News and events
16 December: Christmas drinks
Informal get together to close off the year and celebrate the holidays organized by Graduate Platform. All PhD students and MSR students are invited.
Where? Graduate Room (Z403)
When? 16th December 2011
Last meeting this year: Breakfast Seminar
On 9th December last Breakfast Seminar this year will take place. Deborah Rice (GS) will give a presentation and Jeroen Wilbers (ORG) will be her discussant:
Activating labour market policies in the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom: a micro-institutionalist perspective
“Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly” seminars feature PhD students who finalized their data gathering and who are on the verge of starting their writing phase. To make this less of an individual struggle, we have invited PhD students, who expect to finalize their data collection, to share their experiences with their peers.
All faculty members, PhD candidates and MSR students FSW (VU), all ABRI-PhD candidates and PhD candidates from the UvA Graduate School of Social Sciences are welcome to attend this breakfast meeting.
Coffee and breakfast will be served!
Please drop an e-mail to Joanna Trzeciak if you are planning to join the meeting.
Date: Friday, 9th December, 2011
Time: 09.00 – 10.30
Place: VU University Amsterdam, Metropolitan Building, Graduate Room Z-403
Breakfast Seminar “Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly” (GSSS)
On 25th November next Breakfast Seminar ("Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly") will take place in the Graduate Room. Jeroen Wolbers (ORG) will give a presentation on the topic:
Emergency! Moving from catastrophe towards synergy.
He will tell us how he has experienced the process of data analysis and writing the first outlines of articles, working on several projects at the same time and trying to build some type of synergy between them.
All faculty members, PhD candidates and MSR students FSW (VU), all ABRI-PhD candidates and PhD candidates from the UvA Graduate School of Social Sciences are welcome to attend this breakfast meeting.
Coffee and breakfast will be served!
Please drop an e-mail to Joanna Trzeciak if you are planning to join the meeting.
Date: Friday, 25th November, 2011
Time: 09.00 – 10.30
Place: VU University Amsterdam, Metropolitan Building, Graduate Room Z-403
No breakfast seminar on 11th November
The next breakfast seminar "Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly" will take place on 26th November. Please, keep checking our website for more details.
Upcoming Graduate Platform Events: Save the Dates!
Although the 'pepernoten' and Christmas decorations in the supermarkets would have you think otherwise, 2011 is far from over. In fact, we still have a couple more months to go and thus plenty of time for some fun Platform activities. Below, you’ll find a list of the activities scheduled for the upcoming months. Get out your calendars and save the dates!
| When? | What? | Explain? | Who? | Registration? | Where? |
| 2 November 2011, 12.00-13.00 | Graduate Platform Brown Bag lunch | Informal get together over lunch to catch up, discuss any PhD/MSR issues that people may have, and maybe come up with new activities we'd like to have organized in 2012 | All MSR students and PhD candidates | Nope, just stop by.. | Graduate Room (Metropolitan, Z403) |
| 14 - 18 November 2011, 09.00-17.00 | Writing Marathon | One-week, all-day writing marathon to help jump-start (or reinvigorate) your writing process. See attachment and explanation below for more info | MSR students and PhD candidates who need to actually start writing concrete stuff or are already writing papers and/or theses and need to make some more progress | Yes, see attachment for more info | Graduate Room (Metropolitan, Z403) |
| 16 December 2011, 17.00 - … | Christmas Drinks | Informal get together to close off the year and celebrate the holidays | All MSR students and PhD candidates | No, just come on over if you feel like having some fun.. | The Basket (on-campus) |
Writing Marathon 14 - 18 November
Are you stuck with your writing, or just lacking time and motivation? Staring at the blank page, unable to get those words on paper? Are you still waiting hopelessly for that magical “flow”?
From 14-18 November, the Graduate Platform is organizing a Writing Marathon to help you get out of the rut and back into writing! The Writing Marathon is not a seminar or a course, but merely an informal –yet structured!‐ get together of fellow academic writers. As in any marathon, the Writing Marathon is about creating positive group pressure and support that will help you to do more, push harder, and produce lots of words on paper in a relatively short amount of time. For five days in a row, we will meet up everyday from 9 to 5 and, well, write! Could you use a bit of a push in the back? Take look at the attachment for all the info and sign up before November 1st!
Breakfast Seminar “Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly” (GSSS)
Graduate School would like to invite you again to the next meeting of our Breakfast Seminar Series.
This series features PhD students who finalized their data gathering and who are on the verge of starting their writing phase. To make this less of an individual struggle, we have invited PhD students, who expect to finalize their data collection, to share their experiences with their peers. This time Inge Melchior (SCA) will give a presentation and Nicole Brenninkmeijer (ORG) will be her discussant:
Crossing the bridge from empiry to theory: how to provide words and structure to the dynamics of people's real life?
