A university “that supports research careers”
The University of Montpellier has obtained a three-year renewal of its European label HR Excellence in Research label. This decision reinforces the human resources strategy for research (HRS4R) deployed by UM since 2015. Better supporting researchers in their careers, promoting their working conditions and mobility within Europe, while enhancing the University's attractiveness, are the ingredients of a winning strategy.
"In 2015, we were the first French university to obtain the 'HR Excellence inResearch'label; in 2021, we are the first to renew it! This leading position was highlighted by the international jury, as today 50 French institutions display this logo among more than 600 institutions worldwide," says Nathalie Modjeska, HRS4R project manager and head of international programs at MUSE. This is a source of legitimate pride, as this certification confirms, for another three years, that the University of Montpellier is an institution "that supports research careers," emphasizes the project manager.
A label for researchers
Created in 2008 by the European Commission, the "HR Excellence in Research" label recognizes institutions that apply the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (C&C), two documents produced by the European Commission to harmonize research practices across Europe. " This label recognizes the University's commitment to improving working conditions for researchers, promoting their mobility within Europe, and providing better career support," explains Nathalie Modjeska.
"It helps secure European funding and can also facilitate obtaining it, since, given equal scores, priority will be given to responses to European calls for projects submitted by accredited institutions," she continues . Finally, there is a benefit for the University of Montpellier, whose job offers published on the Euraxess platform enjoy the advantages associated with this label, namely greater visibility and automatic, free publication on the Nature and Science journal portal .
Operational and strategic groups
Mobility, funding, visibility, attractiveness... All of which motivated the teams to tackle the second part of the evaluation: an audit scheduled to take place on site last June. Health conditions prevented the face-to-face meeting from going ahead, but the audit did take place, with the three international experts meeting the HRS4R project stakeholders via video conference. First up was the strategic group delegation, made up of Vice Presidents Jacques Mercier and François Pierrot, Vice President Agnès Fichard-Carroll, and former Director General of Services Romain Jacquet.
Next was the operational group, composed of five of the thirteen departments involved in the project, namely: DRI, DRH, DIPA, DRED, and the MUSE Foundation. Then there were four researcher representatives, as "each of them represented a category of researcher as defined by Europe: a doctoral student for category R1, a postdoctoral researcher for category R2, a lecturer for R3, and a professor for category R4. Europe is extremely attentive to the working conditions of researchers, starting from the doctoral level," explains Nathalie Modjeska, who was the last member of the project team to be audited, along with her project assistant Paloma Hughes.
"Excellent feedback"
A day of presentations, Q&As, and discussions that ultimately led to an excellent assessment by the jury. "We received excellent feedback, particularly on the University's best practices in conducting the HRS4R project, both for the interactive workshop set up to collectively define the new actions of the 2020-2023 HRS4R plan and for the expansion of researcher representation within the strategic group, which has grown from 4 to 12 members ," emphasizes the project manager. With the label renewed for three years, the University's HRS4R policy will be reevaluated in June 2024, but on the basis of documentation only. As on-site audits only take place every other time, the next one is scheduled for 2027. The team has already got back to work to make the 23 actions in its plan a reality for all UM staff, and for researchers in particular.
A 23-point action plan
- Theupdated version for the period 2020-2023 sets out 23 actions, many of which are already underway or have already been completed.
- The policy to attract young researchers, post-docs, and established researchers (action 16);
- Promoting teaching by creating an award for teaching based on the model of the award for innovation (action 17);
- Raising awareness among staff about developing a personalized career plan (action 19).
In terms of new features, we can mention:
- The creation of a think tank for young researchers and the launch of joint workshops designed to promote exchange and understanding between researchers and administrative and technical staff (action 5);
- The pursuit of digitization and administrative simplification (action 6);
- The creation of a committee for the harmonization of procedures and closer ties with research organizations (action 7);
- The dissemination and application of OTM-R principles through training and monitoring in the annual social report (action 9);
- The pursuit of greater gender balance through the equality plan(action 12);
- Establishing better communication on timetables and procedures for career progression and tenure (action 18);
- A range of training courses for developing managerial skills, offered to all managers of structures, departments, and services (action 23).