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Channels to find support

  • Within the IoP
    • Your supervisor
      Your supervisor is also there to help you. They have once been a PhD candidate or postdoc themselves and they have experience with supervising and mentoring PhD candidates and postdocs.
    • Independent supervisor/mentor
      Every PhD candidate has an independent supervisor, don’t hesitate to contact this person. It is good practice to periodically talk to your independent supervisor without your main supervisor(s) present. They can act as a mentor for a wide range of topics.
    • Informal confidential advisors
      Some people may not feel comfortable discussing their experiences with their supervisor or with someone within the Institute management directly, or prefer to discuss with someone closer by or rather further away, etc. For such cases, a network of staff members from across the IoP who are willing and able to provide a listening ear as well as help resolve problems. Confidentiality is guaranteed; only with your explicit consent they will come in action to try and resolve your problem.
      Note that the IoP-internal network is explicitly not aimed at replacing the existing confidential advisor network, or any other support structure IoP/UvA has in place. Rather, it is to be seen as a (hopefully useful) addition to it.
      Members of the informal confidential advisor network:

    Arghavan Safavi Naini
    assistant professor, ITFA

    Ben Freivogel
    associate professor, ITFA / GRAPPA
    Mazi Jalaal
    assistant professor, WZI
    Patrick Decowski
    professor, IHEF / Nikhef / GRAPPA
    Joost van Mameren
    institute manager
    • Secretariat
      The secretariat is always there to help you, whether by solving your problems directly or by connecting you to the right people. Of course, you can also just come in for a quick friendly chat, or for getting some well-earned coffee, tea, or snacks!
    • Your colleagues
      Just having a coffee and a chat can help a million! We encourage people to talk with colleagues, and, similarly, to be open to supporting your colleagues.
    • Human resources
      While not strictly part of IoP, the HR team is oftentimes one of the first UvA contact points a new employee has. Besides advice on all general HR-related matters, you can also contact them confidentially about challenges or problems you encounter, providing help by suggesting what you can do. The (strategic) HR advisor for IoP is Peter Scholts; our HR assistant is Jan de Vries
    • IoP Diversity & Inclusion Council
      The Diversity & Inclusion Council of the institute consists of a broad representation of IoP members with affinity and commitment to matters related to equity, diversity and inclusion. You can reach out to the Council as a whole, or approach individual members.
    • IoP PhD/PD Council
      The PhD/PD Council aims to serve as an approachable group of people with whom you can discuss anything, also confidentially.
    • Dutch class
      The IoP organizes inhouse Dutch language class at multiple skill levels. These are not only useful to learn Dutch but can also be a good social activity. Contact the secretariat for more information.
  • Within the UvA
    • Human resources
      See above under 'Within the IoP'.
    • Student psychologists
      PhD students can have a chat with the student psychologists, free of charge! They also offer group sessions and multiple workshops, including a stress reducing workshop and a mindfulness workshop.
    • Company doctor and corporate social work (ARBO) 
      ARBO is the Occupational Health and Safety Service. Their services include a company doctor, but they are also available for any other health issues, including work conditions (they for example offer a work place check to fix your desk and chair for a better posture!), and mental health issues that affect your work. They also offer different workshops, for example about work pressure. These are also the people that can help you reduce your workload after incidents or when dealing with (severe) issues.
    • ProActief UvA
      ProActief offers individual guidance, workshops, training courses and made-to-measure solutions regarding all aspects of career guiding inside and outside the academic world.
    • Faculty of Science Career service
      For any questions and help regarding your further career, you can contact the Faculty of Science career service. They also periodically organize the IoP career activities.
    • Support for work pressure relief
      You can find information about (reducing) work pressure on this website, including tips for helping yourself, and trainings and workshops that are offered.
    • UvA website for Social Safety
      On this page you can find an overview of the different individuals and institutions you can turn to if you experience an unsafe situation or undesirable behavior.
    • Confidential Advisors
      The UvA has several confidential advisors, with whom you can talk about problems related to undesirable behavior.
    • Ombudsperson
      For all problems and complaints related to diversity and/or inclusion, you can contact the ombudsperson. For more information regarding social safety in general, see the above website.
  • Outside UvA

    There are several channels for help that can be found outside UvA as well.

    • In order to improve personal safety and security, the UvA has a lasting collaboration with Our Bodies Our Voice, a non-profit foundation that aims to prevent sexual violence and establish consent culture at universities through workshops and trainings. You can contact them directly when affiliated to UvA.
    • For victims of sexual assault, the Sexual Assault Center ('Centrum Seksueel Geweld' or CSG) can be contacted by phone at 0800-0188, or through an anonymous chat on their website.
    • A dedicated phone hotline is available for Suicide Prevention: 0800-0113. 
    • Contacting the police and other emergency support can be done through phone number 112. For non-emergency police support, you can call 0900-8844.