New team at the helm of NWO-I: who are the directors Miriam Luizink and Jan van der Boon?

‘Our aim is to let the institutes feel that they benefit from the collectivity’

At breakfast, Miriam Luizink’s family asks where she will travel to that day. ‘To DIFFER in Eindhoven’, Luizink answers and then goes upstairs to her study to attend a Zoom meeting. Due to the coronavirus, she has made acquaintance with the institutes online. Luizink finds that a shame. Nevertheless, after the virtual tour, she has a good picture of the organisation, which she and Jan van der Boon are now the directors of. ‘I received a really warm welcome.’

Reimbursement of home-working expenses during the corona crisis

Following agreements with the COR NWO, NWO-I has decided to reimburse all employees retroactively as of 1 July 2020 for the expenses of working from home during the corona crisis. It involves an amount of €262 net for this year on the basis of full-time employment. If you are working part-time and/or have entered employment after 1 July 2020, this amount will be recalculated in proportionality to the extent and/or duration of your employment. Pay-out will take place at the December 2020 salary payment.

Highlight NSCR: three years after #MeToo

The benefits of sharing experiences online

In October 2017, the hashtag #MeToo trended on Twitter and other social media channels. Whoever placed #MeToo in a message, indicated that they had experienced sexual intimidation, sexual assault or sexual abuse. NWO Institute NSCR and VU Amsterdam researched this form of online disclosure: the online and public sharing of experiences concerning sexual violence and transgressive sexual behaviour. Now, three years later, the research reveals that the online sharing of unwanted sexual experience helps people to unburden themselves, ensures support from society and creates awareness. A follow-up study has now started in which victims who share their experience online will be compared with the group of victims who do not do that. The research was initiated and realised in collaboration with Victim Support Netherlands.

P&O highlight: training and professional development

NWO-I is committed to ensuring that, as an employee, you can work in a qualified and motivated manner throughout your career and in the various phases of your life. Therefore, professional and personal development and training are vital for ensuring that you remain attractive for your current employer and a possible future employer. And development is a condition for keeping your work enjoyable and challenging. You should therefore work on your own development. NWO-I will facilitate and support you in this process.

Humans of ASTRON

The people who facilitate discoveries in radio astronomy

Almost 200 colleagues work at NWO Institute ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. In the village of Dwingeloo in the province of Drenthe they work, amongst other things, on the best radio telescopes in the world: the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and LOFAR (Low Frequency Array). ASTRON is also the national coordinator of the Dutch participation in SKA, the Square Kilometre Array: the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope that is being constructed in South Africa and Western Australia. Now you can learn more about some of the people behind this great science because ASTRON has published a series of portraits called “Humans of ASTRON” on its website. In this series, various colleagues with different nationalities talk about their favourite moments at work, who was important during their career, who or what inspired them to choose this discipline and ASTRON, and what a typical workday looks like for them. So visit the ASTRON website and get to know your colleagues!

Collective healthcare insurance from OHRA

You can change your healthcare insurance or change your healthcare insurer until 1 January. Therefore now is a good moment to review your healthcare insurance again. NWO-I has made collective agreements with OHRA; as an NWO-I employee, you receive a discount on the premium for their collective health insurance. That is an insurance with good service, clear conditions and a competitive premium. Read the digital OHRA brochure on the NWO-I website and/or directly calculate your premium including discount via the link on the NWO-I website.

News from the NWO Central Works Council

The NWO Central Works Council (COR NWO) is reviewing the co-determination structure within NWO. Besides the local institute councils and COR NWO, a works council will be added at NWO-I level. This idea will be further elaborated in the coming months. The consequences of the coronavirus continue to be discussed. Themes on the agenda are the continuation of the temporary Implementing Regulation Commuting expenses, remuneration for working from home and the NWO policy concerning working from home in the period after the coronavirus.

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.

Contact

NWO-I
www.nwo-i.nl
info-nwoi@nwo-i.nl
(030) 600 12 11

Follow NWO