will address this question. Subsequently, I will reflect, in interaction with the audience, on the implications of recent developments in generative AI for the practice of doing academic research in different disciplines across the sciences and humanities. 

Dr Max Johannes van Duijn works as a researcher and lecturer at Leiden University's Institute of Computer Science and AI. He co-founded the Creative Intelligence Lab, an interdisciplinary space where AI researchers, linguists, cognitive scientists, and artists meet. As a lecturer, he is involved in the Bachelor's program in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence and the Master's program in Creative Intelligence & Technology. With his research group he regularly contributes to international scientific journals and conferences, as well as to Dutch media and public events. Since 2023, he has been a member of the Young Academy of the KNAW, where he co-chairs the Science & Society track.

2.15 p.m. –  5.00 p.m.

Imposter Syndrome 
Astrid ter Wiel, Hertz training for Scientists
https://www.bhertz.nl/ 

Imposter syndrome means you feel like a cheat and you think you are not competent enough for a job as a scientist. It is accompanied by the fear of being discovered and that is why people are often afraid to discuss it with their colleagues, adding to the difficulty. 

The goals of this workshop is to find ways of dealing with these feelings of incompetence. We will discuss in more detail what imposter syndrome entails, which strategies exist to combat it, and how you can navigate it. You will receive concrete tips on how to overcome imposter syndrome.

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Social media & science 

Lucas Keijning, Hakuna Matata 

https://www.hakunamatata.nl/

How can you use your social media platform(s) to communicate your research in a more popularized way? And what are the pros and cons of doing so? Formulating a social media strategy, for instance, can help you navigate these questions. 

After the Social Media workshop participants:

• know why they do or do not want to use certain social media platforms; and have  formulated a personal goal;
• have thought about a personal social media strategy;
• can write more captivating and directly and have practiced writing a LinkedIn message.

The Social Media workshop is aimed at researchers in all career stages. 

In preparation, the participants are asked about their learning goals and the content of their (most important) research. An intake form should be filled in and returned to the trainer 1-2 weeks in advance of the workshop.

2.15 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Horizon Europe – How to make an Impact 

Saske Hoving and Tonnie Rijkers, RVO 

Horizon Europe Research and Innovation (rvo.nl)

Horizon Europe | Onderzoek en Innovatie (rvo.nl)

During this interactive workshop, you will get an overview of the structure and policy background of the Horizon Europe (HE) program for research & innovation, which can be complex to navigate. 

You will learn to define the impact of your project in line with the HE requirements, since impact is one of the key criteria for collaborative projects within pillar 2 of HE. In addition, we will dive into designing a credible pathway to impact. 

Thinking about the impact question is relevant for researchers in all career stages, but this workshop may be of specific relevance to those in their postdocs or more advanced career stages.