KNAW Academy Assistants

About the KNAW Academy Assistants Program

For three years, the Tilburg School of Humanities facilitates the KNAW Academy Assistants Program, called Both sides of the coin: your specialization and the interdisciplinary debate [Beide zijden van de medaille: vanuit je specialisme naar het interdisciplinaire debat]. In February 2011, we started the first year. The next round will start January 2012.

Each year, several students get the opportunity to work, one day a week for a whole year on 1) carrying out a research project in their chosen discipline, under supervision of an experienced researcher, and 2) work together with three other students who work on the same topic, approaching it from their own disciplines, to present an interdisciplinary perspective on the selected topic. One of the selection criteria for topics is that they hold some social relevance, thus ensuring there is an on-doing debate to contribute to. This program contributes to the Humanities approach to Understanding Society, the research ambition of Tilburg University.

For more information about the specific topics, see the topic descriptions under year 2011 and year 2012.

Each student works under the supervision of a senior researcher with relevant background, and participates in the research seminars of relevant research groups. A coordinator is responsible for linking together the efforts of each student-supervisor pair within a group of four. The program director, Ad Backus, is responsible for the program as a whole. The targeted outcome for each student includes:

• Publication of a research article in cooperation with their supervisor (within their chosen discipline) and
• a contribution in cooperation with the other three students in the team to an end-of-the-year symposium (working title: Where Mind Matters: Comparing Perspectives).

In this contribution, the value of the different (sub)disciplines for the interdisciplinary debate are clarified.

Where possible, students will also connect with stakeholders in the field (e.g. schools or newspapers).

For students, general goals furthermore include a) becoming more familiar with related disciplines; b) deepening of their academic training, and c) broadening of their network.

The program is funded by the KNAW, Royal Netherlands Academy of Science [Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen], in order to stimulate the interest in research. For more information about the KNAW program, visit their website.