All faculty members, PhD candidates and MSR students FSW (VU), all ABRI-PhD candidates and PhD candidates from the UvA Graduate School of Social Sciences are welcome to attend this breakfast meeting.
Coffee and breakfast will be served!
Please drop an e-mail to Welmoed Kuipers if you are planning to join the meeting.
Date: Friday, 28th October, 2011
Time: 09.00 – 10.30
Place: VU University Amsterdam, Metropolitan Building, Graduate Room Z-403
The Graduate Fund - new deadlines
As of 1 January 2012, the VU Graduate School of Social Sciences organises one application round per year; the deadline will be 1 April. The last deadline for 2011 will be 1 November. The Graduate Fund has at its disposal an amount of € 50.000,- per year. Each application round has a competitive character.
The aim of the Graduate Fund (consisting of the former PhD Research Fund, the PhD International Stimulation Fund & the MSR Fund) is twofold:
1) the Fund supports talented PhD candidates and MSR students who lack sufficient finances to carry out their research;
2) the Fund stimulates talented PhD candidates and MSR students to orientate themselves internationally in order to promote a broad scientific development.
For conditions and specific guidelines, please see the attachment.
Breakfast Seminar “Sneak Preview” (GSSS) on 14th October
Graduate School would like to invite you to the next meeting of our Breakfast Seminar Series.
At “Sneak Preview” Seminar the stage will be given to one of the PhD candidates who has submitted (or just about to) his/her manuscript to the reading committee. This time Nicole Brenninkmeijer (ORG) will give us a ‘sneak preview’ on her findings to the members of the Graduate School and faculty:
Creating space for a new organizational field. How honor related violence became an issue within the Dutch public debate?
All PhD candidates and MSR students FSW (VU), all ABRI-PhD candidates and PhD candidates from the UvA Graduate School of Social Sciences are welcome to attend this breakfast meeting.
Coffee and breakfast will be served!
Please drop an e-mail to Joanna Trzeciak if you are planning to join the meeting.
Date: Friday, 14th October, 2011
Time: 09.00 – 10.30
Place: VU University Amsterdam, Metropolitan Building, Graduate Room Z-403
UPDATE Change of location: The Seminar will take place in Z-305 and will be facilitated by Christine Moser.
First meeting of Breakfast Seminar Series opened with Christine Moser's presentation
This semester's new Seminar Series was launched by prof. Heidi Dahles on 30th September. Christine Moser (ORG) opened the "Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly" Seminar with her presentation entitled "To use or not to use, enough is enough, less is more".
We will be meeting twice per month. Please, follow the news on GSSS website to read more about the upcoming seminars.
New Seminar Series: “Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly” and “Sneak Preview” (breakfast meeting)
On Friday, 30th September, 2011 the first seminar in the VU-GSSS series on “Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly” will be held. The seminar will run interchangeably with “Sneak Preview" seminar every two weeks this semester till 9th December, 2011 (see the schedule for this semester in the seminar description).
Among the speakers and discussants are: Christine Moser (ORG), Nicole Brenninkmeijer (ORG), Inge Melchior (SCA), Jeroen Wolbers (ORG), Deborah Rice (BW), Femke Brandt (ORG) and Saskia Welschen (SOC). The meetings are chaired by prof. Heidi Dahles.
All PhD candidates and MSR students FSW (VU), all ABRI-PhD candidates and PhD candidates from the UvA Graduate School of Social Sciences are welcome to attend this breakfast meeting.
Please send an e-mail to Joanna Trzeciak if you would like to join the meetings.
Please refer to the full seminar description and schedule in the attachment.
Date: Friday, 30th September, 2011 (first meeting)
Time: 09.00 – 10.30
Place: VU University Amsterdam, Metropolitan Building, Graduate Room Z-403
Two new seminar series to take place in the Graduate Room
We would like to initiate two new seminar series to take place in the Graduate Room (Z.403) in the new academic year:
“Post-data gathering. Moving smoothly”
This series will feature PhD students who finalized their data gathering and who are on the verge of starting their writing phase. All social scientists – whether returning from fieldwork in faraway places or finishing their surveys or interviews – experience this phase of arranging and evaluating their data set and starting to organize their articles and dissertation. While the initial phase of proposal writing receives a lot of attention and coaching, this phase of analysis and reflection is an individual struggle. To make this less of an individual struggle, we would like to invite PhD candidates who expect to finalize their data collection to share their experiences with their peers. Candidates who are in the middle of data-analysis and reflection on their empirical research and their data set address the major problems and solutions that emerge in this phase of the dissertation project. Consider that your contribution will help other PhDs to overcome the challenge of this crucial phase in their work. These talks will welcome all members of the Graduate School and faculty.
