The aim of the Veronica Vasterling Fund is to stimulate “research activities that enhance the recognition of under-represented groups, challenge discriminatory structures and ideas and contribute to a diverse and inclusive research environment” at the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies. In line with this aim, the Department of Metaphysics and Philosophical Anthropology this year will make the funding available as individual grants (VVF grant) of circa €800 for advanced ReMA students and early career researchers affiliated to the department. The grant is to be spent on activities that further the research and academic career of early career researchers who work on a topic that is related to the thematic focus of the Fund. That can be: participating in a conference, a research stay abroad, writing a PhD proposal, writing an article, or another activity altogether.
Our aim is to support recent graduates and early career researchers affiliated to our Department who often fall between the cracks and find themselves in a precarious/precaritized position. For instance, this can be a recently graduated Research Master student who needs to ‘bridge’ the period after graduation as they are applying for a PhD position. Or an external PhD who does not have funding for their project from Radboud University, but does need the time and space to dedicate to an article or other sub-project. By offering a VVF grant to individuals in this stage of their career, we aim to recognize and valorize their talent and nurture their individual growth as researchers, as well as strengthen the diversity and inclusivity of our Department as a whole.
To be eligible for the funding, a candidate needs to fulfill the following 3 criteria:
- You are a second year or recently graduated ReMa student of the Metaphysics & Philosophical Anthropology department, or an early career researcher (in the PhD or postdoc stage) without current research funding who is associated with the CCEP
- You are working on a topic connected to the thematic focus of the fund: enhancing the recognition of under-represented groups in philosophy, challenging discriminatory structures and ideas in the field, diversity and inclusivity in philosophical research. The personal identity of the applicant (for instance belonging to an underrepresented group in philosophy) can be of relevance, but the content connection should be there too.
- You have an affiliation to the CCEP through an existing and ongoing supervision relationship with one or more members of the CCEP
Rather than foster a climate of competition, we have chosen to divide the available funding between all the candidates who meet the criteria outlined above. The height of the individual grant may therefore fluctuate depending on the eligible candidates, and will be established retrospectively. We aim for an €600-800 grant per candidate.
If you fulfill the criteria above and would like to make use of the VVF fund, please first speak to your supervisor - let them know that you are interested in applying, and discuss with them whether you meet the criteria and how you would want to utilize the grant money.
To apply, please write an application (max 1 page, 700 words) in which you elaborate:
- Your affiliation to the department and your current position/status (criteria 2 &3)
- Explanation of your research focus and how it connects to the thematic of the fund (criteria 1). In other words: make clear how your past and current research is related to ‘diversity in philosophy’ – understood in a broad and open sense. Your personal identity as an applicant (for instance belonging to an underrepresented group in philosophy) can be of relevance, but the content connection should be there too.
- A rough sketch of the activity/activities that you would spend the fund would on, and how these activities would serve to further your academic research/career. For this outline, the target amount of €800 should be used.
Send your application to katrine.smiet [at] ru.nl (katrine[dot]smiet[at]ru[dot]nl) by November 1 2024. The applications will be reviewed by a committee consisting of CCEP staff members, and the proposed candidates will be put forward for approval to the Director of Research at the Faculty in November. The recipients of the Fund will be announced on November 22, 2024 at the book launch of Purple Brains: Feminisms at the Limits of Philosophy, the book that CCEP members Annabelle Dufourcq and Katrine Smiet have co-edited in honour of Veronica Vasterling’s work.