Prof R.C. Ritsert Jansen

Organisation

University of Groningen

Job title

Professor of bio-informatics and ‘Dean of Talent Development’

Biography 

Ritsert Jansen is professor of bio-informatics and ‘Dean of Talent Development’ at the University of Groningen. As an acclaimed researcher he likes to give young colleagues a helping hand. In 2011 his book Developing a Talent for Science was published by Cambridge University Press, in which he discusses the stressful life of modern scientists in an increasingly competitive academic environment. ‘You are an entrepreneur in the land of research’, says Jansen. In 2013 his second book Funding Your Career in Science was published, also by Cambridge University Press. ‘In the past you would be welcomed to your new research place with a big bag of money, but nowadays scientists have to gather their own funds by winning grants.’ As Dean, Jansen heads a team of researchers and non-academic experts from Human Resources, Research and Valorisation, and Communication. The team is involved in matters such as training courses for academics in the field of applying for grants and holding presentations, as well as in the Grants Week Groningen October 2015, a large event for PhD students postdocs and all other researchers trying to acquire grants such as Marie Curie Fellowships or ERC grants.