As of 21 March 2016, PhD-students and junior researchers in philosophy may address the PhD-Council and/or the Scientific director in case of conflicts occurring between individual researchers and their supervisors. If necessary, the Scientific Director (Han van Ruler) will take up the case in question with the dean of the faculty or the head of department concerned and act as a mediator between the junior researcher in question and his or her institution.

This decision is the outcome of the OZSW meeting on ‘Career Perspectives of PhD-Students and Postdocs in Philosophy in the Netherlands’, which was held October 1st 2015 at Leiden University. During this meeting many facts and figures were presented, as well as new ideas to improve the career perspectives of junior researchers in philosophy. A number of recommendations were proposed for improving the supervision of PhD-students and researchers with temporary positions at the university.

One of these recommendations was to appoint a national Confidentiality Councillor to coordinate procedures for supervision and to arbitrate in case of problems and disagreements occurring between junior researchers and their supervisors.

In its meeting of 10 December 2015, the members of OZSW Schoolbestuur have decided not to set up new regulations for PhD-student supervision, since procedures for supervision are sufficiently dealt with in the rules and regulations of individual universities and their graduate schools. The Schoolbestuur did, on the other hand, respond to the request for the possibility of mediation, and has asked Prof. dr. Han van Ruler, Scientific Director of OZSW, to act as a mediator.