Newsletter #10

Conference on Social Safety in Higher Education and Science

The first speakers for the second edition of the Conference on Social Safety in Higher Education and Science have been announced! We are delighted that Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Rianne Letschert, will be attending the conference. As Minister of Education, Culture and Science and former President of the Executive Board of Maastricht University, Rianne Letschert has long been committed to promoting social safety.

We are also looking forward to the keynote by steering group member Saniye Çelik. In this keynote, Prof. Dr Saniye Çelik will explore how leadership, inclusion and organisational culture shape whether people feel safe to speak up and discuss differences openly. She will also demonstrate how organisations can work towards greater social safety, drawing in part on insights from the Inclusion Scan.

Throughout the conference, participants will actively engage in discussions about the “structures that create friction”: the mechanisms and patterns that cause tensions in practice. Together, we will explore how to narrow the gap between policy and everyday practice, while taking the first steps towards concrete change.

As in previous years, the conference will take place at the Prodentfabriek in Amersfoort and will be held on 5 October from 13:00 to 17:30.

Prof. Dr Saniye Çelik is Endowed Professor of Diversity and Inclusion within the Police at Leiden University. Her research focuses on diversity, inclusion, leadership and social safety. With more than thirty years of experience in government and education, she brings together policy, academia and practice. She developed the Inclusion Scan, is a Crown-appointed member of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER), Chair of the Central Government Integrity Committee, and a member of the Steering Group on Social Safety.

Rianne Letschert is the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science. Prior to this role, she served as President of the Executive Board and earlier as Rector Magnificus of Maastricht University.

Within higher education, Letschert became known as a strong advocate for academic renewal, open science, team science, and broader approaches to the recognition and rewarding of academic work.

The 2026 grant application round closed on 16 April. The steering group is currently busy reviewing all submitted applications. Once again, the total amount requested exceeds the available funding.

All applicants will receive a formal decision, including an explanation of the approval or rejection of their application, no later than September. More information about our final grant round (12 January 2027 to 12 February 2027) will follow at a later stage.

Thank you for participating in this scheme — we will keep you informed!

In this portrait series, we highlight the people behind the scenes who are committed to creating a socially safe study and working environment in higher education. Today: Eline de Rijk, Social Safety Adviser at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas).

At BUas, Eline works on student wellbeing, social safety, and building an inclusive learning and working culture. Not only within the institution itself, but also together with partners in the city of Breda and within national higher education networks.

Why are you committed to social safety?

“A safe environment is the foundation for everything. Only when students and staff feel safe can they study, work and grow. What drives me is truly seeing people: as human beings, not only as students or colleagues.”

“Moreover, social safety is not just an internal issue, but also a societal challenge. What happens on campus is also reflected in the city and in society.”

Hendrix joined the project as a postdoctoral researcher in April. Previously, she completed her PhD research at Radboud University, focusing on how audiovisual media can contribute to greater openness towards LGBTQI+ people.

Prior to this research, she worked as a project leader at the Student Life department at Radboud University, where she was involved in initiatives such as Purple Friday and topics including social safety and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within student organisations. During her PhD trajectory, she also remained actively engaged with the topic of social safety, particularly in relation to PhD candidates.

On 15 April, a governance meeting took place at Hotelschool The Hague in Amsterdam. During the meeting, board members and directors from universities and universities of applied sciences engaged in a dialogue on social safety under the guidance of Prof. Dr Saniye Çelik.

Topics such as retaliation, aftercare and role clarity were discussed throughout the session. Participants also shared best practices and exchanged valuable lessons learned from their own experiences. The meeting was widely experienced as highly useful and valuable, and will certainly be followed up in the future.