OUR COLLEAGUES AND THEIR STORY

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Karen Celis Pieter-Jan Pauwelyn Rica Ciriaco Luc Deliens Heleen van Schooneveld Aushim Koumar

“THE VUB OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH PASSION. IT’S ALSO HOW WE PUT OUR FOCUS ON GENDER AND DIVERSITY INTO PRACTICE.”

On gender and diversity at the VUB.

KAREN CELIS

Karen Celis is, as she puts herself, one of the ‘lucky few’: a research professor. Her primary activity at the VUB is research, specifically on equality issues for marginalised groups. But gender and ethnicity are not only a key motivator for Karen in her research. She also helps to shape policy at the VUB. For example, she is involved in an equality action plan through which she intends to launch concrete actions in the coming two years. “The VUB is a place where thinking and doing go hand in hand.”

How would you say that the VUB approaches diversity and equality?

“I would describe it as ‘academic activism’, something that I think is very typical of the VUB. We have played a pioneering role in terms of gender and diversity: the VUB is involved in the Master in Gender and Diversity, was one of the first Belgian universities to have an expertise centre on gender and has had a policy on diversity and gender equality in place for many years.

This year, the VUB participated, together with the ULB in the Belgium Gay Pride in Brussels, a clear signal that diversity is important and celebrated here. But this commitment could be broadened in the future. By involving other groups and inequalities in the VUB equality action plan, for example.

The VUB also encourages its professors to take part in the societal debate, for example, by writing opinion articles in the media or offering advice and expertise to companies and organisations. Ultimately, I think it would be better if people could develop a career here with an emphasis on education, research and service to society. The flexibility to enable people to fully develop their potential in the field that suits them best is already here, to some degree. And that only benefits the VUB and its academics.”

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