When? Breakfast meetings starting the end of September 2011, twice per month on Fridays.
The first PhD candidates that have volunteered to present at this seminar series: Karen Smits (ORG), Christine Moser (ORG) and Jeroen Wolbers (ORG). So, where are the volunteers from other departments?
“Sneak Preview Seminar Series”
The other series that the Graduate School will organize offers a stage to those PhD candidates who submitted their manuscript to the reading committee. The idea is that these PhDs offer a ‘sneak preview’ on their findings to the other members of the Graduate School and faculty. The point is that the only occasion to learn about the outcome of the PhD projects is to attend the defense where the show is run by the opponents. There is no opportunity where the PhD candidate can present her/his findings to a larger audience. This has to change. Therefore, we invite all PhD candidates who expect to finalize their dissertation in the second part of 2011/the beginning of 2012, to contact Joanna Trzeciak in order to plan your appearance on the Graduate stage! To clarify: this is not a general repetition of the defense, but a presentation of the major findings.
When? Monthly lunch meetings. Dates: to be announced.
The first PhD students that have volunteered to present at this seminar series: Nicole Brenninkmeijer (ORG) and Maaike Verbree (Ratheneau/ORG). And again, where are the volunteers from other departments?
Also, we are looking for volunteer discussants to be paired up with the ones presenting. You may drop Joanna an e-mail if you would like to be a discussant or suggest a discussant. Please paste the name of the seminar you would like to present at/take part in in the title.
Opening of the academic year 2011 - 2012
On 1 September 2011 the VU Graduate School of Social Sciences organises a festive start of the new academic year. Please check this website regularly for an update on the programme!
On this occasion the first 'Supervisor of the Year' elections will be held. All PhD candidates of the Faculty are entitled to vote, including so-called JuDos and ‘external PhDs’. All (co-)supervisors employed by the Faculty of Social Sciences can be nominated. The electoral committee consisting of the PhD members of the Graduate Council, Christine Moser, Julie Birkholz, Judith Bretthauer and Dunya van Troost, will count the votes, evaluate the argumentations given and establish a Top 3 of nominees. The three nominees will be published of the Faculty’s news page and invited to attend the Graduate School’s festive opening of the academic year on Thursday, September 1.
During this Opening the winner will be revealed. Please cast your vote before August 15, 2011.
Access to Graduate Funds open to ALL PhD candidates
The Graduate School makes the Graduate Funds (PhD Research Fund and PhD International Stimulation Fund) also available to PhD candidates without a labor contract with the Faculty of Social Sciences.
As of now, all PhD students who are registered with the Graduate School and whose Training and Guidance Plan (OBP) has been approved by the Director of Graduate School, may apply for funding of activities from the Graduate Funds. This new policy includes JUDOs, allowance-based PhD candidates from developing countries, self-financing candidates and candidates funded by third parties (e.g. private sector).
For questions please contact Saskia Jans: s.jans@vu.nl or Heidi Dahles: h.dahles@vu.nl
Quantitative Methods in the Study of Media Violence by Brad Bushman
We invite you to participate in the course ‘Quantitative Methods in the Study of Media Violence’, given by one of our international fellows, Brad Bushman. The purpose of this intensive course is to help Research Master students and PhD-candidates, but also post-doctoral researchers to understand the fundamentals and principles for conducting empirical violent media research using an experimental design.
The course will be given on 20 & 21 June, both days from 9.30-15.15 and registration can be done through Blackboard. Please note that there is a maximum of 15 participants!
Call for applications: VENI-candidates
NEW DEADLINE has been set on 29 April!
Target-group:
- PhD candidates who recently obtained their doctorate or whose manuscript is with the reading committee
- Post-doc researchers
- UDs meeting the NWO-requirements for VENI candidates
Please refer to the full text
Call for applications: Building Research Groups
Who can apply?
- FSW full-professors and endowed chairs
- FSW associate professors
Please refer to the full text
1st Faculty Key Thinkers seminar on 28 January
The VU-Graduate School of Social Sciences proudly presents the first seminar of the new series
FACULTY KEY THINKERS
The aim of this series is to discuss the work of the faculty’s prominent scholars and reflect upon their contribution to the social sciences and engagement with societal issues. The seminar will be held in January and June.
