Dear University community members,
I wish you all a happy 2024!
UCLouvain is my alma mater: I completed my higher education there and I am a professor and researcher in medical law, rights of the individual and civil liability law in several UCLouvain faculties and institutes. I have developed a number of collaborative networks in Belgium and abroad, and forged strong ties with people from the business world and civil society, particularly as a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium.
I have held a number of institutional posts: representative of the scientific and academic staff bodies, member of the Research Council, president of an institute and dean of a faculty. I am currently vice-rector of the Social Sciences and Humanities Sector. These experiences have given me in-depth knowledge of the University and our sectors and campuses.
In keeping with my commitments and my career path, I now wish to put these experiences to work for the University as rector.
I am driven by the desire to give back time for a job well done, and I intend to strengthen our pride in belonging to a recognised and committed university. My programme is based on the discussions I have had with many of you. I want to work for a university that is respectful, that unites, that acts.
A respectful university
Respecting means seeing diversity as an asset.
It means dealing with issues in depth and reaching a decision.
It means establishing fair and transparent rules, particularly when it comes to promotion processes.
It means improving our talent management and encouraging in-house expertise.
It means prioritising and implementing recommendations on harassment and gender-based violence, as well as on diversity, equity and inclusion.
It means continuing our efforts to ensure fair transitions.
A university that unites
Together, we are much more than the sum of our individualities, missions and professions.
Uniting means working together.
We need to think about our institutional governance in order to preserve and nurture campus identities, core and cross-cutting competencies and local dynamics, and to give meaning to the mergers that have taken place.
We need to accentuate synergies, simplify our operations, prioritise strategic projects and strengthen links with education and research actors. We need to get more involved in our hospitals, analyse the clinical academic career path, and think about local-regional networks.
Opening up to the world and to culture must be an opportunity for balanced exchanges within our alliances and our international, European, Belgian and regional networks.
A university that acts
Respect and unity in a climate of mutual trust and support are prerequisites for action.
Taking action means bringing projects to fruition.
We need to temporarily or structurally strengthen the administrative and technical framework.
It is also important to reconsider the academic workload and encourage further professional development leave.
In terms of education and support for students, we need to offer high-quality teaching and support continuing and distance education. I want to reduce the cost of course materials, develop appropriate learning spaces and ensure access to decent accommodation.
In terms of research, scientific staff need more support to complete their PhD or postdoctorate and to make the transition to a career. The number of temporary scientific staff needs to be increased. It is important to promote all types of research, create a fund for small loans, strengthen the technical staff needed for long-term projects and draw up a strategic plan for major equipment.
Finally, our commitments to serving the community must be better recognised.
In this way, we will be able to carry out our essential missions with peace of mind.
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Dear community members,
The actions I intend to implement will of course be set out in my programme.
I will continue to meet with you so that we can discuss and work together to shape the future of our University.
I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter: https://genevieveschamps.be/.
The programme will be available at a later date on the same website.
Yours sincerely,
Genevi猫ve Schamps