Resources for researchers during the corona pandemic

Essential information for researchers at Ghent University

Teleworking is the norm at Ghent University but certain research activities can take place if the safety measures of the university (and those of the research partner involved) are met. For the latest info and an overview of the safety measures check the general corona webpage.

Procedure in case of delay

The current situation affects all researchers, although some research projects are more affected than others. Some research activities can continue from home. Many research activities, however, cannot be done via teleworking. As a result, many research projects will be delayed. For some it may even become impossible to be carried out as foreseen in the research plan.

  • We recommend that you document the impact of the corona guidelines on your research activities. Researchers involved in a project that requires timesheets (e.g. EU projects) and who are unable to continue their activities are required to register their service exemption in CATS.
  • We expressly ask to notify the Research Department (via researchdelay@ugent.be)  about the cases where you anticipate to incur irreversible delays. This is particularly important for sponsored research and services, where delays in terms of output (e.g. project deliverables, reports, milestones, …) could affect the payments. Furthermore, Ghent University may incur contractual liabilities for projects that may no longer be executable within a reasonable timeframe. In some exceptional cases, Ghent University may invoke so-called “force majeure” to be (temporarily or definitely) exempt of its own contractual obligations.
  • It is important to note that any communication with counterparties about delays, or in response to notifications received from counterparties, should be handled by the Research Department. Do not initiate any direct communication yourself.
  • Check the guidelines of funding organisations 
  • Specific measures by Doctoral Schools Ghent University

Specifically for international researchers

  • Questions about issues with visa/stay permits of international researchers who will be/are funded by Ghent University during their stay in Belgium
  • Questions about issues with visa/stay permits of international (PhD) students who are/will not be employed by Ghent University during their stay in Belgium: Marianne Martens
  • Questions about issues with visa of international researchers from countries of the Global South: Nancy Terryn

Access to scholarly output, research infrastructure, and funding

  • As always, scholarly information accessible for Ghent University, is available through lib.ugent.be. More information on searching for academic resources in corona times in this (re)search tip.

Other resources

Adapting research methods

PhD defense and other presentations

  • Twitter: #VirtualDefense
  • the #Covid19ThesisDefense Google Calendar and other cool stuff for joining your doctoral peers in online thesis defense
  • With many meetings and conferences cancelled in response to #COVID19, eLife is hosting a series of online talks where early career researchers can present their research remotely > website
  •  OSF Meetings is an easy way to share research content related to an event/conference/meeting. Researchers who share materials can add supplementary data, code, preprints, or other material alongside their poster or slides. Ghent University researchers can log in with their UGent account. > website
  • Taking Your Conference Online (article in Inside HigherEd)
  • Online presenteren (The Floor is Yours)
  • Best practices for inclusive remote meetings
  • Canceled presentation or conference:

(Science) Communication

Staying sane and taking care of yourself (and others)

Communities to join

      • @JongeAcademie startte alvast een crowdsourcing rond telewerk #JAtelewerk en creëerde een virtuele werkruimte op slack. Alle expertise welkom, info op jongeacademie.be/covid/ 
      • @henrifdrake has created a Slack workspace for early career researchers working on climate issues
      • Sedimentologists Online
      • Global consortium for mental health hosts #COVIDCafes on Twitter

Discipline specific resources

A bit of everything

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