Research environments at CBS win praise from the EU

As the first university in Denmark, CBS has been praised by the European Commission for the will and ability to live up to European standards for good research environments.

Freedom of research, career development, research practice and contracts are some of the rights of and requirements to researchers and employers, which must be in order to create the best possible conditions for research. CBS' hard work to ensure this has resulted in a permission from the European Commission to use the logo HR Excellence in Research on the university's staff policy for researchers.

- It is a validation of CBS' ability to live up to the standards that apply to Europe and it shows that we are world-class university. HR Excellence in Research is going to make it easier for us to recruit globally, says Claus Durck Hovej, Director of HR Services.

40 requirements and rights

The recognition from the European Commission is a result of more than two years of analysis. Together with employee representatives, HR Services has analysed CBS' practice and procedures in relation to the 40 requirements and rights in The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. Together with other Danish universities, CBS has already met some of the focus areas of the charter on the basis of Danish legislation or collective agreements. In the meantime, other focus areas have been formally placed in the organisation, for instance equal opportunities.

That leaves three areas to which CBS has prepared strategies and plans of action. The three areas include information to researchers on the legal obligations pertaining to the administration of research funding, support of research mobility and support to career counselling for researchers. CBS will have covered the first two areas by the third quarter of 2013, and the career counselling will be in place in 2015.

Tool for self-reflection

According to Lynn Roseberry, Equal Opportunities Officer, Associate Professor and representative of the task force, this recognition is a benchmark in relation to good practice, and the HR Excellence in Research is a tool for self-reflection.

- CBS is an ambitious university, and we want to be one of the best in the world. Our research environment is strong enough to compare with the best, and  it is definitely my impression that there is a wish to improve the areas that HR in Excellence has pointed out, says Lynn Roseberry.

According to the European Commission, the HR Excellence in Research and the permission to use the logo is only granted to organisations which have made a documented effort to combine strategy and practice with the principles of the charter and the code of conduct. This recognition also shows that the organisation has made dedicated choices to strive for an optimum research environment both in terms of the researchers' working conditions but also the way in which research is conducted. Every four years, the HR strategy and the plans of action will be revised with support from the European Commission.

Read the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers

Read more about HR Excellence in Research