The first faculty key thinker seminar features Anton Hemerijk, Chair in Institutional Policy Analysis:
“The Imperative of Open Institutional in Explaining Welfare State Change”
Date: Friday, January 28, 2011
Place: VU-University Amsterdam, Metropolitan Building, Buitenveldertselaan 3, Room Z 009
Time: 14.45 – 17.15 hrs (drinks after)
Program:
14.45 hrs Reception
15.00 hrs Welcome by Prof. Heidi Dahles, director of VU-Graduate School of Social Sciences
15.10 hrs Prof. Anton Hemerijck introduces his work (synopsis appended)
15.40 hrs Discussant: Dr. Brian Burgoon (Political Sciences, University of Amsterdam)
15.55 hrs Break
15.15 hrs Dr. Barbara Vis, Dr. Bastiaan van Apeldoorn, Matthias Stepan, M.A. (all Political Sciences, VU) discuss the benefits and challenges of Anton Hemerijck’s ideas for their own work
15.45 hrs Plenary discussion
17.15 hrs Drinks
PhD Course Organisational Control 14 - 18 March 2011
This course aims to offer advanced theories, insights and methods of Organisational Control, with a special focus on the different economic and behavioural approaches. The programme’s main objectives are to: Acquire advanced knowledge of theoretical foundations of management control
Gain thorough insights into the latest research in the area
Appreciate behavioural and economic approaches to control
Learn about different research approaches in management control
Specifically, the following topics will be addressed over the course of eight sessions:
Instructor(s) - Topic(s)
1 Prof. dr. Tom Groot & Dr. Peter Kroos - Economic and behavioural theories of management control
2 Prof. dr. Tom Groot - Contingency studies in control
3 Prof. dr. Henri Dekker - Target setting and budgeting
4 Dr. Martijn Schoute - Performance measurement
5 Dr. Peter Kroos - Performance based incentive and reward systems
6 Dr. Eelke Wiersma & Dr. Martijn Schoute - Cost systems
7 Prof. dr. Henri Dekker - Control of inter-organisational alliances
8 Dr. Eelke Wiersma - Research in control: some methodological issues
For more information on this course please refer to the course description. Registration can be done via the ABRI website.
Seminar series ‘Engaged Scholarship’
‘Terms of Engagement. An Introduction to the seminar series ‘Engaged Scholarship’’
On Thursday, January 20, 2011the first seminar in the VU-GSSS series on ‘Engaged Scholarship’ will be held. Heidi Dahles, director of the VU-GSSS, will introduce the different approaches to the concept and practice of ‘engaged scholarship’. All PhD candidates and MSR students FSW, all ABRI-PhD candidates and PhD candidates from the UvA Graduate School of Social Sciences are welcome to attend.
Please refer to the complete seminar description
Preparatory readings: Van de Ven, Andrew (2007), Engaged Scholarship. A Guide for Organizational and Social Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011
Time: 14.30 – 16.00 hrs
Place: VU University Amsterdam, Bellevue Building, room 0H-36
First 2011 Graduate Brown Bag Lunch 10 January
Remember the Fresh Perspectives conference last September and the creative brainstorm session at the end? Well, your creativity has planted numerous seeds in faculty minds and some of them are sprouting as we speak. For instance, as you may know, our community has been awarded with an official Graduate-room (working title "the Bridge"!).
The room is due in February and we would really appreciate your thoughts about:
a) the interior of the room (what kind of espresso machine, big table, small tables, what kind of flatscreens, should we have a fireplace or not ;-)
b) the function of the room. Do you have any ideas about possible activities, seminars, new traditions or old institutions that can be held there?
So, next Monday the 10th of January, from 12.30 until 14.00 in room Z-113, there will be another Graduate Brown Bag Lunch. No sessions with professors or other intellectual stuff planned this time, just some catching up after the holidays and discussing the decorations and function of our soon-to-be Graduate Room. Of course, if you have any other issues that should be on the agenda for the lunch meeting--let me know. And if you're unable to make to the lunch but do have some great ideas about what to do with the room, you know where to find me :)
P.S. Don't forget to bring your lunches on Monday!
Call for applications: research student-assistantships
Target group: FSW MSR students
The VU Graduate School of Social Sciences invites 2nd year MSR (Master of Social Research) students to apply for a research student-assistantship. There are four student-assistantships available.
ABRI PhD Course Academic Paper & Successful Publishing: January – June 2011
Are you a PhD candidate who is writing his/her first academic paper? Or are you in your last year of the PhD trajectory and anxious about getting your research published in top management journals? Or maybe you are a senior researcher who just received a rejection letter for the paper on which you worked hard for the past two years? No matter in which stage of your academic career you are, getting through the process of getting your paper published can be painful. How you write may leap you into a success. It may also hinder your chances of getting your work published.
In 2011, the course will include 6 sessions, please have a look at the full program.
Registration and Fees
Please register for Academic Paper and Successful Publishing via the ABRI website.
With questions regarding course content please e-mail Dr. Svetlana Khapova (skhapova@feweb.vu.nl).
The full course fee is €500. Participants are encouraged to take the full course, however it is also possible to take part in a single workshop of the course. The participation fee for a single workshop is €90.
