The Advancing Inclusive Academia programme is a network of academics at EUR that work together to foster career progression and collaboration. The programme creates a sense of community and support beyond faculties, and will support (internal or external) career progression and development.
Outcomes of the programme: increased inclusion and well-being, sense of community, multi-faculty network, multidisciplinary network, and career growth.
The programme contributes to the ‘One connected EUR’ goal of EUR 2030 strategy.
From (Beyond) 25/25 to Advancing Inclusive Academia
In the past years, EUR has implemented two programmes that focused on career growth of our academic community: the 25/25 programme (2020-2021) and the Beyond 25/25 programme (2023-2024). These programmes came to life due to barriers in academic promotion, as evidenced in unequal (gender and cultural background) distribution among academics, with greater diversity in lower levels than higher levels. In total, combining both rounds, 166 participants joined the programme. Next to supporting the individuals in getting clarity of where they are in their careers and subsequent career growth, both programmes also offered a space where participants could share their challenges and exchange experiences, learning not only from the workshops, but also from each other. The sense of community was a very valuable by-product of the programme.
Elements
Advancing Inclusive Academia builds on the elements of the (Beyond) 25-25 programmes. Elements of the new programme are:
- Workshops on topics chosen by the participants
- Mentoring (external)
- Co-mentoring (internal); participants mentor each other across faculties
- Portfolio writing
- Participants provide feedback to each other on the portfolio
2026-2027 will be the second year in a row that this programme is offered.
Target groups
The target groups for this programme are postdocs, lecturers with a PhD, assistant professors and associate professors. The focus of this programme is to help bridge structural divides for colleagues of underrepresented groups in the higher levels of academia. The programme has an intersectional lens, and is open to colleagues of all genders, colleagues with migration/ethnic minority background, colleagues with a functional impairment/disability, LGBTQIA+ colleagues, and first generation academics who feel that they could use some extra support to prepare for a promotion.
We also invite full professors to join the community as supporters and mentors. If you would be interested, please email us at aia@eur.nl.
Planning/save the dates
- Announce Advancing Inclusive Academia programme – 31 August, 2026
- Q&As about the programme (online):
- Thursday September 10, 14:30 - 15:15 (join online)
- Tuesday September 22, 9:15 - 10:00 (join online)
- Monday October 5, 12:00 - 12:45 (join online)
- Last day for receiving applications - October 9, 2026
- Meet and greet and workshop about the paradoxes of influence - October 29
- Start of Intervision Cycles – November (the groups will meet in November, February and May)
- Peer Review Kick-off with Workshop: November
- Submission of CV/Narrative: January 8
- Feedback Preparation Session: January 14
- Mentoring Workshop: March 11
- 1-1 Conversations and Support with the Team - Along the year
- Session for progress monitoring and adjustment: May 20
- Closing Session - June 14 2027
Quotes by participants
‘The whole journey, including the reviewers’ comments, has been a healing process for me. It has also been an encouraging and enlightening experience. The reflections the process led us to have, have been extremely valuable.’
‘The programme helped me tremendously: I applied for a position, encouraged by the programme, I took the plunge. And look at that: I got the job. Thanks for helping me grow.’
Registration form and nomination form
The deadline for submitting the forms is October 9, 2026.
You can expect a response and/or information about next steps no later than October 16, 2026. For questions about the programme, please contact the project lead Dr. Ana Uribe Sandoval (aia@eur.nl).