The vacancy went live over the summer and drew an immediate response, mainly on Twitter. The Ukrainian Nina Onopriychuk wants to know “why TU/e is promoting working for free for academically trained refugees. They aren't on vacation in the Netherlands, and if they are teaching and supervising students, they should simply be paid.” Though she does wonder whether the Ukrainians might be compensated for their work in some other way. 'Unbelievable' was Francesca Girardi reaction, and she wonders how this vacancy came about. What got Marijn Sax's goat was the hashtag accompanying the vacancy: #AcademicsNLforUkraine, as if posting under a good-looking banner could make up for this ham-fisted effort.

Misunderstanding

The fuss seems to come from a misunderstanding as well as a lack of context in the posted vacancy. It is not the case that the refugees have to work here for free, but the explanation about this is not included in the vacancy as it was posted by TU/e on LinkedIn and Twitter. The university would like to nuance the fuss and first of all emphasizes that this is a national initiative in which universities want to support Ukrainian academics, says Eric van der Rijswijk Geer-Rutten, who is the vacancy holder for this vacancy at TU/e. “There is a national platform for academic vacancies: Academic Transfer. A paid and an unpaid vacancy have been posted there as a gesture, so that Ukrainians in need can continue their academic work here in the Netherlands. The unpaid vacancy is aimed at Ukrainians who continue to be paid from their Ukrainian university and who can then continue their research here at TU/e.” Van der Rijswijk Geer-Rutten says that he has already received applications from Ukrainians, but that he is not yet able to give the final score because the vacancy is still open until September 1.

Sveta Zinger, associate professor at TU/e's Department of Electrical Engineering, also saw the vacancies  (on LinkedIn, without the TU/e explanation, ed.). She is staying pretty calm about it all: “At least the Ukrainian refugees are being allowed to work as soon as they arrive in the Netherlands, that's a good thing. I think this vacancy - for unpaid work - was posted with good intentions. There are/were other paid positions as well. However, I don't think this - the TU/e vacancies - will be read by many Ukrainians. I see and speak to these people: they are confused. They are finding schools for their children, affordable stores for food and drink, etc. Research is not their first priority.”

A chance, hopefully

Zinger is trying to see the vacancy as an opportunity: “For the Ukrainians, a guest vacancy does offer the chance to find their way in academia here, and to build a network. Of course, academia is pretty much the same, but the mentality and culture here are different. And I hope that afterwards they have more opportunities, and are simply paid. That would definitely be better. A positive aspect of this vacancy specifically for Ukrainians, however, could be that it offers the chance to come in via a position that would normally receive over a hundred applications. Which almost always means going up against people who are better or more experienced. I would ask: for how long is this position unpaid, and what opportunities does it lead to afterwards? These are points worth pondering as a university.” Zinger also sees this vacancy as an opportunity to increase the number of women at the university: “Almost all the people coming from Ukraine are women, because men aged between 18 and 60 are required in principle to stay and fight. So the applicants will mostly be women.”

No vacancies specially aimed at other refugees

When asked by Cursor whether there are also vacancies for refugees of other nationalities, Van der Rijswijk Geer-Rutten said that “the current vacancies are aimed at Ukrainians and there are currently no vacancies specifically intended for other refugees. The idea is that people who have had to flee Ukraine and can provide for themselves can also return to academia. The content of the position will be tailor-made (what tasks, from when and which department). We try to cater to the needs of the people.”