‘NWO is a better organisation if it is diverse’

Angelique Schilder and Léon Ouwerkerk about inclusion and diversity

Whoever took the lift at NWO Utrecht or The Hague could not have avoided it: the recruitment posters for the events “CONNECT@ Inclusion & Diversity” on 21 March and the “Pride Network Meeting” on 2 April. The editors of Inside NWO-I talked to HRM manager Angelique Schilder and HRM adviser Léon Ouwerkerk. Together they told us about an inclusive science culture with an eye for diversity that NWO seeks to realise. Schilder and Ouwerkerk work at NWO Institute CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica) and are very closely involved in the organisation of the activities of the NWO-wide project group “Inclusion & Diversity”.

NWO launches new relations magazine

‘It’s in line with what NWO is and wants to be’

Onderzoek is the new relations magazine of NWO and the successor to Hypothese. With a new NWO, it was time for a new magazine formula that fits the new organisation. The first issue was published on 23 May: a theme issue about assessing and rewarding science.

Freya Senf new institute manager of DIFFER

At the end of April, NWO Institute DIFFER welcomed Freya Senf, who will become the new institute manager on 1 August 2019. The last few years Senf has been the managing director of the Institute for Molecules and Materials at Radboud University. At DIFFER, she will succeed institute manager Wim Koppers, who at the start of this year became director of operations and finances at NWO. As the institute manager, Freya Senf will be responsible for the institute's support departments and become a member of the management team.

Highlight ASTRON: why lightning often strikes several times at one place

Researchers from the University of Groningen have discovered why lightning often strikes several times. They analysed observations from the radio telescope LOFAR of NWO Institute ASTRON. LOFAR works with thousands of antennae, which allows the development of lightning to be studied in detail. A lightning flash arises due to the discharge of negative particles in a thunder cloud via a channel from the cloud to the earth. The astronomers observed that in a flash, "needles" develop. These pick up a part of the negative charge and send it back into the cloud. As soon as the charge in the cloud is big enough, the current through the lightning shaft is restored again. This regularly results in a second discharge.

News from the NWO Central Works Council

Introducing official secretary Sanne Prins

The NWO Central Works Council (COR NWO) represents the interests of all NWO and NWO-I employees in consultation with the executive board. In this newsletter, we introduce Sanne Prins, the new official secretary of the NWO Central Works Council, inform you about the COR NWO Annual Review 2018, and report on the NWO Central Works Council elections held last month. Unfortunately, two seats for employees from the university workgroups (BUW) were not filled. You can still register to fill these seats via cor@nwo-i.nl.

Calendar

Connect@NIOZ

A next Connect meeting will take place soon: a visit to NIOZ, the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research on coming Thursday 20 June. ...

About NWO-I

NWO-I, the Institutes Organisation of NWO, is an independent foundation belonging to NWO. The following nine institutes are part of NWO-I: AMOLF, ARCNL, ASTRON, CWI, DIFFER, Nikhef, NIOZ, NSCR and SRON. The 200-plus workgroups in which physics research takes place at Dutch universities and knowledge institutes are also part of NWO-I.

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